Ophelia “I’m sorry,” a voice said, and I looked up. The woman holding the tray of what had just crashed was staring at me with an unsettling glint in her eyes.“I didn’t see you there… I mean, I didn’t see anyone there,” she added, glancing over at Ryder, her expression shifting instantly. “I didn’t mean to spill the wine on her. It slipped from my hands” She moved closer, pretending to help me clean up but she was only making it worse by spreading the stain further across my dress.“Sophia, stop it—you’re making it worse,” Elina snapped.“It’s not like the dress looks expensive, so it shouldn’t be too hard to clean up,” Sophia muttered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. I held her gaze, struggling to stay calm and trying to read her intentions.“Elina, please take Ophelia to the bathroom so she can clean up,” Ryder said, and my eyes shot to him.“That’s all you have to say to her?” I asked, disbelief tightening my voice.“She apologized for spilling the wine on you. What else is there
OpheliaImmediately I entered the living room, Ryder's eye met mine from across the room. His eyes lingered on me.His eyes trailed slowly over me, from my head to my feet, pausing just briefly enough that I noticed. When our eyes met again, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he turned away as if brushing off a thought."Looks like Ryder's more affected by you than he wants to show," Elina whispered in my ear before she walked off toward David, leaving me with that thought lingering. Affected by me? I looked at him again but his attention was already on something else. I think she is reading his expression wrong.Before I could cross the room after Elina, Sandra stepped into my path. “I am really sorry, Ophelia, for everything you've been put through. I should have prevented all this.”“None of this is your fault, Sandra. It would have happened eventually, regardless.” I smiled at her.She pulled me into a warm hug taking me by surprise, and I could feel the genuine care radiating from her
Ophelia Sophia’s smirk told me she was enjoying every second of my discomfort, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, waiting.“Um…” I laughed nervously, glancing down at my hands. “That’s a bit personal, don’t you think?”“Come on, Ophelia,” Elina nudged me gently. “It’s all in good fun.”I took a deep breath, deciding to keep my answer as vague as possible. “Well… yes, I suppose I have.”There was a ripple of murmurs, and a few raised eyebrows, “Alright, who’s the person?”Then I noticed Ryder, leaning against the back of the couch, his gaze fixed on me with a curious intensity that made my heart skip.If I call Ryder's name, it will raise more questions. Questions I don't want to answer. Before I could go back on my decision, I blurted the first name I could think of. “Dave,” I said slowly and added, “my friend from work”There was silence for a moment.David, as if sensing my discomfort, spun the bottle again. This time it landed on him. “Truth,” he said, grinning, clearly eager
Ophelia After changing into my navy blue satin pajamas, I stared back at my reflection in the mirror. The bathroom was more luxurious than my entire apartment in London and it was freaking me out.Knowing I would be sharing a room with Ryder that night was messing with my sanity. After the kiss we shared, we have not said a word to each other. We were just avoiding each other's gaze, more like I was avoiding his gaze but he was no different.Letting out a deep breath, I made my way out of the bathroom. He was sitting on the bed, scrolling through his mobile. Realizing I was in the room, he lifted his head and spared me a glance.I ignored him and went to the dressing table. I combed my hair to remove all the tangles I got from the shower. Letting my hair loose, I contemplated whether to join him or the bed or not.I was relieved when he stood from the bed and walked out of the room. Using that chance, I hopped on the bed, covering my body with the duvet and keeping my mobile by the b
OpheliaAt the loud voice, the head cook ran into the dining room. “Who made this food?” Sophia asked again. “I am sorry if there is an issue with the food, ma; it won’t happen again,” the head cook apologized, bowing his head.Nothing was wrong with the food, I prepared them myself. I looked at everyone's faces as they ate the food. Their expressions were unreadable.“I just need to know the person who made the food,” Sophia insisted. The head cook raised his head and looked at me but didn't say anything.“Sophia I-” “I made the food, ma,” the head cook answered, breaking my sentences off. This could cost him his job. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to the kitchen but I was still confused. Nothing was wrong with the food.I took my fork and ate the pancake on it. It was okay!“This is the best food you have ever made,” Sophia said, and others nodded in approval, their faces smiling.Hearing that, my chewing slowed down and my heart calmed down.“It tastes so good. Aunty, I might stea
OpheliaAs Ryder drove, I couldn't help but glance at Ryder's profile. The hard lines of his face softened slightly, his usual tension seemed to fade away. I turned to him, catching a slight smile on his face, subtle but real. "Where are we going?" I asked, the curiosity bubbling up. I was not able to contain my curiosity."You will see," he replied, his eyes on the road, still with that hint of a smile. He didn't say anything else, leaving me in suspense. We left the busy city streets behind and drove into the open countryside. Trees and fields surrounded us, and a soft breeze filtered in through the windows.Eventually, Ryder pulled off the main road and onto a narrow road leading to a hilltop. He parked the car and looked over at me, something unreadable in his eyes. “Come on,” he said, opening his door and stepping outConfusion was etched on my face. Was he trying to lure me to the hilltop and kill me? Or push me from the top? If he, by chance, kills me, nobody will know what h
Ophelia Getting back, we went to get Ryder and I spent the rest of my day with him. Ryder had work to do so he was locked up in his home office. The house wasn't cold as it was and a flicker of hope rose in me. Maybe, just maybe it can be good for me.The next morning, I woke up early and got to the kitchen to make breakfast for Ryan and Ryder. After a few minutes in the kitchen, I was done and pleased with my work. I went to Ryder's room and knocked on the door.Immediately, the door opened and Ryder stood In front of me, dressed in a suit. His hair was styled and he smelt so nice.“Good afternoon, I greeted him and he raised an eyebrow. “Breakfast is ready,” I said, smiling softly.He looked at me for a few moments before giving me the answer that sunk my hope. “I am not hungry”“Please feed Ryan; he has been up for some while,” he added as he was already walking out the hall.What changed between the previous day and now? Why did he act so cold to me? He looked more distant to m
OpheliaWhen we entered the house, Ryder started instructing his guards while I went to put Ryan on my bed so that he could sleep well. When I returned to the living room, Ryder had dismissed the guards.As I stepped into the living room, his eyes turned to me, stormy and dark.“Did you even think for a second?” He started, his voice calm. But I knew and could feel the undercurrent of anger beneath his voice. “ How could you leave the house without the driver?” “I didn't think of a need to go with him. I knew my way” I answered, careful not to make him more angry.“Exactly. You didn't think. Do you know what would have happened to you if I had not come there at the right time? Should I tell you what was going to go wrong?” He asked, his voice raising as he spoke.“I am sorry. I didn't know all this was going to happen. I just wanted to get groceries. I didn't know people were going to recognize me so quickly and even judge me”He scoffed with a mocking look. “Of course, anyone would
Ophelia's Pov I opened my eyes to the cold room. I checked beside me but didn't find Ryder with me. The duvet was on me which I didn't do myself.I swung my leg to the floor and stood up from the bed. I headed to the living room, and I saw Mum sleeping on the couch.What is she still doing here? I thought she went home.I walked past her to the kitchen to make myself something to eat. At the sound of moving about and making noise, she woke up and sat straight, rubbing her eyes.When her eyes settled on me, she stood up immediately.“You should go home, Mum. You will have body pain by sleeping on the couch,” I said without giving her a glance.“I am not leaving until you talk to me,” I continued doing what I was doing.“And I don't want to,” I said.“Please, even if it is the last thing you do if I join your father,” I froze before turning to look at her.“Are you threatening me with that now? I have lost Dad, not you, again. Is that how you want to play it? I am angry with you but I
Ophelia's Pov I moved my eyes from the bottles on the table to Mum.“What truth mum?” I asked, curiosity eating me up.“I would like you to listen to the story I am about to tell you,” I said slowly, trying to gain my acceptance and I nodded.“When your father died, it was the darkest time of my life. I couldn't handle a kid all by myself not to talk more of two girls.I tried to handle both of you together, bring you closer, and make sure you are alright, but you withdrew yourself totally. I should have put in more effort but I didn't. I only made sure you were safe because of your illness, but emotionally, I didn't try.Olivia was the only one who I was close to so when the two of you went to university, I didn't monitor her like I did to you. I knew nothing about her love life or health,” she paused before continuing.“Few days for you both to graduate, I stumbled across your book when you wrote about hating a guy Olivia was with. Then I started looking after her and that was when
Ophelia's Pov As the car drove from the station to the house, Olivia's confession didn't leave my head.How? How did it happen? I have always blamed her for everything but I was the villain in her story. She was hurt because of me.As I rested my back on the passenger's seat, my thoughts went back to 20 minutes before I left the station.******“Since when and how long do you have more?”“Since I was in university. I had a breakdown and was rushed to the hospital, tests were conducted and I knew about it. I don't know how long I have but I know it isn't soon.”“Why did you tell Mum or me?” I asked as a tear escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheeks.“It was bad enough I was the black sheep. I didn't want to make Mum worried. It was hard seeing her breakdown during Dad's death and how she struggled. If you don't notice, she still dies and that is why she buried her head in work.”“You should have told someone, we could have helped. Is there any treatment for it or any way you can man
Ophelia's Pov “Why?” I paused trying to brace myself together, “I didn't take dad from you. I never did,”“Really? You didn't?” She moved her chair and fixed her gaze on me. “Who was his perfect princess? Why read day and night to make sure Dad is proud of her? Who goes to meet Dad any chance she gets so he can spend time with her? Who was Dad's favorite?”“Olivia—” I started, but she interrupted me.“You made him distant from me. Then you came sick and all the attention was shifted from both of us to only you. Only Ophelia deserves to rest while I go to school activities. Only Ophelia deserves 24/7 monitoring. I began to fade and I became your shadow. It was all about you,” she screamed with tears flowing down her eyes.She is getting it all wrong, or is she right with what she said?I was suffocated and choked. I blamed my sickness for that and envied Olivia whenever she could go anywhere she liked or do anything she wanted.“I didn't know you felt that way,”“You wouldn't because
Ophelia's PovI sat in the interrogation room waiting for the officers to bring Olivia out.The sound of the door opening reached my ear, and I saw Olivia enter the room.My eyes met mine immediately, and I offered a little smile, which she returned forcefully.“Hi,” I said as she took her seat.“How are you doing?” I asked and she shook her head.“Shitty,” she replied and I nodded, looking down my fingers.“I know. It isn't the best place to be in,”“Are you finding means to get me out?” She asked.“Not yet—,”“Why?” She interrupted me with her voice harsh. I looked into her eyes, and for the first time, I saw something I had not noticed before.Anger.“Olivia, why?” I asked, maintaining eye contact with her. I watch her eyes transition from anger to confusion.“What?”“Why did you do all of these? Why did you hurt your family? Why did you hurt me?” She didn't reply to me; she only held my gaze for a few seconds.“Do what, Ophelia. You and Ryder should find out how to get me out of
Ophelia's Pov Three million dollars.The amount kept ringing in my head. The amount was huge. Why did she take a loan of that amount and what did she use it for?“Got it,” Dave said and gave me his phone.I read through her information, and every line I read got me more confused.I looked up from the phone back to Ryder. “How is this all true?”“There are pictures to prove it; scroll down,” Dave said, and I did as he said.There were a few pictures of her, from old to recent, but a picture caught my eye, and I zoomed in on the picture.The cloth. It looks familiar. I went to the search bar and typed my name. Many articles popped up, but I went to the videos and searched for the video of that day's accident. There was no video of the accident on the web. But I saw it while I was in Brazil.At that moment, Ryder came down and I turned to him immediately.“Ryder, the accident video is not on the web anymore,”“Yes, I took them all down,” he said, sitting down next to me. “Why?” he a
Ophelia's Pov As I watched the video, I felt a strangling knot in my stomach.Paul was on the call with someone as he placed about.“Did you do everything I asked you to?” He asked the person on the other side.“Listen to me. Go to my place and do exactly as I instruct you unless the boy dies,”“Talk to you later, Olivia. I have to feed the boy,”On hearing Olivia's name, the knot in my stomach tightened.I turned to Ryder.“She knew,” I said and he nodded.“That is the only evidence we got that the kidnapping is tied to Olivia,”Wow.“I need time to process this,” I stood up and walked to our room.I lay on the bed and closed my eyes, wishing that what I saw would disappear, but it only got clearer.I knew Olivia was tied to it one way or the other but confirming it now was hurting me more than I thought.After some time, I felt fatigue slowly kicked in and I slept off.******Waking up from the bed, I stood up and went to the bathroom to wash my face before leaving the room.I went
Ophelia's Pov Desmond and Ryder were checking all the CCTV cameras around the side where we found Ryan.They are looking for any connection with Olivia.I was with Ryan as he played with his toys. His little fingers moved busily as he stacked colorful blocks on top of each other. His soft giggles filled the room.I felt my phone vibrate beside me and I removed my eyes from Ryan to my phone.I saw 5 missed calls from Dave. When did he call that I didn't pick up? My brows furrowed. I looked at Ryan to make sure he was alright before calling him back.“Hi,” “Ophelia, are you alright?” He asked directly.“Yes, I am. How is Lily?” I asked.“She is fine. We are married,” the line went silent after that.The words settled in, a strange tightness forming in my chest.“Erm,” I cleared my throat. “That is good; I am happy for both of you,” I said, my voice coming out tighter than I intended.“Ophelia, I—”“It is okay.” I cut in, forcing a small smile even though he couldn’t see it. “You are
Ophelia's Pov A heavy silence fell over the room. The implications of what we had just uncovered were unsettling. Could Olivia have orchestrated Ryan’s kidnapping? Why would she do that if she did?I glanced at Ryder, his jaw tight, his hands clenched into fists. His expression was unreadable, but I could sense the storm brewing beneath the surface. Gina sat stiffly on the couch, her fingers twisting together. “I— I don’t want to believe it,” she whispered. “But if she could do this to Ryan, what else is she capable of doing?” Ryder exhaled sharply, running a hand down his face. “If Olivia did this… If she put our son in danger…” His voice trailed off, but the quiet fury in his tone was unmistakable. “She faked her death and framed me, what else can she not do?” I asked aloud, trying the grasp the realization we just made.A cold shiver ran down my spine. Olivia had always been manipulative, but would she really go that far? To harm an innocent child? Her biological child?