FIFTY FOUR

Although Levi had told her to rest up, she could not bring her mind to do that; she needed to know what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. She also wanted to know how her father was, but she knew that calling him or her mother was pointless as Eleanor would refuse to tell her anything. 

She knew that her sisters were the only way to go and since Elizabeth was more mature, she was the one she decided to call first. Elizabeth did not pick up so she tried to call Victoria and it was the same case. She concluded that they were probably in the hospital and they did not want to pick it up in front of their parents. 

She kept on thinking of how she had ruined her father’s dream of getting Skyline just because she wanted to feel comfortable. Her father’s words rang in her mind as she paced in front of the bed. ‘You can sacrifice a little comfort for great gain,’ he always said to her, and she could see that it was true. 

She should have never been considered enough to turn down the advances from that stranger that night. She should have thought of her father’s health and dreams before she tried to do whatever it was she did. Her mother must be deeply troubled since her father was in such a state. She did not know what she was supposed to do. 

She continued trying her sister’s line and then finally Victoria picked up. "Lila,” she said and Lila could hear all of the judgment in her sister’s tone. Everyone was probably at home, blaming her for putting her father in such a serious condition with her actions. 

“Before you join all of the crowd to judge and crucify me, don't you think you need to hear my side of the story first?” Lila asked and proceeded to explain to her sister the details of what had happened that night. Levi had not shown up, and out of frustration, she had a simple dance with that man. She could barely even remember what he looked like. 

“If Levi had not shown up, you should have gone back to your room or been more careful,” Victoria said. Lila let out a sigh. 

“I know, i know but it all happened in a moment that I did not really have the time to think everything I was doing over and before you know my name was plastered across the news and i was labelled a cheating partner,” Lila said She regretted what she did, and she wished that her sister had been kind enough to encourage her instead of pointing fingers at her. 

"Lila, I understand how it is with you and Levi; you are mortal enemies, but you had one chance to make this work and you blew it off.” Victoria sounded disappointed. 

"Oh, come on, Toria, not you too; what do you want from me? Do I have to live my life according to all of your dealings before you let me be?” she asked. She had been beating herself up all morning, and yet it looked like not one of her family was on her side. Everything that had gone wrong was all her fault; they made sure it was clear to her. 

“You found love in your marriage, but did you for once think that it would never be possible for me? I will be stuck in this marriage for a full year, and then after that, I will become a young divorcee and will never get the chance to experience what love feels like. Did you stop for a moment to think about how my life is turning out to be?” she asked. 

Victoria couldn't respond, and Lila heard a shuffle from behind, so she turned to him and saw a weird expression on Levi’s face. She did not know when he had gotten back in but that was not an issue; they had better things to worry about than that. “Toria, I will talk to you later,” she said, cutting off the call before her sister could respond to what she had said earlier. 

“You are back,” she said when she took the phone out of her ears. “How did it go?” she asked, moving closer to him. 

Levi seemed different; he was barely gone for long and it seemed like something had changed for him; his face was sad and disappointed. She could not tell if it was directed at her and quite frankly, she did not care about all of that. 

“Your mom has given us an extra week, and then after that we need to return home. Once we are home, we will sit down and decide what is supposed to be done,” he explained. His tone was distracted and sad at the same time. She nodded and almost hugged him in gratitude. She opened her mouth to thank him but he turned after talking and walked out of the room without looking back. 

“What is wrong with him?”