We are not going back

Chapter forty-four

I hadn’t been back to the house in weeks. It felt strange standing in front of the door, knowing that so much had happened since I’d last set foot here. My key still fit, the familiar click of the lock echoing in the silence as I pushed the door open. The air inside was thick with memories- some good, most painful.

I wasn’t here to linger, though. I needed closure. I had left too many things behind, both physically and emotionally, and it was time to face them. As I made my way through the hallway, the photographs on the wall seemed to mock me- smiling faces frozen in time, pretending like we were ever really happy. I knew better now.

The living room looked exactly how I’d left it: tidy, sterile, and cold. It had always felt that way- an immaculate space where nothing real ever lived. But today, it felt even more empty, knowing that after everything that had come to light, there was no going back. I couldn’t stay here anymore, not in this house built on lies.

As I turned toward the stairs to start packing, I heard the door open behind me. I froze, my heart immediately sinking. I didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

“Eleonora.”

Olivia’s voice was soft, almost hesitant, and it stirred something deep inside me- something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I turned slowly to face her. She stood in the doorway, looking… smaller, somehow. Her usual confidence was gone, replaced by an expression I hadn’t seen on her in years: regret.

“I didn’t expect you to be here,” she said, stepping inside, her gaze drifting around the room. “I thought… well, I wasn’t sure what I thought.”

I crossed my arms, trying to shield myself from the whirlwind of emotions her presence stirred up. “I came to get my things. To get some closure.”

She nodded, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. She was holding something back, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to hear it.

“Olivia,” I said quietly, “what are you doing here?”

She exhaled deeply, the weight of the world seeming to settle on her shoulders. “I came to say goodbye.”

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. There was so much between us -too much-but in that moment, all I could feel was the ache of something unfinished.

“Goodbye?” I echoed, my voice shaking slightly. “What do you mean?”

Olivia closed the door behind her and walked further into the room, her eyes not quite meeting mine. “There’s a good chance I’ll be going to prison, Nora. For a long time. Maybe forever.” She laughed bitterly. “It’s funny, isn’t it? After everything, this is how it ends.”

I couldn’t breathe for a moment. The woman who had once controlled every aspect of my life, who had manipulated and hurt me, now stood in front of me, vulnerable and lost. It was almost too much to process.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.

She looked at me then, really looked at me, and there were tears in her eyes. Olivia really never cried, at least not in front of me. Seeing her like this felt like the final unmasking of the person I thought I knew.

“I was a terrible wife,” she said quietly. “And an even worse mother. I couldn’t… I couldn’t love you the way you deserved. I tried, but I didn’t know how.”

I bit down on my lip, willing myself not to cry. “You didn’t try, Olivia. You never really tried.”

She flinched at that, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Maybe you’re right,” she said softly. “But I’m trying now. I’m trying to make peace with everything… with you.”