The Kiss that Sparked it All

“Do you think if I tell them the truth about what happened back then, they’ll be so grateful that they’ll treat me the same as you? But would they still treat you like the savior after that? I really can’t say,” Olivia said with a smirk as she paced around Mara, her stride confident and self-assured. It was a rare moment of triumph for her, after years of playing second fiddle to Mara’s lead.

For so long, Olivia had been under Mara’s thumb, but now she had her moment in the sun,

her chance to call the shots.

Alyssa was listening from the sidelines, utterly confused by the young women’s conversation. Hadn’t Mara died trying to save Balfour all those years ago? NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.

“What do you want from me?” Mara asked, her voice low, fists clenched. She didn’t know how much Olivia had gleaned from her sleep talk, or what sort of ‘evidence’ Olivia thought she had. Despite being certain she had destroyed every last photograph before she left, it was possible she had missed something. If there was any trace left from those days that Olivia could hold over her, then everything Mara had carefully built over the years could come crashing down.

No, Mara couldn’t let that happen. She had plans with Balfour, a life to lead!

Now, Ivy stood like a mountain in Mara’s path, and her old friend Olivia had turned into an adversary. People could be so unpredictable.

“Me? I haven’t decided yet. But you might want to start treating me better, don’t you think, Mara? For years I’ve been like your lapdog, always at your beck and call. When you were in a good mood, you’d throw me a bone. When you weren’t, you’d treat me like I was the enemy. I’m a living, breathing person, not your servant, get it? But I guess you wouldn’t understand how I feel, since you’re the one

who started this whole mess. I should thank my lucky stars I decided to open that door when I heard the noise from your room that night. Otherwise, I’d still be in the dark, duped by a ‘friend’ who was actually living a lie!”

Olivia laughed softly, almost as if she found the whole thing hilarious.

“It’s funny, isn’t it, Mara? A woman kills her own sister just to win a man’s heart. If you were in my shoes, wouldn’t you find this woman terrifying, cold-hearted, downright evil?”

Olivia whispered these words into Mara’s ear, and Mara, as if she couldn’t take it anymore, shoved Olivia away violently. “What do you know? You don’t understand anything, so stop making wild guesses!”

Alyssa tightened her grip on her handkerchief, shocked to her core. So Mara had been hiding this dark secret all along. It wasn’t about Balfour at all!

“I really don’t get it, Mara. Why don’t you enlighten me? Why would you kill your own sister? Even if you loved Balfour that much, couldn’t you have just competed fairly? She was your flesh and blood, for heaven’s sake! How could you be so cruel?”

Olivia frowned, and despite all the years claiming not to care about family ties, the weight of the revelation was heavy on her. But deep down, she knew she could never go through with something like that, not like Mara had with her own flesh and blood.