Love Again (A Zayn Malik Story)

Chapter 17

 

I motioned the girl in and led her to couch. I sat down, and she introduced herself right away.

“I’m Olivia,” she said.

“Paige,” I told her.

She sighed. “I don’t know where to start. There’s so much to tell you.”

“How about you tell me how you know Mrs. Muck?” I suggested.

She nodded. “Right. Well. She’s my grandmother.”

Grandmother? I thought Mrs. Muck didn’t have kids. And how would this girl Olivia know? I’ve never even seen her before. “Mrs. Muck didn’t have any children,” I stated.

“Yes, she did,” the girl said. “She had one. And that’s what I’m explaining to you. But… I’m going to tell you a lot in a few words. Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle it?”

“Explain,” I demanded.

She looked nervous. “Mrs. Muck fell in love with this man, and he loved her. They were even engaged. But he had a problem. He got provoked by the smallest things. And whenever he got angry, he, um… He beat her. All the time.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I wouldn’t. No one would stoop so low as beating someone like Mrs. Muck.

The girl continued, “Naturally, she left him. But she found out soon after that she was pregnant, pregnant with my mom. She couldn’t deal with my mom being his daughter, so Mrs. Muck put her up for adoption after she was born. Then my mom had me. I’m Mrs. Muck’s granddaughter.”

I held my breath. There couldn’t be more to the story. But she continued,

“Mr. Muck met another guy. He really loved her. He tried to help her move on, and he wanted her to be with him, but she wouldn’t let go of the past. She lived alone ever since.”

That made so much sense. It explained why she insisted I go after Zayn. She didn’t want our fate to be the same as hers. But how did Olivia know, and I didn’t?

“Did she tell you this?” I asked.

She quickly shook her head. “My mom told me. She didn’t want me to come here, but she let me anyway. She said I deserved to know the truth. And I saw you at the funeral. You were obviously close to Mrs. Muck. You deserved to know too.”

I was still trying to process all she said. I opened my mouth to speak, but there was nothing for me to say.

“I know this is a lot,” Olivia said. “But there is more.”

I lifted my eyes to meet hers. “What is it?”

“They found her will,” she said. “And you were in it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Paige… Mrs. Muck gave you her house and what was in it, including her car and the greenhouse attached to the back.”

The room swirled around me. I gasped out the words, “She—she gave me—“

She nodded in confirmation. “It’s all yours.” She held up a small stack of papers. “All you have to do is sign these, and it’s official.” She handed me a pen.

Paper by paper, I numbly sighed each dotted line necessary. But it didn’t seem like it was me doing it. I felt like I was in a dream, watching myself sign the papers, my spirit not in my body.

After I was done, she handed me the keys. “Congrats,” she said. “You now own a house.”

Harry came in and stopped in his tracks. He awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. “Uh… Am I interrupting something?”