“I asked permission for us to go tomorrow, not today.”“Permission?”Elizabeth repeats.“Do you even hear yourself, Livy? Permission?”I bite my lip.“I mean, permission in the sense that we won't be followed.”“And you think he will honour that?”“Eliza.”“I know, I know, one problem at a time.”She mocks with an eye roll."But seriously, Eliza, we were supposed to go to the clinic tomorrow. Why did you have to talk to Mum?”“You mean, why did I have to seek advice from my mother? Tell me, Livy, why aren’t I supposed to speak to my mother? Why are you so ashamed of your choices that you-”“Eliza!”Elizabeth stills.“Sorry, hormones. Maybe—I don’t know! I haven’t gone to the clinic yet, and the person supposed to take me is waiting for a sign from the heavens and permission from her fiancée.”She says with a sigh.She isn’t normally like this, so for my peace of mind, I choose to believe it's hormones making her speak in this way.“Anyway, if we don’t go today, she will show up, so le
“I'm sorry."Elizabeth says suddenly in the car's silence.My gaze remains outside without answering.It's not her fault; none of this is her fault. To begin with, my relationship with Matteo is built on sand; even a small wave can wash us away.But I can't bring myself to accept her apology. I don't want to.My hand strokes Mari's hair. She turns her gaze to my wrist, which is red, not from his harsh grip but from the handcuffs."Mama's hurt."She says as she places a kiss on my wrist."You've kissed it better, haven't you?"She nods and smiles widely. Luca, who is asleep in my arms, stirs a little before closing his eyes once more."Mama?""Yes, baby.""I don't want a dad anymore.""What? Do you- do you not like him? Is he scary?""No, he's funny, and his food tastes good, but...""But?""You don't seem to like him.""Oh...but-""You get silent when you are upset; you were silent today.""Are you calling Mummy noisy?"My hands move frantically to tickle her stomach, and her giggles
The cold air whips mercilessly around us, increasing by the second.My tears, once warm, are now mercilessly freezing on my face.Mum is the first to break the silence when she looks up to the sky. After wiping one last tear, she speaks in a voice so quiet that the wind could blow it away."If you leave this house to go back to him, I won't call you again, so don't you dare come back.”With that, Mum wraps her shawl over her slender shoulders and retreats into the house without a sound.“I am so-”Elizabeth’s words don’t even have a chance to occupy my racing mind, so I don’t hear what she says even though I can see her lips moving.Tired of watching but not understanding her, my hands fly to my face to muffle the sound of my cries.Mum always has a way of tearing one down; I guess that’s just a mother’s superpower.In less than thirty minutes of our meeting, she has managed to bring to light every insecurity and fear I have about my relationship with Matteo.I told Matteo that I came
Victoria stares at the pills once more before tapping the edge of the box as if an idea formed in her head.“Here, your pills.”She says as she tosses them to me. I make no attempt to take them, and instead, I let them fall on the ground and slide to my end."I'll tell Matteo this, you don't mind, do you?”It's not really a question."The news is not yours to tell."I say in a voice as calm as I can muster."I'm volunteering. I mean, last time we had a deal, you played me. It's only right I get information from the source, like now, instead of relying on your word of mouth—Jesus, it's hard to communicate when you keep thrashing around.”Victoria says as she turns to Elizabeth, who is fighting the guard’s hold on her wrist, loudly.“Let go of me, you big bald elephant!”Elizabeth hisses at the man, but he doesn’t even budge.“I don’t get how you can handle three kids. Hey, can't you see the adults are talking? Shut the hell up.”As soon as Victoria finishes the words, she raises her ha
“The president?”Daniel asks,"I left the white house, so I don’t really know how he is, but I’d say he has high blood pressure; hell, I can bet on it.”I smile at Daniel’s answer."He is too busy trying to save his campaign to focus on anything else, but you must be happy that the protests around Lawson HQ have stopped.""I am, thank you, Daniel.”"For what? This was the plan."He says with a shrug as he begins to pull out of the embrace."For hanging on."I say, and instead of pulling away firmly, I feel his fingers twitch on the flesh of my back."Let's get inside, it's cold."He says, with a slight cough.**After a serving of hot cocoa and a play session between 'Uncle Dad' and the kids, we settled in the living room, which was already littered with Christmas decorations.It’s evening now, and the fireplace is on instead of the AC."And... he...is big."Marigold explains Matteo’s height to Daniel by standing on her tippy toes."Like a big, scary dinosaur! Rawr!"Luca adds with a
I expect Matteo's laugh. That it would be this boisterous, on the other hand, feels uncalled for."This is ridiculous."He says the words between gritted teeth."Who the fuck are you to tell me how I feel? Who are you to explain that I don't love you? Do you know how-"Matteo suddenly stops talking, sighs and lets out a loud groan."Fuck."His loud curse echoes in the night, and his breath under the freezing cold turns to misty smoke almost instantly."You are driving me crazy. How many times do you need us to be on this road? Two steps forward, eighteen steps back? I told you I loved you three years ago, three years ago and you never thought to give me a chance! I am not even surprised that you are trying to pick a fight over nothing now.”“Over nothing?”“Yes, over nothing!”He yells. I have no doubt that people in the house can hear us, but telling him to lower his voice won’t help the situation.My hands rub the bridge of my nose in frustration.Hah… it's wet; I’m crying again.Ho
"What about me? Wouldn’t you 'put me in my place too'?”I ask when his silence lasts for too long.“I mean, you were in love with your sister-in-law at the time, so imagine if a contract lover forgot her place in your life. Did you know what Victoria did to Blair? Don’t answer that; you probably don’t, so I will tell you, and then maybe, just maybe, you will understand why I left.”My fingers grip Matteo’s jacket; the wind seems to have gotten stronger. Perhaps Blair is trying to tell me to guard her secrets from the heavens.“Victoria asked a doctor to fake Blair’s pregnancy results. She wasn't pregnant, but the doctor said she was because Victoria paid them to. Do you remember such a confrontation? Blair said that you were there. Do you know she believes Christopher left because of that? Do you know what he said to her? He said, ‘If you were pregnant, I would have raised it with my wife’. So, tell me, where did I have the chance to stay by your side, to trust you?"“That was Christo
The applause, the spotlight and the overly friendly host trying to showcase her abilities seem to nauseate me.“Welcome, Olivia Lawson. It's lovely to have you on our show, ‘Good Evening Devnia’.”The host, Sharon, says as she tosses her curled hair over her back.“It's nice to be here; thank you for having me.”I say quickly as I cross my legs.It is six p.m. now, and while I was meant to be on the show's last segment at seven, I insisted on filming earlier because I am hosting my housewarming event today.“There has been much controversy surrounding your failed wedding, the president, and all that. With your help, we want to get to the root of the rumours.”With a smile, I take a deep breath at her ‘to-the-point’ way of questioning and begin.“Well, Sharon, first of all, thank you for your many, many invites to the show. I am also sorry that I couldn’t squeeze more time into my schedule, but I am here now, so fire away.”“Wonderful, so the question in everyone’s mind was mentioned b