Chapter 23
“Call the nurse! Grandpa's illness is acting up again!” Sarah screamed, shattering the moment.
Fear and terror briefly flickered across her face before she concealed them behind a flawless fa?ade of a smile.
“This happens a lot,” she explained, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead despite the cold temperature in the room. “Grandpa often mistakes me for someone else.”
Glancing at Leanne for validation, Sarah noticed that she was in a daze, frozen like a statue in her place.
“Mom!”
Leanne flinched, waking from her trance in an instant. She lifted her gaze, breaking free from her thoughts, and turned to the guests to offer an apology.
“My father has been struggling with his illness,” she said evenly. “He forgets things and becomes confused. Please, let’s pretend this never happened and enjoy the rest of the evening.”
With that, she placed a hand on Leandro's back, gently ushering him toward the door.
“It’s late, Dad. We should go to your room. Your personal nurse will get an earful for letting you wander around when you should already be sleeping.”
“I’m not leaving my granddaughter again, Leanne,” Leandro said firmly. His weathered hands tightened around Olivia's wrists, pulling her along with an unyielding grip. “I don't want to lose her again.”
Leanne halted in her tracks and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
She mouthed an apology to Olivia before shifting her focus to Leandro.
“She’s not your granddaughter, Dad,” she explained, lifting a perfectly manicured fingernail to point toward Sarah, who stood quietly, enveloped in her own little bubble.
“There’s my daughter. YOUR GRANDDAUGHTER. ”
“Hah! That’s a stranger! Not an ounce of my blood runs through her veins! She’s just an impostor!”
“Dad, that’s enough!”
Olivia remained still, her pulse thudding in her ears. She felt like a bystander in a story that wasn’t hers to interrupt, yet somehow one she was deeply entangled in.
However, she recognized the familiar stubbornness and grumpiness of an old patient and knew exactly how to manage the situation.
She gave Leandro's hand a subtle squeeze. “It's very late, Mr. Leandro. It's time for you to retire for the evening. Please listen to Leanne and get some rest. You'll feel better in the morning.”
The old man's face softened, his tone shifting a notch, becoming suddenly gentle. “I suppose you’re right,” he sighed. “But when will I see you again?”
Olivia froze. It was the question she hadn’t anticipated. “I don’t think—” The words caught in her throat upon meeting a pair of pleading eyes, strumming at her guilt like a guitar.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and summoned a smile, one that barely reached her eyes as she forced out a lie. “Tomorrow or perhaps the day after.”
Leandro’s eyes gleamed with delight. He nodded before obediently letting his personal nurse, who had just arrived, usher him to the hall.
Once he was gone, Leanne spoke with a hint of amusement in her tone. “He was never that obedient to anyone, not even to me, his own daughter. You have a way with him that I’ve never managed to achieve.”
“I suppose it comes naturally,” Olivia shrugged. “I work with patients all the time…that helps me empathize with them.”
Leanne wrapped Olivia in her arms. The motherly gesture sent her heart fluttering like a startled bird. “I'm truly glad to have met you. You're always welcome in my home, and I hope you'll come to visit again.”
"I will," Olivia replied, though deep down, she knew it wasn't likely to happen.
—
The lights shimmering in parallel along the seemingly endless stretch of highway kept Olivia entertained during the ride home while Clayton drove quietly beside her.
As she gazed out at the blur of passing scenery, her mind replayed the night on a relentless loop.
Meeting the Westmore family felt like something torn from a novel or a dramatic soap opera—where the long-lost daughter returns, the impostor is exposed, and order is restored.
The part where Olivia imagined herself as the heroine dissolved just as quickly as it formed.
In reality, she wasn’t even the protagonist.
She was a temporary replacement. A side character written in pencil, easily erased.
Yet meeting Leanne and Leandro had filled something hollow inside her. They made a missing piece of her life fall into place, if only briefly, like fitting the last fragment of a puzzle she hadn’t realized was incomplete.
Leanne’s embrace and the gentleness of Leandro’s hand felt real in those moments. But now, the warmth had faded, leaving only the memory behind.
“Did you have a good time at the party?”
Olivia blinked, her thoughts scattering like bubbles. She pulled her gaze from the window and stared straight ahead. “I did,” she said.
“I’m glad you did,” Clayton murmured, a small smile tugging at his lips. After a pause, curiosity crept into his expression. “Did Sarah say anything? I saw her pull you aside while I was saying goodbye to an acquaintance.”
Olivia smiled. The muscles in her face ached faintly from the effort. Clayton, focused on the road ahead, didn't notice the subtle change.
“My days are numbered now that Caroline is back,” she remembered what Sarah said. “Soon, you’ll leave me for the first and only woman you’ve ever truly loved.” The words hung on the tip of her tongue, but she stifled them, afraid they would come out too bitter.
Instead, she settled for a lighter reply. “Sarah asked me some things about myself. Nothing too personal, though.”
“Leanne had spoiled her rotten, which is why Sarah had become such a brat, always expecting everyone to cater to her whims. But who could really blame Leanne? She was just trying to make up for abandoning Sarah when she was a baby.”
“Where’s Sarah’s father?” Olivia bit her lip, unable to suppress the burning question any longer. She wanted the answer so badly.
“He’s serving the country and holds a high-ranking position,” Clayton replied, his tone filled with respect for someone he admired.
“But back then, he had nothing to his name, not even a decent background. Leandro fought tooth and nail to keep him away from his daughter, and for a time, he succeeded.”
He paused briefly, taking a breath before continuing. “But when Leanne found Sarah in an orphanage, he returned wealthy, powerful, and untouchable. Now, Leandro can’t do anything about him.”
“That’s a great plot for a blockbuster movie,” Olivia murmured under her breath, wide-eyed in amazement.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Clayton replied with a grin. “Wait until you hear the whole drama.”
She was eager to hear the story, but Clayton never got the chance to share it. The moment was abruptly interrupted by the buzz of his phone in his pocket.
He initially ignored it, focused on the road ahead.
“You should answer. It might be important,” Olivia suggested. Just then, the device fell silent. But a minute later, it buzzed insistently, prompting Clayton to pull over to the side of the road, where he finally decided to take the call.
Olivia observed the tension in his jaw and the intensity in his eyes, which sent her heartbeat racing. Such a fierce expression was rare for him, and when it did appear, it always signaled something serious.
A sudden wave of apprehension washed over her. Olivia steeled herself for what was to come, acutely aware that the odds were rarely in her favor. In fact, they almost never were.
“Yes, I will be there as soon as possible.”
As soon as Clayton hung up, he turned to her, cutting off any questions she might have had. “Your mom called. It’s urgent. We need to get to the hospital right away.”
Her mouth parted, questions flooding her thoughts, but one stood out above the rest: Why did Mrs. Hilton call Clayton instead of her?
“What happened?” The words barely emerged from her trembling lips.
Clayton took her hand into his.
“It's Caroline. She woke up from her coma.”
Olivia felt an icy cold air wash over her body. She couldn't move, couldn't speak. The day she dreaded the most had finally come. More real this time.
The original was back for good, and a replacement like her no longer had a place in this new reality.