LOGINLeonardo She left. Melanie, not Olivia. Olivia had left first. Quieter. Melanie left with book throwing and stomping of feet, and I could hear her door slam all the way from the old library. I deserved that, but that was the whole point of her. To serve a purpose and she had served it well. The walk to Olivia’s room had been long, and although no one saw what happened, I felt that the walls of the mansion had eyes that followed me everywhere simply to judge me. In a perfect world there was no point in running after either of them, but Olivia had earned her time in the sun, and that explained why I was standing outside her door like a lost puppy. Melanie was probably in her room with the door locked and, well...throwing things around. The entire house had known about Melanie. Everyone but Olivia. Until now. I stood outside her door and waited for her to open it. Then after a few words, the lock clicked. It was not a turn but a decision. And she made a good one.
Olivia I didn’t run. I walked. Through the east wing, past the rooms that smelled like dust and old money, out into the morning air that was too crisp for how sick I felt. I made it to the main house before my legs gave out. Not dramatically. I just sat down on the bottom step of the staircase and put my head between my knees. Breathe. In. Out. It didn’t help. I’d been prepared for a lot of things. For him to be gone. For him to be with Cici, murmuring about “security protocols.” For him to use his boardroom voice and tell me to stop asking about Cassie. I wasn’t prepared for ...him with another woman. and not one that young. I wasn't prepared for the way she looked at me. Not guilty, not smug, just knowing. She knew who I was. She had to have known. The way her eyes went from me to him. That wasn’t confusion. That was calculation. That look spoke volumes...it said, "so you’re Olivia." God. How long? How long had she been here, in the part of the house I never went to,
Melanie We both watched the now-empty doorway where his wife had stood not so long ago. The door was wide open, of course it was. Why would it be closed? Privacy was for people who got to leave the house. I didn’t move. Couldn’t. Leo’s jacket still clung to my chest, and it smelled like him. Like last night. Like a mistake. Leo was awake now. Sitting up. Hand dragging through his hair, eyes on the door as if he stared hard enough he could undo the last 30 seconds of his life. We’d never said her name in this room. That was the rule. I knew he was married. Married, not separated, not “it’s complicated.” It was the reason I went to Paris.And after I came to the mansion, and he didn’t even deny it. He just looked at me with those stupid, wrecked eyes and I thought, Well, at least he’s honest about who he was. Even after being imprisoned and told to stay in this wing, I got accustomed to my new life and stayed. Because he looked at me like I was a person, not a problem. Be
Olivia I woke up warm. That was the first surprise. The second was the blanket. Tucked. Corners tight, as if someone had taken time. Like I was something worth keeping from the cold. My mouth tasted like the bottom of a vineyard, and my head was staging a revolt, but I wasn’t in my heels. Wasn’t on the bathroom tile. Wasn’t alone in the back of the car and, most importantly, I was not at the camp. Last night had been a wild ride. Leonardo's mom was a no-show, and it was Leonardo who had joined me for dinner. After dinner, he carried me. He covered me and even brushed the hair out of my face, and guess what, I was too drunk to tell him not to. God. When was the last time he had touched me like that? Just once since things took a turn for the worse . I sat up too fast. The room spun and my stomach lodged a complaint. Great. My pride told me to forget all about Leonardo's sweetness last night, continue on my pursuit in searching for Cassie, and just pretend that
Leonardo As I opened the front door to the east wing. Light spilled into the hall like an invitation I hadn’t asked for, maybe one of the maids had accidentally left them on. These are not things I shouldn't even be noticing. I should have kept walking. Out of this side of the building and into my study. Or better yet, back to my wife who by now must be snoring gently from the effects of alcohol. Instead, like a fool, I walked towards to the staircase and followed a slightly fading jasmine scent. Melanie was not in her bedroom. A perfect excuse for me to leave, but with my heart pounding I went in search of her and found her in the small library that served as a study. She was on the chaise by the window. laying down, A book face-down on her chest and my jacket thrown over her knees like she’d just grabbed whatever was warm. What surprised me was not that she had my jacket but the fact that I had forgotten it the last time I was here. That meant I was getting slop
LeonardoThe night moved better than I had hoped with Olivia. Although she was a whole lot tipsier than I would like, but the rough edge to her was gone.“I’ll have water,” I said to the waiter.“And please take the wine bottle away; my wife has had enough. " I finished, and I didn't miss the raised eyebrow look that Olivia threw my way.I had a taut reply sitting on the tip of my tongue, but luckily for the both of us, she didn't utter a word, and it died there.“Very good, sir," the waiter said and went to take the bottle but faltered. It was the slightest misstep. I wouldn’t have seen it if I wasn’t looking, but I was looking and waiting to see what Olivia would do or say.Once the waiter had cleared the table, I got up and extended my hand to her. "I can manage," she slurred her words."I'm sure you can." I said before taking her hand and putting a stop to any protests she might have about not wanting to go or about me holding her hand.We got inside the car, and she slumped agai
Cici The minute Stanley walked in with Nikolai, I knew that there was no time to waste, and as for waiting that too was gone, the time had finally come to face the music. Leonardo looked at me and then at Nikolai. To be fair Nikolai didn't have the answers either, I had invited him to come bec
Leonardo The day Cassandra was born, I thought I was going to lose my mind with emotion. Luckily I didn’t, and three months later, here we were, as she slept peacefully in her crib while I watched her. Olivia was slowly adjusting to the demanding life of motherhood and the feeding times, most
Olivia I stayed where I was, even after Leonardo's mom's warnings, I stayed put. I stayed and convinced myself that Leonardo would have done something by now if he so much suspected that the baby was not his, but he didn't except fuss over O. Yes, that's right. The morning after the visit L
Olivia I lay in bed alone, I was 41 weeks and as big as a whale. My body wracked with pain. My first thought was that it was finally happening, I'd had a false alarm before but this was it. The day I'd been waiting for, and dreading, for months. I moved to lie on my back but that seemed to wor







