Episode 2
1600 Words
Unraveled Secrets
Olivia's POV
"There is no going back if you walk away now, Olivia."
Adam's voice stopped me cold, piercing and cutting against the gentle buzz of the gala.
His words shook me down from my spine, but I turned around. Not able to, I pushed myself to breathe while my fingers tightened around the purse strap.
Calm, steady—like I was not seconds away from shattering.
"You've already decided, Adam," I murmured, trying to keep my tone as frigid as I could control. "It's too late to switch the ending now."
"There's still time. Not too late." Now his voice was nearer, a subtle vibration surrounding me like a chain.
For us, it is never too late. You simply fail to notice it.
Heart thumping in my chest, I whirled around. Adam was just steps away, his tall form covered in shadows. His tie was undone, his usually immaculate appearance tattered at the margins, as though he were as disorganized as I felt. I loathed him momentarily for that. For yet being able to appear to fit in under control even when he didn't.
"You don't get to rewrite history, Adam," I said, my voice cutting with barely controlled rage. "You are not allowed to walk in here, offer some apologies, and pretend the past five years never happened."
"I'm not rewriting history," he said, his blue eyes burning back. I'm attempting to correct it. To set us straight.
"There is no us," I answered sharply, crossing my arms. "Has not been for some time."
His jaw tightened, a flutter of something raw across his face hidden under mask. "Perhaps there is not. You cannot, however, tell me that our experience was not real. It had no meaning at all.
I chuckled bitterly, the sound piercing our mutual stress. Adam, you are mistaking convenience for reality. When it fit you, I was real; when it did not, I was disposable.
"That's not true," he responded, his voice lowering. "You never were disposable." Not to me.
"Prove it," I challenged the words flowing before I could stop them. "Show that I was not only another perfect, corporate puzzle piece."
His stillness was unbearable. I shook my head then turned back toward the exit. "That's what I thought."
The chill outside the gala stood in sharp contrast to the heat pouring from my skin. My chest thumping with silent frustration, I leaned against the stone railing. My eyes blurred with the city lights, and for a moment I allowed myself to feel the weight of what I had been suppressing.
"Why do you constantly run when things get tough?”
From behind me, his voice emerged softer but still quite forceful. I turned away, deprived him of the gratification of knowing how much his comments cut me.
"Because staying doesn't solve anything," I said, a sour note in my voice. NOT WITH YOU.
"You think running will fix your issues?" Adam's steps came forward, his presence like a storm building behind me. "Based on where I stand, you are exactly as caught as I am."
I swung around, my hands locked at my sides. "Don't you dare pose as knowing me, Adam? Not following all you put me through.
"And what about what you put me through?" he said, his voice growing. "You find me walking away to be simple? You believe that seeing you go did not devastate me?
"Delete you?" I said again, my voice shaking. You were the one who made staying impossible. It was you who decided on power and control above love.
"And you didn't fight for us!" he yelled, his voice tinged with hurt. "You turned away the moment things grew difficult."
The charge came like a slap, and I started to cry at the edges of my eyes. "Don't you dare assign me responsibility for your shortcomings, Adam? Every day I battled for us till there was nothing left to battle for.
The air between us cracked with unspoken feelings for a minute. His hands curled into fists at his sides as his chest rose and dropped with the power of his breathing. Then he moved in closer, as though the battle sapped him all at once.
"I never stopped loving you, Olivia," he replied gently, his voice rich with honesty. "even when I had no idea how to present it. Even when I made a mistake.
I choked hard, my thoughts whirling with conflict. "Love is insufficient, Adam. Not considering the great suffering involved here.
Then let me show you that it can be, his voice calm. "Let me show you that I am not the same man that let you go."
The moment was broken before I could reply by footsteps. I turned to find Adam's mother Ella Caldwell rising from the shadows. Her eyes gleamed with malevolent glee, her cold smile as keen as it always is.
"Well, isn't this touching," she remarked with contempt in her voice. "The prodigal wife shows up again."
My stomach dropped and dread twisted in my chest. Ella, this is not the right moment.
"On the contrary," she responded, getting closer. "I think this is the ideal moment to remind you, Olivia, that you will never fit in this family regardless of how many second chances you believe you deserve."
"Ella, stop," Adam replied, his voice sharp. She turned away from him, though, fixated on mine.
Olivia said, her words cutting through me, "You've always been a liability." "And now, with what I know about your little secret, you’ve just given me all the ammo I need to ensure you stay out of our life for good."
My blood is chilly. She remained unsure. Surely she could.
"What are you referring to?"? My voice barely above a whisper, I asked.
Ella's smile grew wider as her contentment turned my stomach. "Oh, darling, don't play coy." You have maintained your secrets rather successfully. Not very good, though.
I looked at Adam, who seemed exactly as startled as I felt. He moved forward, his tone cutting. Mother, "What are you trying to say?"
Ella's eyes veered to him; her smile never wavered. "Ask your darling former wife. She will most definitely have enough to explain.
Her comments hung in the air like a noose stranding my neck. The expression in Adam's eyes stopped me as I opened my mouth to talk, to reject whatever she thought she knew.
"Olivia," he murmured softly, his voice full of mistrust and hurt. "What is she discussing?"
My heart thumping, a thousand lies and half-truths tore across my head as I froze. But Ella hit the last punch before I could respond.
"She has been keeping your daughter out of sight,
Adam. Your own blood, flesh.
The earth appeared to spin on its axis, my breath stopping as Adam turned to face ice. The treachery he saw transcends words to reach deeper levels.
His voice was hardly under control, he asked, "Is it true??" Tell me, Olivia, she is lying.
I found myself silent. Unable to breathe. The truth I had spent years buried had now burst in the worst imaginable manner, and there was no turning back the effects.
Olivia, you owe the truth to me. Adam spoke softly and under control, but the anger simmered just below the surface. His sharp blue eyes fastened on me, daring me to lie once more.
I stopped, my chest constricting as his demand crushed against me. "Adam, this isn't the place," I remarked, looking about the opulent hotel lobby where inquisitive eyes were starting to linger on us.
"Don't change the subject," he said, approaching closely.
Though tonight it seemed stifling, his presence was seductive, commanding. "Ella said enough to make me wonder," I said, not leaving until I knew the truth.
"What did she share with you?" My voice faltered, a break in the armor I tried so hard to hold together.
He chuckled harshly, his hands frustratedly combing his hair. I am a fool. I have been blind. That you have been keeping my child secret from me.
My heart fell; the earth spun briefly. Ella was knowledgeable. And Adam also followed this today.
"That's ridiculous," I mumbled, dodging his look. "She is trying to control you, Adam. Never let her games fool you.
Then tell me she is lying! His voice emerged and attracted more people in the room. His mouth closed as he leaned forward, his words a lethal whisper. Tell me I do not have Olivia, a daughter.
Desperate to say anything, anything that may diffuse the moment, I opened my mouth but no words came out.
The truth was a boulder stuck in my throat, not fit for swallowing or spitting out.
His tone became icy and his eyes narrowed. "You can't, can you??"
I shook my head and tears pinched the edges of my eyes. "Adam, kindly...,"
His voice breaking, he continued, "Don't 'please' me."
"You let me feel throughout all this time that nothing remained between us. Olivia, though, there is. She is my daughter, not otherwise.
I failed to match his look. Enough was said from my silence.
He retreated, his face a mixture of anguish and treachery. "You had no right to keep her from me."
" Adam, I—”
He held up a hand to stop me from catching a cold. "There are no more lies."
No more justifications. This is not fi
nished.
He turned and left me standing there shaking as I realized the storm I had been fearing had indeed arrived before I could reply.
- Writer
