Your confession

“Nobody cares what you do, honey,” Ariel moved close to caress Ophelia’s hair, and threw it behind her shoulder. 

“I am not your honey.” Ophelia held her hand, raging, making her see a ring of colors.

“Easy..” Ariel cooed and gave that infuriating smile. “We still have to look like friends. DADDY might be watching.”

Ophelia threw her hand off and stepped back, “What the hell is your deal!” She yelled.

Ariel smiled, maintaining eye contact as she pulled something out of her shirt. 

She walked close to Ophelia, grabbed her hand even though Ophelia tried to struggle and placed the black device in it.

“You’re done, Ophelia.” She said with a smooth smile. “Your umbrella is off your head, and I can swoop down now like a hawk, take you to the mountains to feast on you with my friends.”

Ophelia felt her knees tremble at that, and she looked down to her hand to see it was a camera’s memory card. 

She looked up at her and steeled her voice, “What is this?”

“Your confession.” Ariel closed her eyes, threw her head back and inhaled, “At least what I think it will be by tomorrow morning.” 

She looked back down at that, opening her eyes with a smile. “You’ll go home,” Ariel reached back to her seat and picked up a gift bag without turning.

“You’ll take a seat like those influencers before this camera,” she shoved the bag against Ophelia’s chest. “and you’ll recount what you did to me that night.”

“You’re out of your mind,” Ophelia said through her teeth as she gripped the bag as if for support.

“You bet I am.” Ariel’s voice was firm and her face serious now as she walked closer to her till her face was just inches away. “I have been out of my mind since you took the lives of two of the most important people to me.”

Ophelia grimaced as she watched her, that night flashing through her mind.

What had she been thinking that night? Was she truly foolish, or did she just not think the plan through?

Or was it simply at the time she was not used to the idea of murder?

Because what the hell stopped her from killing this witch? If she had killed her, her bastard baby would have died with her, and she would not have to live stewing in this torment for years now.

Maybe she had been cowardly, hoping that all that bleeding would have killed her.

How could she have guessed that the woman would find a way to escape?

“I can kill you right here,” Ophelia said, her eyes falling on the dinner knife on the table. “I could kill you.”

Ariel laughed loudly at this, surprising her. “And what will you do with my body? Shove it in that tiny purse, or eat it to destroy the evidence?” She stopped, and cocked her head. “Wait. Don’t tell me you expect daddy to clean up the evidence?”

She laughed again. This time she clapped her hands. 

She finally stopped and slowly patted the tears from laughing so loudly off the side of her eyes with a wipe.

“I am not foolish, Ophelia.” She smiled, her eyes on the wipes as she folded them. “Why do you think I would come here if I knew your father still had any power to hurt me, or protect you from me.” She looked up to meet her eyes now.

“What?” Ophelia said, squinting at her. 

That made sense, but what the hell did she do to make the National leader powerless against her? 

Since she was a whore and dating a bigger man was always her strategy. Who was she going to marry now, since she was leaving Sullivan?

She suddenly gasped, stepping back, “You whore! What are you planning to do with my father?”

The confusion in Ariel’s eyes quieted her fear and by the time the woman began to laugh, she knew she had made a foolish assumption. 

Ariel bent over this time laughing, her hands on her knees and Ophelia could only stand there stiffly, watching her, even though her mind was still on that knife on the table. 

Her mind replayed picking it up and stabbing it over and over on the back of the bitch's neck exposed to her.

It would be extremely satisfying.

But the woman had a trump card she had not shown her yet. So she was helpless. 

She had to know what suddenly made her so confident to come here and talk to her the way she was doing now.

Ariel finally straightened up, and as she wiped her eyes, she said, “Damn, you are one polarizing woman.” She shook her head. “I have not laughed so much since that day you destroyed my life.” 

She exhaled through her mouth now, and it looked like she still had laughter in her. “Wow. You have caused me the most tears and also the most laughter.”

“Are you done?” Ophelia said, unable to open her teeth to speak even as her neck felt tight. “I am happy I made your day. Because this will be your last day.” 

She closed the distance between them now. “Laugh, go out and enjoy nature, hug your bastard, this is your last day on earth, Ariel.”

Ariel shrugged, “Who cares? As long as you send in that confession, we can go down to hell together.”

Ophelia squinted at her.

“What?” Ariel raised her eyebrow. “You did not believe I would die alone.” Then she began to chuckle again. “No doll, if I am going to die, you are coming right down with me.”

“You must think I am joking.” 

Ariel shook her head. “One thing I quickly learned about you is that you never make empty threats. I consider all that, rest assured.”

And Ophelia felt rage. She slammed the gift bag Ariel gave her on the table even as she heard a crushing sound in the bag. “Rest assured?”

“Now, you’ll have to get your own camera.” Ariel pouted as if at an errant child, shaking her head.

“You bitch!” Ophelia cursed, frustrated to near madness that she felt all this but still had to hold off on hurting the woman at the moment. 

“You must be delusional if you think I will record any conversation. You must be out of your damn mind if you think I will continue tolerating your blackmail.”

She moved closer to her now, “I don’t know what you are up to. But it all ends today. When the sun rises tomorrow, Ariel Sullivan will not be one of earth’s inhabitants.”

“How poetic.” Ariel grinned up at her, moving her shoulders in a shivering motion like she was tickled at the thought.