Chapter_41
The atmosphere in the house felt heavy, as if the walls themselves were closing in on Olivia. She stood in the vast living room of Sandalwood Palace, feeling the eerie silence envelop her. The grandeur of the place, once impressive, now seemed overwhelming, like an unfamiliar jungle that she feared to navigate.
Tyler had instructed her to stay here, and she couldn’t help but wonder why everything was happening so fast. Her mind spun with questions she didn’t have answers to. Was this a temporary arrangement? What would this mean for her relationship with him? And most of all, how had things spiraled into this urgency?
As she stood there, Linda noticed the discomfort in Olivia’s eyes and gently broke the silence. “I’ll take you to your room upstairs,” she said, her voice warm but professional.
Olivia gave a quiet nod, unable to find her voice. The notion of being alone in a place so vast, with the weight of everything pressing down on her, was unsettling.
The silence between them stretched as Linda led Olivia upstairs, her footsteps echoing in the hallways. It was clear that the house was huge—too big for Olivia to feel comfortable in, especially under these circumstances. It wasn’t just the physical space that was unsettling; it was the quiet, the loneliness that seemed to seep into every corner.
Linda showed Olivia to a room at the end of the hall. The room, like the house itself, felt grand and cold. She stood at the threshold for a moment, unsure of what to do next. She knew she had to settle in, but the idea of being alone with her thoughts in this unfamiliar place made her stomach churn.
“Here’s your room,” Linda said simply. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ll leave you to settle in.”
Olivia barely heard her. She nodded absently, still processing everything. Once Linda left, Olivia felt the weight of the silence fall around her like a blanket. She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling both physically and emotionally drained. The room felt too big for her, the shadows too long. She wasn’t ready for this, for the sudden rush of decisions and changes that had been thrust upon her.
She glanced around the dimly lit room, trying to distract herself. Her eyes landed on a side table by the window, and she moved toward it, her steps slow and deliberate. She could hear the sound of a car pulling into the driveway outside, followed by the faint echo of footsteps in the living room below.
Before she could gather her thoughts, she heard a familiar voice from downstairs.
“You’re home, Mr. Tyler,” Linda announced softly, breaking the silence.
Olivia’s heart skipped a beat, and she found herself frozen in place. She hadn’t expected Tyler to return so soon. The thought of him being in the same house, just below her, made her pulse quicken. But despite the tension in the air, she didn’t feel ready to confront him, not yet.
She glanced at the door, unsure if she should remain in her room or meet him downstairs. The weight of the situation seemed to settle deeper within her chest, and she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to steady her breath.
In that moment, she wondered if she would ever get used to the changes, or if she’d always feel like an outsider in her own life.