Chapter_2
It was a formal expression of gratitude. Olivia looked up at him, but the coldness in Tyler’s face remained unyielding. He must have truly loved Naomi, she thought, or he wouldn’t have agreed to such a ridiculous plan.
She stared at him for a long moment, unable to read his expression. Her voice faltered slightly when she spoke. “Hmm, I just want my sister to be… well, my father as well.”
Tyler’s response was simple, detached, “Sure.” Then, in a voice that was as calm and polite as ever, he added, “Should I send you home?”
Olivia shook her head quickly. “N–No need. I can go home by myself.”
He didn’t press the issue, simply nodding in acknowledgment. He was mature and wise in a way that made Olivia feel small, uncertain, and painfully out of place.
As she left the hotel, the dizziness from the weight of everything—everything she’d done and been forced into—began to overwhelm her. The sun burned relentlessly overhead, as though the world itself was mocking her internal ache. Her heart twisted painfully as she made her way home alone.
Once there, Mrs. Jones was waiting for her, holding out a bowl of medicine. Olivia didn’t ask what it was. She had long stopped questioning anything they gave her. Under Mrs. Jones’s urging, she drank it quickly, the bitterness of the liquid filling her mouth.
Mrs. Jones was hopeful, too hopeful. She spoke of the child, the future, as if Olivia’s body was a vessel for someone else’s dreams. Olivia’s father and Mrs. Jones were getting old, and Mrs. Jones could never be Naomi’s surrogate. The responsibility—this unimaginable, suffocating responsibility—fell on Olivia’s shoulders.
She wasn’t sure how much longer she could bear it.
“You must take more initiative, Olivia,” Mrs. Jones added, her voice clipped, as if there was no room for hesitation in this matter.
Olivia didn’t even realize she had a say in any of it. She simply felt ashamed, as if they were watching her, judging her every move. She felt like she was trapped in a play, the actors reading their lines without concern for how she felt.
“Aunt,” Olivia said, her voice barely above a whisper as she tugged at Mrs. Jones’s sleeve. “Can we do the pregnancy test first?”
Mrs. Jones paused, considering the request. It wasn’t something that could be rushed, but she knew Olivia’s state of mind. With a resigned sigh, she nodded. “Sure.”
Tyler, for his part, wasn’t exactly skilled at comforting her. He sat next to her, his expression unreadable, completely unaware of the emotional turbulence he was causing with his words. He hadn’t even realized the small gesture of offering her candies had upset her. He set them aside, unsure of how to fix whatever had gone wrong.
After what felt like an eternity, the car finally came to a stop, and Olivia looked up, startled. Outside the window, the hospital loomed in the distance, an imposing building that felt like a prison.
Tyler glanced at her, unaware of the internal storm swirling within her. “Since we’re at the hospital, do you want to visit your sister?”
Olivia stiffened. She hadn’t seen Naomi since she’d been admitted. Their relationship had never been close. Naomi was always the perfect daughter, the one with the golden life, the one everyone adored. Olivia had always felt like an outsider in her own family. And now, the pain of their fractured relationship felt too much to bear.
Tyler, aware of the distance between them, said, “She’s been moody. I’m sure she’d be happy if you visited.” His tone was casual, like a suggestion, not a command, as if he didn’t expect her to do it, but the words still felt like pressure.
Olivia’s hands instinctively clenched into fists. “Has her illness… gotten worse lately?”
Tyler didn’t answer right away, and Olivia’s heart dropped. His silence was answer enough. She clenched her hands tighter, her nails digging into her palms, trying to hold herself together. Naomi’s condition had to be worse than she’d imagined. The thought of it twisted something deep inside her, making her wonder if she was the cause of it all—if Naomi’s illness was somehow a punishment for the decisions Olivia had made.
But even as that thought surfaced, she couldn’t shake the feeling that, despite everything, Naomi was still the one who had everything—love, devotion, a life she would never be able to reclaim.