CHAPTER 1:”The Perfect Sunday”
A beautiful Sunday morning,” Daniel murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes with the heels of his hands.
It was already 8:30 a.m. He had stumbled in well past midnight, whiskey on his breath, and slept like the dead. Olivia had heard every creak of the floorboards when he finally came home, but she had stayed silent, the way she always did.
“Oh my God, I’ve slept past the time,” he groaned, swinging his legs out of bed and tiptoeing toward the living room as if the house might scold him.
Olivia was already dressed, perched on the edge of the sofa with two mugs of coffee cooling on the table. She rose the moment she saw him, a practiced smile lifting her lips.
“Sweetheart, you’re awake,” she said softly, stepping close, arms opening. “I’ve been waiting for you. We still have time to make the family meeting if we leave in the next twenty minutes.”
Daniel pulled back before her hands could settle on his chest. His fingers closed around her wrists — not roughly, but firmly enough that the message was clear.
“Waiting for me? For what?” He glanced at the clock on the wall, then back at her, irritation sharpening his voice. “It’s Sunday, Liv. Aren’t you supposed to be in church by now? Holy mother of Jesus.”
The last words came out half-laugh, half-snap. He released her wrists slowly, as though touching her had become an afterthought.
Olivia let her arms fall to her sides, the familiar ache blooming behind her ribs. She swallowed it down, the same way she had swallowed a hundred smaller disappointments before.
“I thought we were going together today,” she said, keeping her tone light, almost playful. “Ethan texted last night. He said it was important, something about the family trust papers. He wants all of us there.”
“Ethan’s already up?” He reached for his phone on the counter, thumb moving quickly across the screen. A small smile tugged at his mouth as he read whatever reply had just come in. “Yeah… yeah, he says we should head over. Don’t worry about church. We’ll catch the evening service if there’s time.”
He said this softly as he reached out to take the remote to switch on the TV. “Why the hell would Ethan invite Olivia over for this? I don’t want this piece of garbage anywhere near dealings between me and my brother,” he murmured to himself.
Olivia watched him, the coffee growing colder between them.
She had spent years learning how to read the temperature in this house. Right now it was lukewarm on the surface, but the undercurrent was the same one she had felt for months: Daniel’s real life, his real loyalty, his real excitement, all of it orbited Ethan. She was simply the one who kept the surface calm so no one had to look too closely at what was moving underneath.
She forced the smile back onto her face. “Of course. I’ll get your shirt ready.”
As she turned toward the bedroom, Daniel was already typing another message, the soft glow of the screen lighting his face with the kind of quiet affection he hadn’t shown her in weeks.
Daniel barely glanced at her as he shrugged into the fresh shirt she had laid out. “Get my car keys as well,” he said, his voice already edged with impatience. He stepped to the window, squinting against the bright Sunday sun flooding the living room, as if the day itself owed him better timing.
Olivia fetched the keys without a word, pressing them into his palm. Minutes later they were in the car, windows down, the warm morning air carrying the faint scent of jasmine from the neighbor’s hedge. She tried again, reaching across the console to rest her hand lightly on his thigh.
“Daniel… we haven’t really talked since last night. Is everything okay?”
He shifted under her touch, eyes fixed on the road. “Liv, can’t you see I’m busy?” His tone was flat, distracted. “I’m talking to Ethan as well. We can leave this conversation for later.”
On the dashboard, his phone lit up with another message. Daniel’s thumb tapped the screen, and a small, private smile curved his lips , the kind Olivia hadn’t seen directed at her in months.
Oh no, he’s ignoring me again. The thought landed heavy in her chest. How far would I go to silence this pain?
She leaned back against the seat, turning her face toward the window so he wouldn’t see the sting in her eyes. Her left hand rose almost unconsciously, fingers pressing lightly against her cheek as if she could hold the ache in place. Outside, the Sunday morning sun painted everything golden — perfect lawns, laughing children on bicycles, families walking to church. Inside the car, the silence felt brittle, like thin ice over deep water.
Daniel laughed softly at something Ethan had sent, the sound warm and easy. Olivia kept her gaze on the passing houses, swallowing the familiar lump in her throat. She had spent years learning exactly how to smooth these moments over , a gentle joke, a change of subject, another cup of coffee waiting when they returned.
Today, though, the performance felt heavier than usual. The family meeting waited ahead, Ethan’s “important” discussion about the trust papers looming like a shadow she couldn’t quite name. And Daniel… Daniel was already miles away, orbiting the one person who never seemed to require any effort from him.
She closed her eyes for a second, letting the wind cool her face.
“Just keep the surface calm, she told herself. Just a little longer”
Upon getting there, Daniel warned Olivia not to mess things up. She should know her place and speak only when necessary. He sounded a bit controlling while saying this, slowly closing the car window and getting out.
“Hey Ethan, how are you? Been a while.” Daniel hugged his brother, Ethan, while whispering some words into his ear. Ethan led him into the family home. It seemed like Daniel had completely forgotten that he came with his wife, Olivia, after meeting his brother.
Olivia stood at the doorway, unsure of herself, still choosing silence over arguments or any other conflict. She did not really understand why Daniel was always acting so nice, with a deep sense of closeness toward his brother, Ethan… making plans together that he did not even make with her, his wife. But in the midst of all of this, she chose silence over conflict and suffered inside.
“Come over here, Liv. Here is your seat.”
Ethan said, reaching out his hands for Olivia. Daniel looked at them with an envious glance, but oh well.
“Put this chair over there. I’ll sit beside you, Ethan.”
Olivia was dumbfounded, words almost slipping out of her mouth, but she forced herself to stay quiet, asking herself, Why? Shouldn’t he sit beside me? Why his brother? Once again, she chose silence to keep the peace.
