Counterfeit ✓

Chapter 40

THE NEXT MORNING, Mila walked straight past Oliver. She didn't want to have a conversation. The most important thing was finding a solution and Oliver didn't help. However, he planned something else. Soon enough, he caught up with her and blocked the way to the headquarters.

"You're not even talking to me."

Mila raised her eyebrow. Oliver was an important person in her life and yet she couldn't understand him now. She didn't even want to understand him. She let out a sigh, took a step back, and crossed her arms. Mila looked at him from head to toe and hoped he'd step aside so she could move on.

"Mila, please talk."

She bit her lip. "You trust Elody more than Thomas and me."

It weighed on her mind. It had affected her for a long time, but yesterday something broke. She refused to endure how Elody twirled him around her finger like it was no problem at all. Like he allowed it and didn't even think about his friends anymore. About Thomas, who had been his friend for a long time.

"I don't trust her more than I trust you or Thomas. I just want to find a way to freedom. We all want that, don't we?"

"Of course, we want it all. But you shoot down our ideas like they mean nothing."

Oliver put his hands in his pockets. "I'm just being realistic."

Mila burst out laughing. "This whole situation is realistic." She pointed around her. "We live in a camp in some forest where we can't find a way out. Do you think it's realistic?"

He kept his lips tightly together. On his face, Mila remarked he didn't want to blame her, and yet he didn't utter those words. Like there was a fear in him somewhere she couldn't get out of him. Like someone had a grip on him and he lost his way.

"I'm here for you." Mila reached out and squeezed his hand. "Let me in and trust me. You're avoiding the truth, Oliver. I don't know why."

Oliver stretched his shoulders. "I don't know either. It seems like there's a blur swirling in my head that I can't handle."

"You can start with Thomas. You hurt him because you didn't believe in his story about my injuries."

"It sounds-"

Mila interrupted him. "You're not even open to the theories. You follow Elody blindly."

"I'm not blindly following her. I simply believe in facts. I can also blame you for just chasing sentimental stuff."

"Sentimental?" Mila took a step back. "Thomas and I don't react sentimentally. We are looking at a wider framework, hoping to escape. Only facts can't help us move forward."

Oliver pointed towards the two of them. "We can't figure it out. You believe in your business and I believe in mine."

Mila swallowed. "We can still lay the puzzle together."

"What puzzle is there to fix with the belief Stephen is still alive?"

He was stubborn. Incredibly stubborn. Mila had met no one in her life who was so reluctant about anything because he didn't like it. She left her head hanging and stared at the mud. Her shoe left an imprint. Finally, she looked back into his eyes. They were once on the same page.

"You'll find me around Thomas if you change your mind. I hope you will also do so. Only together we make a difference."

Mila didn't give him a chance to respond. She pushed him aside and threw the door shut in his face. She had had enough of the games he played and just wanted to head back to her family. Thomas sat at the table, stared at the big paper, and then wrote a few words in his notebook.