Bound by Betrayal (The Mafia King Captive Bride)

Olivia

I stepped out of my car, the morning sun beating down harshly. As I made my way into the house, my eyes swept across the sitting room, landing on the familiar sight of the swinging chair where Daniel Harlow usually sits to drink his morning tea.

I should feel remorseful, but I felt nothing; I’m certain Ashley is dead by now too.

With a malicious chuckle, I adjusted my jacket and started heading upstairs. I need to leave this country immediately with my mom and provide her the life she has always desired.

Reaching her room, I twisted the door handle and hesitated, hearing her voice engaged in a heated phone call. “Adelaide, you just can’t seem to understand,” my mom exclaimed in frustration before sighing.

Adelaide, my mother’s best friend and my godmother, is currently in the US. So hearing her voice caught me off guard, causing a wide smile to suddenly spread across my face as I rushed to enter the room. However, her next words instantly froze me in my tracks. “Charlotte, you know you’re the primary reason Olivia is struggling through this difficult time in her life,” she said, her tone piercing through the phone line.

What… are they talking about?

I took a step back, holding the handle as I quietly eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Honestly, Adelaide, you know how much I love Daniel,” my mother said, her voice laced with defensiveness. “He was mine first, before Doris even entered the picture.” Her words only piqued my curiosity further.

Doris was Ashley’s mother. What are they discussing? How did my mother contribute to the pain that has lingered deep inside me since childhood?

As I stood silently by the door, a multitude of questions began swirling in my mind as I continued to listen to their conversation. Fortunately, my mother’s phone was on loudspeaker, allowing me to hear every single word.

Suddenly, Aunty Adelaide’s deep sigh brought me back to the present, and her next words cut through the air like a knife. “He was never yours, Charlotte. Let’s be honest for once his heart has always belonged to Doris, even back in high school. I warned you, but you refused to listen.”

“Adelaide, please, stop,” my mother begged, her voice cracking with emotion. “Do you think I don’t regret every single thing now? Looking at Olivia, her life is a mess because of my selfishness.” I watched as she wiped away a tear from her cheek.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Of course, you should regret it. You betrayed your best friend’s trust in the worst possible way. You hurt Doris deeply by sleeping with her husband. Daniel never truly loved you; he only saw you as a sister. The bond between you two was never there from the start.” Aunty Adelaide’s response was upsparing.

“Stop it, stop it!” my mother yelled, before breaking down into sobs. “Adelaide, please, stop it!” Her desperate pleas sent my heart racing, and I felt my legs turn to jelly. I was stunned, unsure of what to make of Aunty Adelaide’s words.

What was she revealing? What secrets was she uncovering? I gasped, shock etched on my face, as I struggled to process what I just heard.

“Come on, Charlotte, pull yourself together, okay? It is morning already, Daniel will need breakfast, so just go see him. I’ll call you later,” Aunty Adelaide said before the line went dead.

My mom remained silent, and I heard the phone beep, signaling the end of the call. I waited a few more minutes, trying to process everything I had just heard, but nothing made sense. Confusion and shock still lingered, so I spoke up, my sudden words jolting my crying mother upright.

“What is Aunty Adelaide talking about?” I demanded, my voice firm. My mother turned to face me, startled by my sudden presence.

“How long… How long have you been standing there?” she stammered, her eyes darting nervously around the room.

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I pressed on, my tone unwavering. “I heard everything, so start explaining.”

She quickly averted her gaze, her eyes darting around the room as she nervously fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. “It’s just Adelaide being Adelaide, nothing to worry about,” she forced a smile, attempting to exit the room.

But I swiftly slammed the door shut, locked it, and pocketed the key. “Do I look stupid to you? Start talking, Mom!” I demanded, my sudden outburst making her flinch. Shock flashed in her eyes.

“So, Ashley’s mother was your best friend, but you told me that you two never knew each other,” I accused, glaring at her for lying to me for years.

I couldn’t bear the thought of believing what Aunty Adelaide had just revealed, because if it was true, it would mean that my own mother had been feeding me lies for years.

“Fine!” she screamed, her voice cracking. “Since you want to know everything, I’ll tell you.” She sniffled, brushing her hair back, a mix of regret, pain, and frustration flashing in her eyes.

“Your father was my childhood crush, and at a point I became obsessed,” she admitted, her voice trembling. “We grew up in the same neighborhood, and I even went to the same school as him, hoping to be close to him. But sadly, my love was one-sided.” She sniffled, wiping away tears.

“He only saw me as a little sister, with no romantic feelings or intimacy. It hurt to see him give another girl, Doris, the love and attention I craved. So, I befriended her to understand what made her so special.”

I shook my head, still reeling from the shock of her revelation, which was different from everything she had told me before. “Mom,” I said, trying to process the truth.

“I thought their love would only end after high school because Daniel left for his masters after school, but to my surprise, after two years, he came back and married her,” she paused her pacing and turned to look at me.

“But do you know the worst?” she asked, and I raised my brow in curiosity. “That fool rubbed it in my face and made me her maid of honor.”

“So I couldn’t bear it. Their love was suffocating me, and every night, I was left alone in my house, consumed by pain!” Her gaze locked onto mine, and I felt a chill run down my spine. “So I did the unthinkable,” she continued, her voice trembling.

“Daniel was everything to me – rich, charming… and I couldn’t have him. So, I set Doris up with a pervert, just to destroy their relationship and their home.” I staggered backward, my back hitting the wall as if punched in the gut.

This was exactly what I did to Ashley.

“Then she was few days pregnant, so heartbroken, Daniel came to discuss the issue with me… I already have everything planned, so I drug him and slept with him.”

I screamed, my hand flying to my mouth in horror. “No, Mom!!”

“That’s how you came into existence,” she said, a sad smile on her face.

“Mom why? Why would you do such a thing? Now I see why he was never in my life because I remind him of your atrocity!!”

“Adelaide warned me, but I wouldn’t listen,” she sobbed uncontrollably.

And I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. “You deprived me of a father’s love for twenty-two years of my life,” I accused, tears streaming down my face. “You lied to me!” I exclaimed, my voice cracking with pain.

“Please, my child, forgive me,”

“I spent years blaming him and hating my own sister!” I snapped. Clutching my heart in pain as regret washed over me like a tidal wave, drowning me in sorrow.

“Look, we can still fix this,” she said, her shaky hands reaching out to touch me as I dropped the bombshell.

“Fix what?” I spat, my voice laced with pain. “He’s dead!” Her hands froze, suspended in mid-air.

“Who?” she whispered, her eyes wide with horror.

“I killed him,” I wailed, my head shaking in agony. “I killed my father… I killed Daniel Harlow!”

“WHAT!!!” Charlotte screamed, her hands clenched to her chest as if grasping for air, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

“Tell me you’re lying!” she begged, shaking her head in denial, and stepping back from me as if retreating from a nightmare.

Gritting my teeth, I wiped away my tears and turned to face her, my anger and pain simmering. “I killed him last night,” I spat, the words tumbling out like a dark confession.

“NO!!!!”