Chapter FortyThe Presentation OliviaThe conclusion of the prayer marked the transition to the next event of the day. As the guests rose from their bowed heads and quiet reflections, a subtle ripple of movement spread through the court. It was time to proceed to the grandeur of the throne room, an experience that I had never encountered in my life before.Though awe-struck by the opulence and elegance of the palace, I knew I had to maintain an appearance of nonchalance. My role as a nanny who had somehow found herself amidst nobility and royalty was a precarious one. I couldn't afford to appear surprised or out of place; it would only arouse suspicion from Sebastian and his family, who believed me to be a princess from a distant royal lineage. Sara and Mitchie had made up a new life for me based on lies, and I had to keep up with it, I had no other choice.The journey to the throne room was accompanied by a sense of anticipation. The nobles and dignitaries in attendance walked with
Chapter Forty-oneSeeing A GhostOliviaI was confused, I pinched myself multiple times, to be sure I wasn’t dreaming and this wasn’t some sort of nightmare. I was totally confused, wondering if I was just seeing things because I really wanted to bring her to the party like I had promised, or this was really real.I kept my eyes fixed on her, and she didn’t flinch, she didn’t move, she kept her eyes fixed on me too.I was so lost in thought, that I had forgotten that I had stopped for minutes through the dance.Sebastian grabbed my hand, raising his eyebrows, “are you okay?” He asked. He didn’t stop, he kept on moving and swaying to the rhythm of the song, pulling me along with him.I looked at the position I saw her, and she was still there, staring at me like she was looking through me, like she could see through me with her gazing eyes. I looked back at Sebastian, wondering if I should let him know what was going on, I didn’t know if I should just show him. The woman we all though
Chapter Forty-twoThe Reception OliviaThe lady bowed to me, she perhaps so what I wore and believed I was a royal member. “You don not have to apologize, Your highness.” She stated.I took a step back, retreating from the situation I had foolishly created. I had allowed my desperation and the pressure of my promise to cloud my judgment.I could only nod at her, I still couldn’t get my eyes off her, or even move a bit, I was still totally confused of everything going on. just felt like a movie, filled with mysteries, and a puzzle which needed me to be complete, but there was a missing piece. The missing piece of this puzzle was what I had to look for, I knew I saw the right thing.“Is there anything I could help you with, Your highness?” She asked.I just kept staring at her, wondering what I should say in response. Then, I decided to ask if she was the only one who came for the event or if she came with someone, and if so, I wanted to know if they were wearing the same clothes.I wa
Chapter Forty-threeSophia, SelenaSebastianWe made sure each and everyone of the guess had left before we headed back to the court.As we walked, I couldn’t help but wonder what Olivia might be thinking, I wished there was a way I could get in her mind and find out what she was planning, and how she intend to bring Sophia to the kids party.Everyone know Sophia was dead, they knew she had been dead for years, I was confused of why Olivia would make such promise in the first place, it could only mean one thing. It could only mean that she knew something, she was aware of something she should never have known, and now she was going to use that to fulfill her promise.Whatever she would know about Sophia would only have a bad effect on me, it would only destroy me and everything I had built for years. The mystery behind Sophia’s death, what really happened that night, I must not let anyone know about it. It was a secret I had kept to myself for years, a secret I didn’t want anyone to k
Chapter Forty-fourThe Husband SnatcherOlivia I stirred from my sleep, turning to the other side of the bed to see that Sebastian was already up and gone, again. The room felt emptier without his presence, and a sense of solitude washed over me. My mind began to race through the events of the previous day, like a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. Everything that happened raced through my mind, like a recap.I thought about the throne room, where I had mistakenly believed I'd seen Sophia, I thought I saw a ghost, and I was the only one seeing her. It was such a shocking moment for me, and my heart had leaped with the idea that maybe, somehow, she was still alive. But, as reality had it, the person I'd seen was Sophia's younger sister, Selena.A sigh escaped my lips as I sat up on the bed, tangled in the sheets and in my thoughts. Selena's return to our lives was a perplexing turn of events, I didn’t know Sophia had a sister who had an uncanny resemblance of her until the day befor
Chapter Forty-sixThe New JobOliviaI was bewildered. What was she saying? What was she talking about? It was the first time I'd seen her, and I didn't know where she'd heard such things. My marriage to Sebastian had been forced upon me, not something I'd desired. Yet now, she was accusing me of snatching her sister's husband? It was difficult to comprehend."I do not seem to understand, Selena," I murmured, my voice low."Of course, you wouldn't understand," she snapped. "You took my sister's place in this family, and now you want to erase her memory for life? What do you think you are doing when you promised the kids that you will bring their mom to their party?" She yelled.I glanced around anxiously, hoping no one would hear her shouting and come to investigate. That would deny me the chance to request her help with the predicament I now found myself in."You want to pretend to be their mom so you can force yourself into their lives and force their mother out, right? Isn't that w
Chapter Forty-sevenThe ShoppingSebastian This job would be my ticket to keeping Olivia by my side and watching over her steps so I could get to know what she was planning, how she intends to bring Sophia back.I turned to her and forced a smile on my face, I had to pretend like I was very cool with her and there was no other reason of giving her that job except that I wanted her to work. “We have to go get you new clothes and a makeover too.” I smiled and turned to the door, “let’s leave early so we could get back home with the kids too.” I added and headed for the door.We got into the car and zoomed off to the salon first, it was where I always take my kids to for their hairdo.The hairstylist there rushed to me as soon as she saw me, a big smile on her face.“Your highness.” She bowed, “we have been expecting the princesses, I have a new hairstyle that will suit them perfectly.” She added.I smiled, “I am not here to make the kids hair, but hers.” I pointed to Olivia, “take her
Chapter Forty-eightThe QuestionOlivia“This is the perfect dress for you.” The attendant said to me with a big smile on her face.I looked at the dress in the mirror again, it fit perfectly and it was just as if the dress was made just for me. I had been trying out different dresses and clothes for some minutes now, but this one fit just perfectly.I turned back to the attendant with a big smile on my face, “I’ll like to show this to him.” I stated.She nodded, “of course ma’am, as you wish.”With that, I headed out of the dressing room to go show Sebastian how I looked like. I could still remember what he said to me and how he had made me understand that I could never take the place of his late wife in his life, and I wasn’t even ready to do that, but I just wanted to make my own place.I wanted him to see me for who I was, to see my intentions and not just see the one who wants to take his wife’s place.I got to the waiting room to meet no one, Sebastian was nowhere to be found.
Chapter One Hundred And ThirteenThe Perfect Family 2Olivia“I am glad to finally meet you, father-in-law,” Sebastian bowed.I had never seen him bow for anyone except his parents.“By the time your survey is done and you’re back on your feet, you’ll have to share a drink with me for taking good care of your daughter.”Dad smiled again; his struggle to speak continued.“We should leave now; I can see that you’re heading out,” Bert said, and I nodded at him. “I will see you when you get back.”“You should keep this with you till we see again.” I handed the box over to him.“But you…”“No but, Bert. Keep it with you. We will also head out now.” I responded and turned away immediately because I knew he might want to argue.We got into the car with the kids and headed for the beach resort, which was only known to him. The kids and I sang along with the song that was playing on the radio, and Sebastian eventually joined us. It was such a happy journey to the beach. When the kids stopped si
Chapter One Hundred And TwelveThe Perfect Family 1OliviaThe chirping of the morning birds woke me up from my quality sleep. I opened my eyes one after the other and lay there on the bed for minutes, remembering how sweet and loving my life has been since the past few days.It’s been over a week since all that happened, and we have watched Sophia getting the deserved punishment for what she did to us; she was sentenced to years in jail. I was glad that I got what I wanted at the end of everything, the perfect and loving family I prayed for.I thought I had already lost the child I gave birth to years ago; I thought I was never going to see him. Still, I never knew that the heavens were preparing something special for me. It was just as if these kids came into Sebastian’s world to secure a place for me before bringing me in. Now, I was with my kids and my loving husband, one who would do anything for me.After the ordeal at the hospital, we never heard from Sara and Mitchie again, an
Chapter One Hundred And ElevenThe Biological MotherOliviaThe distant echoes and cries seemed to call me back from a long sleep. I gasped and jumped up; my head made a loud noise as my eyes were hit with the sunlight.Slowly, I laid back on the bed, trying to remember and understand what had happened. My ears were still so blurry, and I could still hear my name like it was being called from a distance. I could see people staring right at me in the face, fanning me and calling on me, but I couldn’t tell who they were; the blurriness in my eyes wouldn’t let me.I closed my eyes back, trying to chase away the blurriness, and when a hand grabbed mine, the warm touch made me open my eyes again, and I could see clearly now. Sebastian and the kids, they were the ones there.“Thank goodness, thank goodness,” I heard him murmur.“Olivia!” The kids chorused.I couldn’t say anything; I tried to remember it all, how I got here and what happened to me, but it was hard. I closed my eyes back, try
Chapter One Hundred And Ten The Surrogate MotherSebastianI could no longer hold back; I had to see her, I had to see for myself that the doctors were saying the truth because I still couldn’t believe it. I jumped up from the floor and pushed the door to the ward room open. I met one of the nurses there who was trying to cover her up.“Stop!” I yelled and pushed her away. “She’s not dead; she can’t be dead. She is just sleeping; she is just trying to scare me.” I fell beside her and held her hand.The coldness of her head, the now stiff limbs and closed eyes, her pale face and dry lips, the flat and steady tone of the pulse rate monitor, all of that was a testament to my emptiness. She was gone like they said, and I was left to figure myself out.“No! Olivia!” I screamed out, tears gushing down my eyes.I shook my head multiple times, I pinched myself countless times; it couldn’t be true. It was just a terrible nightmare that I could still wake up from.“Please don’t punish me this
Chapter One Hundred And NineSorrows. Prayers.SebastianI shook my head, struggled, and pinched myself. I closed and opened my eyes, blinked several times just to be sure that I wasn’t seeing and making up things, that what I watched was real, that what I heard was the truth, but it was hard.How could Sophia do this to me? I felt more miserable than before, I felt dumb and used. How could I have believed all that she showed me for love? I could remember how she was so persistent, how she kept on asking the pins and passcode of everything I possessed; I thought she was just curious.How could I have been so dumb? I hung my head; I thought I possessed so much authority, I thought I was a man people looked up to, but I was nothing. I was just an empty barrel, someone who would mistake obsession for love, one who could be easily manipulated.I had never felt vulnerable in my entire life, but watching all that, I realized that I had been more than vulnerable; I also played dumb. After I
Chapter One Hundred And EightThe Final HearingOliviaBert had refused to go home the previous night, he stated that he wouldn’t be calm after leaving me all alone. I was glad that he was here, because it wouldn’t have been easy or even the same without him, I was grateful to him.He was always there for me, unlike my stepmom and stepsister, they weren’t even bothered about what was going on in my family, they didn’t even call me once to ask how it was all going. I hope that someday they would realize their mistakes and apologize for it.“Good morning, Vivi.” Bert came out of the room and pulled me into his embrace.I felt so calm and safe with him. Even though Bert was much more younger than me, he had that leading ability and aura that made him feel like an elder brother to me, maybe because of his gender, but he had always been protective and supporting.“How are you?” He asked and I nodded at him. “Are you sure you don’t want to eat anything before we leave? You know you have to
Chapter One Hundred And SevenThe Truth Behind The Night 2OliviaGetting back to the quiet and empty home, I left Edie and Bert standing in the main room and rushed up, not considering my condition.There was no importance of my condition and life is Sebastian wasn’t there, I had grown too fond of him that living without him seemed so impossible, I couldn’t imagine that. After we made up and began to live a happy and fulfilling life, I never imagined staying without him, it never came to me that there might be a time I wouldn’t be able to be with him, I would have planned and thought about how to deal with it.But who would wish bad on themselves? I got to the room and stopped for some minutes, resting on the door as I tried to catch my breath. Even though my life or my baby would be of no importance if Sebastian wasn’t there because he was the one made me, I still had to look after myself and the baby.I knew I would get something that would help him out from there, I knew I would
Chapter One Hundred And SixThe Truth Behind The Night 1Olivia“Sebastian!” I stood up and rushed to him as soon as he was brought into the waiting room.I didn’t know he kept avoiding eyes contact with me throughout the trial, he didn’t even look at me once and that kept tearing my heart apart.“Why did you do that, Olivia?” He asked and I could see the pain and hopelessness in his eyes. “Why did you have them adjourn the case?” He asked.“We did it because of you, we know there is something suspicious about this case and we need to find that.” Attorney Fred said.“He is right, Sebastian, we need to bring you out of here.” I added.“You shouldn’t have done that, Olivia.” He shook his head and took his seat. “It wouldn’t change anything, I will still get the same judgment and sentence.” He shook his head again. “Doing this won’t change my fate, Olivia.”“But we still have to try, you can’t just let you get punished for what you didn’t do.”“I did it.” He said briskly. “I did it all,
Chapter One Hundred And FiveThe First TrialSebastianStepping out of the van and standing in front of the courtroom made my heart raced, it felt like I had seen this before, like I had seen this scene before, just like I saw it all coming but didn’t act well enough to avoid it.I knew there was no other way out now, I would have to face the truth and accept whatever punishment they give to me, because I deserve it all. I stared at my handcuffed hands, this was what I was scared of, this was the reason I tried to stay away from any other woman and even Olivia for those months after our marriage.Now, I was face to face with my fear, I was facing my reality and there was no escape for me. If only I had told everyone the truth about what happened then, if I had told them what happened that night, maybe it would have been easier to get away from this, but now, there was no way out.“Come on.” The cop said and grabbed my hand, dragging me into the courtroom.At the door, we met with Sop