Unseen

Chapter Sixteen

The driver stopped at the edge of the Salvador property. The headlights washed over the old gate, revealing rust along the hinges and the familiar pathway Olivia had walked all her life. She stepped out quietly, clutching her bag as though it was the only solid thing she had left.

The SUV pulled away. Its taillights cut through the dusk like a silent pronouncement.

Helena stood at the doorway, arms crossed, her face tight with fury. One glance at the departing car was enough. She knew exactly who had brought Olivia home.

“Get inside.”

Her voice was low, dangerous. Olivia obeyed.

The moment the door closed, Helena’s palm cracked against her cheek. The sound echoed through the living room like the shatter of glass. Olivia staggered, grabbing the back of a chair to steady herself.

“Ingrate,” Helena hissed. “After everything I did for you. After raising you, feeding you, keeping a roof over your head.”

Olivia pressed a trembling hand to her cheek. Tears blurred her vision. “Ma,” she whispered. “I have made my decision.”

“Speak,” Helena snapped. “Explain why Simon Jimenez’s car dropped you here. Explain why you are throwing away Clarisse’s chance and ruining this family’s future.”

Olivia swallowed. Her throat burned. “I accepted his proposal.”

Silence fell. A harsh, pulsing silence. Clarisse gasped. Marco looked up from the couch, startled. Renato stiffened but said nothing.

Helena stared at Olivia as though she were a stain she could scrub off the floor.

“You accepted,” she repeated slowly, voice trembling with pure rage. “You dare accept what was meant for your sister.”

Olivia shook her head, tears spilling unchecked. “He did not choose Clarisse. He chose me. I only accepted because—”

Helena struck her again, this time across the other cheek. Olivia’s head snapped to the side. Pain bloomed like fire under her skin.

“Do not put this on me,” Helena seethed. “You think you can twist my words. You think you can steal what is not yours. You have no right.”

Olivia sobbed softly, unable to hold the years of swallowed pain any longer. “Why,” she choked out. “Why do you hate me. Why am I treated like I am not even part of this family. What did I do wrong.”

Helena froze.

For a moment, something raw flashed across her face. Something close to the truth. Something she almost let slip.

“You…” Her voice cracked, sharp as a bone. “You were never meant to be part of this life. You were a mistake. An unplanned disruption to every carefully laid plan we had.”

Olivia stared at her, breath gone. The words hit harder than any slap.

A mistake. A disruption. Not theirs.

Renato looked away, shoulders tense with guilt he would never voice.

Helena leaned closer, her voice low and cruel. “Since you think Simon Jimenez will save you, then you might as well say goodbye to your job at Mart One. And your schooling. And those friends you cling to as if they will drag you out of poverty. Mae. Jonathan. I will see to it that everything around you falls apart. You chose this path. Now you will bear it.”

Olivia felt her knees weaken. She clutched her bag tighter, her fingers digging into the fabric as if she could anchor herself to something, anything.

She whispered a prayer in her mind. A small, trembling plea.

Simon said no one would touch her. He said her friends would be safe. He said she would be under his protection.

She prayed he meant it. She prayed he would follow through.

Because she had nothing left here. Nothing but wounds and a decision she could no longer undo.

And somewhere beneath the hurt, a fragile hope flickered.

A hope that the lesser evil she chose truly was the lesser one.