Chapter 125: Scared

Lennox's POV

Seeing that Olivia was having a headache from our barrage of questions, we decided to let her be. So we left her room and walked into the study. I went straight to the bar, grabbed a bottle of dry gin, and poured myself a drink.

Did she never open them?

My heart raced—confused and heavy.

But… that couldn't be right.

"I… I got a response from her," I said quietly, my voice rough with uncertainty.

Levi turned to me, his eyes wide. "Me too," he said. "In fact, I got a response from her just two hours after we gave her the gifts."

Louis nodded slowly. "Same here. And her response made it clear she saw my gift."

We all went quiet again.

That didn't make sense.

If she never opened the gifts… how did she respond to us?

Louis rubbed his forehead. "Maybe her memory really is messed up," he muttered. "We should remember, she's not the same. Her memory isn't stable anymore."

But I shook my head firmly. "No. That's not it."

Levi spoke too, sounding just as sure. "She remembered the wrapping. The exact colors. Down to the ribbons."

"She didn't guess," I added, thinking aloud.

Louis sighed. "She remembered it clearly. But… she said it was from Gabriel."

There was a long silence.

"She must've confused him with us," Levi said. "Maybe that's how her mind filled in the blank. We gave her those gifts. Not him."

I nodded slowly. That felt more real.

Louis still looked torn. "But… she said she lost her father that day," he said. "That's not true. He didn't die; he was arrested."

My stomach twisted.

"Yeah. She might be wrong about that, but remember—he could have been hanged that day if Father hadn't intervened. Maybe her memory clung to that," Levi said.

Louis didn't respond.

I stared at the floor for a moment, then looked up.

was in them?" I asked suddenly. "Your gifts. What did you two give

They both froze.

had been

fourteenth birthday, we'd all stopped sharing

plan it together, ever since Olivia turned eight. We'd each get her something and help wrap it. Sometimes we'd even compete

that

secret. All

to show each

let

looked at them now, hoping they'd

away. Levi's

Neither spoke.

So I didn't push.

I was more curious than

in

!HOURS LATER!

my

tossed and turned in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to force myself into sleep. But it

many thoughts. Too many

Too many questions.

dragging my palm over my

Then… a knock.

Soft.

Hesitant.

flicked to the clock—it was

knock, slightly louder this

bed, walking over. Even before I touched the handle, I

Her scent.

Olivia.

the door open, and there she

she always liked, her hair messy from sleep. But what caught me

She was trembling.

parted like she wanted to speak, but nothing came out for a moment. Her

a quiet, broken voice, she said,

aside, but she didn't walk

up at

was Gabriel…" she whispered. "He—he was

My brows furrowed.

Gabriel?

Killed?

That made no sense.

piece together a response. The dream clearly shook her—her body was still trembling slightly, and she looked pale, as if the nightmare had stolen the warmth from her

I supposed to

knew, without a doubt,

than that—I knew there was

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