Episode 3
1417 Words
Glimpses of the Past
Olivia's POV
Olivia, you cannot constantly run from me.
Adam's remarks cut across the quick thumping of my heart as it echoed down the empty corridor. His feet matched mine, steady and purposeful.
Stopped nowhere, I turned around nowhere. Neither could I. The truth had wrecked everything, and I had no idea how to put the bits back together. My feet clicked on the marble floor, then his voice returned, louder and more sharp this time.
Stop walking away!
His command halted me midway. My breath halted as his fingers gently turned my wrist to point toward him. His blue eyes whirled with anguish and rage, a storm of emotions I wasn't ready for.
"Let me go, Adam," I implored, my voice quivering even with my best effort to seem robust.
He strengthened his grip instead of letting go. Instead, he came in closer, his presence both enticing and repressive. No, not tonight. Not precisely.
Drawing my arm free, I aimed firmly at him. "What do you want from me?”
"I want the truth!” His voice split, the words unpolished and raw. "I deserve that much, don'ts I?"
I looked away, my chest constricting under the weight of his stare. You think the truth will make all right? You're driving me out of your life will erase the years I spent barely surviving.
His jaw tightened and he obviously annoyedly ran his fingers through his hair. Olivia, you were not shoved outdoors. You went. "Because you left me without an option!" I turned back, my voice rising with the tidal wave of emotions I had long buried. You were icy, far-off, and obsessed with control. You loved what I presented, not me.
"That's not true," he responded, his voice down now but still somewhat strong. I greatly loved you. I will continue.
Like a hit to the belly, the revelation grabbed the air from my lungs. I turned to hunt for a hint of dishonesty, but all I saw was suffering and desperation.
You cannot say that, I answered, shaking my head. Not entirely following all of it.
He drew nearer, healing our distance. "I mess, Olivia." Let pride and family meddle. Though, I will say, I never stopped loving you.
Though his words hurt, the walls I had built around me would not come down. Adam, nothing is enough for love. Then, much as it is today, it was inadequate.
His fingers held my cheek gently but firmly. That is indeed feasible. If so,
I allowed myself to believe him momentarily. His eyes showed a frailty I had not noticed before that made my will wobbly. But suddenly the truth of our situation passed over me like a tidal wave.
I said, "Adam, this isn't about us anymore," stepping aside. "This has to do with Sophia".
Her name came to him like a dagger to his heart. He looked at me, resolution mixed with sorrow on his face.
She has Olivia as her daughter. I also refuse to let her grow up thinking I turned aside her.
I pulled hard; my voice was hardly audible above a whisper. And what if being in her life does more harm than good?
His eyes sharpened and his bitterness surfaced for the first time. "You have no say over it, personally. I am her father whatever way you like it.
Tears welled in my eyes as though I wanted to let them fall.I followed what I thought would be best for her. I moved between us to protect her from the chaos and the misery.
And in doing this, you denied her a father; his voice faltered. "Do you think that's fair to her?" "To?" seems to be the question.
Though I could not let him see it, the guilt was strangling.
"You are naive of what it was like, Adam. You have no concept how much I have evolved. "And you are not aware of the extent I gave up to ensure her safety," he replied. "Let me show you that the guy you left behind is not me."
Clearly, we disagreed; the air smelt of unspoken words. I wanted to believe him—that he was able to change—even if the scars he had left were too fresh and the wounds too deep.
Shaking, I said, "I'm not sure if I can do this."
Taking my hand, his touch steadied me among the whirl of chaos in my thoughts. "You only have to be here for her; right now you have no decision to make. For your own profit. Start first one at a time.
Before I could respond, steps echoed down the hall. We both watched Ella Caldwell approaching us, her face a mask of frigid hatred.
She snared, her voice full of scorn, "Isn't this a heartwarming scenario?" One thing, though, Olivia, is quite evident. Never will you and your daughter live with this family.
Adam stepped forward to meet me, his stance defensive.
Ella's eyes tightened as she pointed at the two of us alternatively, saying, "Stay out of this, Mother." Adam, you think you could protect her from me? You are powerless even when defending yourself.
My blood got cold in line with her threat. "What are you setting aside, Ella?"
Her grin was unpleasant; her words far more so. "Let us just say, darling, you have produced a formidable adversary. I also am not lost.
Her warning hung in the air like a thunder cloud, and I knew—terrible clarity—that the struggle was far from done.
Adam looked at me, his expression austere as Ella disappeared into the night. " Olivia, she won't stop. Are you aware of that?
My heart dragging down, I nodded. AND neither will I. Regarding Sophia's best interests.
Deep down, though, I knew this was more than a struggle for my child. It was a war for our future—a future Ella would do all in her power to wipe out.
Olivia, you twenty-four hours to make decisions.
Adam's voice was icy, but his words' desperation cut more than their stark quality. Usually a whirl of emotions, his eyes were abruptly opaque.
My pulse hammering in my ears, I staggered back. Regarding the choice one should make? Adam, what are you really debating?
He approached, his weight suffocating in the poorly illuminated space. "About whether you're going to let Sophia's life include me—or if I have to follow a legal route."
His remarks felt to me like a physical blow; the room seemed to lose breath. Not one would.
His teeth closed, the pain flickering on his face betraying his otherwise stoicism. Talk to me.
I shook my head, contempt and incredulity bubbling under surface level. You are threatening me right now?
You would utilize the courts to force yourself into her life following all of this? Into my grasp?
"This isn't about us anymore!" he screamed, his voice ringing off the walls. "This talks to my daughter. With regard to flesh and blood. You took her from Olivia's house. You think I would just watch and let that slide go by?"
"I was shielding her," I yelled, my voice barely under control. "Protective of her from your family, from Ella, from the toxicity that destroyed us."
Pointing between us, "And what about shielding her from this?" he asked. "From early years wondering why her father was never there?"
Tears burned there even though I forbade their flow from my eyes. Adam, you have no idea what it has been like. You're gone. You are not allowed to return acting as though you have all the solutions."
His shoulders sank, the fire in his gaze replaced by something darker. "Maybe I don't." Still, I will find it out.
As I am not leaving her. Again not once more.
Between us, the silence felt heavy with unsaid words. I could see the gaps in his armor, his regret and will warring inside him. I couldn let myself, nevertheless, soften. Not quite yet.
Before I could say anything, the door behind us creaked open and Ella walked into the room grinning horribly.
"Tick-tock," she muttered, anger glittering in her eyes.
"better let Olivia make the right choice. Would you now like to lose everything?"
Her comments sank like a rop
e stranding around my neck. Time was running out and I had no idea how to save the life I had fiercely labored to produce.
- Writer
