Chapter_66
Olivia’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized the woman inside the car. Ana’s gaze met hers, and for a moment, Olivia’s mind raced with a thousand questions. Why was Ana here? What did she want?
With a cool smile, Ana addressed her, “We met yesterday, young lady. Did you forget?”
Olivia quickly gathered herself, offering a polite response. “Hi, Ms. Ana.”
Ana’s tone remained casual, yet there was something in her voice that made Olivia uneasy. “Are you still studying?”
The black car, with its tinted windows and obvious air of wealth, had drawn the attention of several passersby, the whispers and glances following them. The chauffeur, sensing the mounting curiosity, stepped forward and suggested, “Ms. Olivia, let’s get into the car. It would be better if we talk somewhere else.”
Olivia hesitated for a moment, but realizing she had no real choice, she nodded. Ana’s presence was too commanding, and the situation too strange for her to resist. The driver held the door open, gesturing for her to enter. Ana, however, seemed utterly uninterested in Olivia at the moment, her eyes fixed ahead as if contemplating something far more important.
Olivia could feel the weight of the moment—she was being swept into something she didn’t fully understand, and there was no turning back now. She slid into the car, the door shutting softly behind her, and the car rolled away from the subway entrance.
The silence in the car was oppressive. Ana’s earlier smiles had vanished, replaced by a quiet that seemed to foretell something ominous. Olivia gripped the fabric of her dress, anxiety tightening in her chest. Where were they going? What did Ana want from her?
After what felt like an eternity, Olivia decided to break the silence. “Ms. Ana, my name is Olivia Jones. Naomi is my sister.”
She braced herself for Ana’s reaction, anticipating anger or at least discomfort, especially given the tension between Ana and Naomi. But to her surprise, Ana chuckled—a low, almost mocking sound that made Olivia’s skin crawl.
“You’re Naomi’s sister?” Ana’s voice was flat, but there was something calculating in her eyes.
Olivia nodded, feeling more exposed by the second. “Yes.”
Ana’s gaze lingered on her for a moment before she spoke again, her tone oddly approving. “You’re different from your sister. She’s arrogant, but you’re polite. I don’t care about your relationship with her. What matters is who will join our family.”
Olivia blinked, taken aback by the sharpness of Ana’s words. She met Ana’s gaze, trying to decipher the meaning behind them, but the older woman’s expression was unreadable.
Ana’s lips curled into a faint smile, though there was no warmth in it. “Naomi is quite unfortunate. I’ve finally accepted her into the family, and yet she contracts such an illness. Your family is quite unfortunate as well.” She paused, her eyes narrowing. “However, we can accept you, but definitely not Naomi.”
The weight of her words hit Olivia like a physical blow. She couldn’t understand why Ana was being so blunt, why she was speaking with such disregard for her daughter-in-law. But one thing was clear: Ana’s disdain for Naomi ran deep.
Olivia remained silent, her mind racing, trying to process everything Ana was saying. The tension in the car felt suffocating.
Ana continued, her voice matter-of-fact. “It would be great if you could give our family a child.”
At that, Olivia’s heart skipped a beat. Her mind flashed back to the previous night—her brief but intense encounter with Tyler, the pull between them that neither had quite understood. And now, Ana’s words seemed to confirm a chilling possibility.
Ana knew everything. She knew about the complexity of Olivia’s relationship with Tyler, and the vulnerable position she was in. Olivia realized, with a sickening lurch in her stomach, that Ana had orchestrated this entire encounter. She had come to Sandalwood Palace for a reason—and Olivia was that reason.
Tyler, the man she was becoming entangled with, was nothing more than a pawn in Ana’s game. A pawn whose love for Naomi made him blind to the way Ana was using him.
“Tyler is willing to do anything for Naomi,” Ana’s voice was colder now, tinged with bitterness. “That’s why I hate her. Since she wants a child to save her life, I’d be more than happy for our family to have a daughter-in-law and a grandchild.”
The words cut through Olivia like a knife. She understood now—Ana wasn’t just manipulating her for Naomi’s sake. She was using Olivia as a weapon, a means to punish Naomi, to drive a wedge between them. And Olivia was helpless to stop it.
Her heart pounded in her chest, her face growing pale as the full scope of Ana’s manipulation became clear. She had no idea how she had become tangled in this web of power plays and cruelty, but she now understood the stakes.
Ana, oblivious to Olivia’s internal struggle, leaned back in her seat, her expression self-satisfied. She had delivered her message. The car continued on its path, leaving behind the chaos of Olivia’s racing thoughts.