Breathe
by;michimichiro
Chapter 23
It had been a few days since the explosive confrontation where Oli revealed Clint's supposed affair to my parents. The emotional turmoil had begun to settle, but a new storm was brewing that would shake my family to its core once more.
I was sitting in the living room, still feeling raw, but trying to regain some sense of normalcy. My father abruptly burst through the front door, his face red with unbridled rage.
"Zia! I just got a call from Clint. He swore up and down that the whole cheating situation was an elaborate setup!" he shouted.
"A setup? What in heaven's name is he going on about?" said my Mom when she heard what my dad said.
"He did some digging of his own after we broke things off. He claims to have proof that Oli and her friend Zyke hired some actress to pretend to be his mistress, just to trick us all!" Dad said angrily.
I felt like I'd been punched in the gut as the blood drained from my face. I opened my mouth, but no words came out at first.
My mother was the first to find her voice. "That...that can't be right? Why would those two go to such depraved lengths?"
"I don't know; maybe they are against Clint because they took too far!" my father roared, stalking across the room. "But if there's even a shred of truth to this, I swear...
"No! You can't!" I cried out desperately. I had gone pale and looked like I might pass out.
Both my parents turned to gape at me, momentarily stunned into silence by my outburst.
I swallowed hard. "Oli, Oli, and Zyke, they...I asked them to do it," I said.
A stunned hush fell over the room. My father looked like a pot, ready to boil over with fury.
"You what?!" he bellowed. "You asked them to fabricate such an unconscionable deception against your fiancé?"
Tears started streaming down my face. "I... didn't know how else to get out of marrying Clint! I've been in love with someone else for years, but I was too scared to go against your wishes for this marriage. When Oli and Zyke started suspecting Clint might be cheating, I... asked them to take it further so we would have undeniable proof to break off the engagement." I said.
My mother looked horrified. "Zia, how could you be so deceitful? Mom said.
"Because I knew neither of you would accept my reasons for wanting out!" I cried. "You were both so set on me marrying Clint from a respected family; you never would have understood my heart still belongs to Eli all this time."
"Eli? That no-account you knew?" My father's face contorted with disgust.
"I've never stopped loving her," I pleaded, desperate to make them finally understand. "When you threatened to disown me and pull out your shares of Zyke's father's company if I didn't break things off with her, I had no choice. But the feelings never went away, no matter how much I tried to move on with Clint."
"And you thought resorting to outrageous fabrications was the answer? Destroying an innocent man's reputation with vicious lies?" My father's face had turned an even darker shade as his fury reached a boiling point.
"I didn't want to hurt Clint in that way! You have to believe me," I begged. "I just...I just wanted to be free to pursue the one I've ever truly loved. Is that so wrong?" I said, crying.
"I've had enough of this nonsense. For your own sake, it's clear you are not to be trusted or allowed any further unaccompanied with these friends of yours," he said.
