The Kiss that Sparked it All

“What?”

Mara’s head snapped up, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at Ivy, completely baffled by her sudden interrogation. Ivy, seizing the opening, pressed on with her questioning.

“Why are you so adamant that Grandma had an accident and fell? Is there something you saw that you’re not telling us?”

“I didn’t see anything, okay? I just think she is getting on in years, and as much as we hate to admit it, life is full of accidents, isn’t it? And how that Balfour’s hanging on your every word, it’s like nothing I say holds water anymore. That’s fine and all, but shouldn’t you be the one trying to calm him down instead of letting him fret like this?”

Mara’s reply was quick, her voice laced with a tinge of hurt.

“Oh, really? Is that what you believe?” Ivy wasn’t about to be hoodwinked that easily. With everything that had happened, Mara had earned a prime spot on her list of suspects. Original from NôvelDrama.Org.

But without hard evidence, Ivy couldn’t just blurt out her suspicions. What if Mara took it as a personal vendetta?

Balfour touched Ivy’s hand gently and said, “Let’s not get bogged down with this. If we can find evidence, great; if not, we’ll just have to wait for Grandma to wake up.”

“She will wake up,” Ivy stated with a conviction that seemed to steady Balfour’s nerves as well.

“Why don’t you two head back? We’ve scoured the surveillance and come up empty. Staying on won’t do any good, it’ll just wear you out.”

Olivia had remained silent through it all, her head bowed, lost in thought.

Mara still wanted to stay, but this time Balfour disagreed, “I’ll have the driver take you home. It’s not convenient for you to stay here. If we need your help later on, I’ll reach out.” As they settled into the driver’s car, Mara still looked like someone had stepped on her toes, while Olivia leaned against the car door, gazing out the window, deep in thought.

“Why didn’t you back me up when I said I wanted to stay?”

Only then did Olivia turn to look at Mara with a hint of sarcasm. “Can’t you see that Balfour and Ivy don’t want you there?”

“What are you talking about? What do you know, huh? Balfour doesn’t feel that way. He just couldn’t say it outright. I’ve known him for years; I know him better than anyone. what are you? Sitting there pretending to read his mind! If it wasn’t for you, I could have stayed. It’s all because I brought you along. I should have known better, what a jinx.”

Olivia chuckled, “Oh, I’m the jinx? Yeah, I remember how you begged me to come so could use me as an excuse in front of them. And now I’m the burden? Mara, sometin wonder if you have a heart at all.”

Mara didn’t answer Olivia’s jab but instead questioned why Olivia had contradicted her earlier.

“I warned you not to make those insinuations in front of them. Both of them were there when you asked me what I meant. Are you implying that I have something to do with this?”

Olivia fell silent. It wasn’t until after they got out of the car and watched the driver speed away that she turned to face Mara. “Do you really not understand why I said that? I was trying to save your hide, you know. Didn’t you realize you were making it too obvious?”