Chapter 5
By the time Olivia got home, it was almost midnight. But she felt nothing for that place anymore—she wasn't about to waste another second thinking about Leon.
She packed up everything in a hurry, but no matter how hard she searched, she just couldn't find the sandalwood pendant necklace her mother had left her.
Olivia's eyes snapped open in shock. 'Rachel! That necklace she was wearing at the auction—that was Mom's pendant!' The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.
She frantically dialed Leon's number, but the line was busy.
Olivia felt her scalp tingle, her limbs go weak, and she was gasping for breath.
Fear washed over her, and she stumbled out the door, still in her slippers.
She hadn't gone far when she spotted Leon's Rolls-Royce parked by the artificial river in the neighborhood. Rachel was nestled in his arms, the two of them enjoying the moonlight, lost in their own little world.
Olivia saw it with painful clarity—right there on Rachel's neck was the sandalwood pendant necklace that had once belonged to her mother.
Olivia felt like her sanity was going up in flames. She rushed forward, knocked Rachel to the ground, and frantically tried to rip the necklace off her neck.
"Give it back! Give it back!" Olivia yelled, her voice cracking with anger.
"Leon! If you don't hand over that necklace right now, I'll set your whole place on fire tomorrow!" she shouted, her eyes wild with anger.
Rachel was pinned beneath Olivia, flailing her arms and cursing her as a lunatic.
Suddenly, a loud slap echoed in the air.
Leon slapped Olivia across the face, knocking her aside.
Her frail body twisted, and her head hit the bridge pillar by the river—blood streamed down her face in an instant.
Leon was stunned by what he'd just done, staring at his own hand in disbelief.
"Olivia are you okay?" he stammered, his voice trembling.
He reached out, his hand shaking, but before he could touch Olivia, Rachel had already huddled into his arms. Leon had no choice but to hold her instead.
The sandalwood necklace had snapped, beads scattered everywhere, rolling across the ground—Olivia was left clutching just a few in her hand.
"Leon, it hurts so much! She's insane, totally lost it! Look at my neck, she scratched me!" Rachel cried, her voice shaking with panic.
"She even threatened to burn the whole place down! Let's get out of here! Just ignore her!" Rachel sobbed, barely able to get the words out between her tears.
Rachel was already a mess, sobbing uncontrollably, crying and blaming Olivia for everything.
Leon anxiously checked the scratches on Rachel's neck, then quickly dialed for an ambulance.
Olivia tried to hold back her tears, but they just kept coming, like she might cry herself dry right then and there.
She looked up and saw Leon and Rachel all over each other, their closeness stabbing at her heart like a knife.
Her heart was so numb from all the pain, she barely felt anything anymore. Now, even the last thing connecting her to her mom was gone—and Leon only cared about Rachel. 'Guess that's all I ever meant to him,' Olivia thought bitterly.
Olivia forced herself to stay awake, refusing to drown in the sea of sorrow.
Leon hung up the phone and turned back to her with a troubled expression.
"I'm sorry, Olivia," he said softly.
"Don't blame Rachel. I was the one who gave her the necklace. I already bought you a ruby necklace as compensation," he added, almost as if that settled everything.
As he spoke, the ambulance arrived. Leon scooped Rachel up in his arms and gently placed her on the stretcher.
He turned back to Olivia, trying to justify himself, his face full of conflicted emotions.
"Rachel she never got to enjoy anything good as a kid. If you want to blame someone, blame me," Leon said, his voice thick with guilt.
Olivia couldn't help but find it ridiculous. She blamed both Leon and Rachel, and she hated them both.
One of the paramedics quietly asked Leon if they should take Olivia to the hospital first—her injuries looked pretty bad.
Leon didn't even hesitate before refusing, just urging them to hurry up and get Rachel into the ambulance.
He gently patted Rachel's head, comforting her in a soft, soothing voice.
"It's okay, sweetheart. Go to the hospital and let the doctors take care of your injuries. Don't be upset, alright? Make sure you don't get a scar," he murmured, his voice full of concern.
Olivia clung to the bridge pillar, blood pouring down her face and stinging her eyes, turning the world into a red, blurry haze.
It felt like there was a gaping hole in her heart—every breeze seemed to rush right through it, threatening to shatter her completely.
She longed to go home, but maybe this place had stopped being her safe harbor a long time ago.