Olivia's pov

Marco's coming out of the room interrupted the argument that was about to turn into fire.

All eyes went towards him and I almost melted to the ground due to embarrassment. Kiara looked at the room's number and then at Marco who seemed to be staring back at her too.

I knew that different theories must have been going through their heads. Seeing that idiot man come out of the supposed room I was expected to be in already showed me what had happened behind my back. I just needed someone to save me at that time and nothing else.

“Are you leaving now?” Marco asked no other than me. Without thinking much, I nodded and quickly found my way towards him.

He was walking ahead of me while I followed quietly like a child. I could feel my sister's angry eyes on me as I left. Who would have believed that she would turn around and hurt me the way she did today? My head was becoming a mess.

I needed a total break at that too. A lot more was wrong with my thinking at this point than I thought.

I didn’t even realize we had reached the hotel’s ground floor until Marco spoke.

“Handle things your way,” he said before walking away. It was a vague and unhelpful comment. If he meant it as encouragement, it missed the mark entirely.

I wiped away my tears and glanced around anxiously. My clothes were in disarray, and I needed to leave fast before the chaos from upstairs followed me down. I found a cab and quickly got in, eager to escape the mess that had taken over my life.

On my way, my phone started buzzing non-stop. I picked it up and glanced at the screen.

“I am back. Are you at home now?” It was from my best friend Sophia. I quickly typed back,

“ I'm in trouble so meet me at home." Then I put my phone away and just closed my eyes. Was it like a curse? Like children born by a surrogate don't get to live a better life kind of thing? My heart was honestly troubled and fear crept into my soul like an unwanted intruder at night.

This was the first time that I was being so insecure about my decisions. After the driver arrived at my location, I paid him and calmed down. Surprisingly, I saw Sophia already waiting for me at the entrance. Immediately our eyes met, she jumped over to hug me so tight that I almost suffocated.

“My goodness... poor thing, you look utterly and totally devastated,” she said, gently lifting my chin and gazing at me with concern.

“What are you doing? Auditioning for the role of fairy godmother?” I retorted, my voice laced with sarcasm. She released me with a dramatic gasp, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Oh my, darling. How did you know? I actually got the role," she laughed, but I couldn't bring myself to join in. My situation was far from amusing.

Few moments later

“So, what you are saying to me right now is that you had sex with a strange guy! Someone you don't even know?” Sophia looked so perplexed.

“Yeah Sophia…. I was drugged by Kiara and landed myself in Room 401 instead of 410. I honestly don't know how to express the pain and disappointment that I am feeling right now, Sophia. I trusted her…”

“I am also shocked. It's too much for me to take seriously. I have always respected Kiara all the days of my life, okay? You respect her as well. In this pack and amongst every other person, she has been the only one standing by your side to defend and protect you so you should not be blamed for trusting her. What she did to you was so much more than an evil thing” Sophia replied angrily but calmed herself as she sat beside me.

“But let me ask you again, are you sure it was Kiara you saw?” she inquired, her concern evident. I looked at her, and she shook her head immediately.

“I’m not saying you’re lying,” she continued. “We just need to be very certain that she’s involved in all of this.”

I took a shaky breath. “She found me early this morning at the hotel, with my ex-boyfriend by her side, I mean right behind her. For the first time, she turned against me and raised her voice to humiliate me. I may not be the sharpest or smartest, but I’m not blind Sophia.Plus, she gave me room 410, and guess who walked out of there this morning? That smelly, unattractive old man who had always claimed to have a crush on me. If I had gone into that room and came out alive, I might have committed suicide myself. She clearly wanted to destroy me.”

I clenched my teeth, struggling to hold back my emotions. “All of this is enough to prove her involvement. What I don’t understand is why. Why would she do this to me? I trusted her so much” Overwhelmed, I collapsed into Sophia’s arms, tears streaming down my face. It felt like everyone was turning their back on me, and I couldn’t bear the unfairness of it all.

“It will be alright soon, Olivia. Thank goodness that you were able to discover her true colors. Now, you know who is with you and who isn't with you. That's a fair share. But I don't think it's going to be as easy as it seems now. I advise that you should brace yourself for what's coming.” We both looked at each other with her eyes trying to tell me something which I quite understood. The trouble was here already.

***

“Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!” My dad's harsh, commanding voice echoed through the house. Each shout made my heart race uncontrollably.

I stumbled repeatedly in my room, frantically searching for something—anything—though I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. I was paralyzed by fear, terrified of facing whatever awaited me outside my room.

“Olivia, come downstairs right now!” he yelled from outside. I anxiously chewed on my fingers, trying to steady my nerves. After a moment, I hesitantly opened the door and made my way downstairs, my legs trembling.

Kiara sat on the couch in front of the television, holding the remote and a cup of what I assumed was milk. As I descended, our eyes met, and I could have sworn I saw a smirk on her face before she turned away. I quickly redirected my gaze to my father, who seemed unnervingly calm despite the earlier shouting.

“When will you ever stop being such a disappointment to this family?" He asked furiously. I held the side of my dress and gulped fearfully.

“Fa-Father, I...I don't...under-”

“Oh no, you won't understand and you can never understand, you disgraceful piece of...! Argh! I have always trained my children to bring peace to the pack and also to be disciplined and to be full of morals. But you… Where were you last night?” He asked me.

“Last... last night, I... I followed Kiara…”

Before I could finish, he lunged at me, his hand swinging dangerously close to my head. I instinctively raised my arms to protect myself.

“Dad!” Kiara intervened, setting her things aside and stepping between us.

“Dad, what are you doing?” she demanded.

“I can't believe this,” he snapped. “Every time you mess up or cause trouble, you drag your sister into it! She’s always been there for you, even when you don’t deserve it, and yet you involve her in your mess. What does she have to do with you sneaking around a hotel late at night..huh? What were you even doing there? And now, Bryan said he caught you at the hotel with that old man. Is the money I give you not enough? Did you have to sell yourself so cheaply?”

“Father, just stop it!” I screamed with tears rolling down my eyes.

“Just stop it already!”

“How dare you raise your voice at me, you insolent child?!” He was going to hit me but Kiara kept pleading with him to stop.

“It's not your fault. I have been so lenient with you. That's why you're taking all my care with levity. Such a waste.” He growled and left. Kiara went back to her seat, picked up her cup of coffee, and left for her room without saying a word to me. I ran to my bedroom and shut the door instantly. I slumped to the ground and cried so hard.

I just wanted to be loved also. Was that too much to ask for?

I felt crushed by betrayal from both my ex-boyfriend and my sister. My father’s anger was so intense that he ignored all the evidence that could have cleared me.

Why didn’t he question what Bryan was doing at the hotel? Why couldn’t he consider that Kiara might have orchestrated this mess? The realization was hitting me hard. To make matters worse, I had lost my virginity to a stranger who clearly didn’t care about me or the situation I was in.

Kiara was a girl too. Why wasn't she hated on? Her mother couldn't give birth to a son either! That was why my mother was needed. Why was I carrying the burden instead of her? I had so many questions I wanted to ask but no one was there to respond to them.

The hurt I was feeling right now was too unbearable for me. There on the floor, I slept off, skipping dinner and no one bothered to call me out.

Would I ever get saved?