CHAPTER 10N
Oliver
I never believed in ghosts.
But these past few nights… She’s been haunting me.N
Laura,&
Her name echoes again in the empty rooms of this house. In the bathroom mirror. At the bottom of a wine glass that’s never quite emptied. In the hush of my children’s breaths–the triplets who can’t even say their stepmother’s name without fear creeping across their faces.
And ironically, only after she was gone, the house truly felt like a grave.
No soft footsteps echoing in the upstairs corridor. No scent of lavender from her robe. No anger, no tears, no smiles–everything vanished. As if Laura had never truly existed, except in memories that refused to die.
“No way. There’s no way I could miss her.“N
I tried to fill the emptiness with noise. Work. Meetings. Formal dinners. New bodies in the same bed. But everything felt like a stiff illusion staged just to maintain control. Even after her funeral–even after I convinced the world that Laura was dead–the emptiness lingered,
And I hated that.
“Laura…” Sometimes her name slipped from my lips in half–sleep. I hated her more because she wasn’t truly gone from my mind. It was like some part of me hadn’t finished with her.N
“Pad?”
Luca’s voice broke through my thoughts. The girls had changed. Once cold toward Laura–now, they seemed more alive.
I turned to her, forcing my face into something resembling warmth.
“What’s going, honey?”
“Amber said she wants to talk to you about Sunday’s family dinner.”
Amber.
The name felt bland next to Laura, even though I admit she was my first love–someone I had longed for. Like a replica too aware of itself, too neat, too strategic. She was the perfect version of a wife fit for public display–always smiling, always knowing when to speak, when to stay silent.}
And somehow, my triplets‘ had begun to orbit around her.
Amber knew their favorite foods. Reworked their ballet and shooting schedules. Even gave them nicknames that Laura had never had the time–or opportunity–to create.
They liked her.”
And slowly–they started pushing me to like her too.
Dinner that night was a trap.
Amber sat at the end of the table, wearing a soft blue dress that showed off her shoulders and dignity. Luca and Leon acted overly sweet, overly mature. Levi even poured wine into my glass, as if to show how ‘ready‘ they were to be a complete family again.“}]
Amber gave me a smile I’d seen dozens of times in beauty magazines.§
“Oliver, I know this might not be the right time, but… the kids feel it’s time we talk seriously about replacing Laura.“}]
I just stared at her.”
Silence. The wind from the window stirred the sheer curtains, forming the silhouette of a figure standing still in the doorway. Laura? I blinked. Just the wind.”
“Dad…” Luca’s voice was gentle, like it had never known a stain. “We want you to be happy. And Amber–she makes you better.”
Better? I wanted to laugh.
Laura made me messy. Made me angry. Made me afraid of losing control. But she made me alive. Something Amber, with all her perfection, could never do.”
“I’m not getting married again.” My voice came out louder than I intended.
Amber stiffened, but smiled anyway.”
“Not now. Not to anyone,” I added.
Now it was Leon’s turn to look at me with disappointment.”
“Why, Dad? Amber already feels like Mom to us…”
And that’s where the problem lies.”
Laura may not have been the perfect mother. She might’ve been controlling–like me. But she was real. And now they–my children- wanted to repaint history, erase Laura completely. Replace her.
And somehow, that made me sick.
Dinner ended in silence.!!
I returned to my study, poured a glass of bourbon, and stared at an old photo on the shelf: Laura laughing, her hair tied up messily, eyes
wild like a storm. It was a photo 4 never showed anyone #
COQUAPTER 10
wild like a storm. It was a photo I never showed anyone.
I don’t even know what this feeling is. Even when Laura was my wife–I casually continued my relationship with Amber. Spent quiet nights with other women.
But why… after she died–did I feel hollow?
I remember this was the same feeling I had when I found out Maureen was gone.
I never should’ve let the kids condemn her as their mother’s killer, even though I knew more than anyone the pain Laura carried when she had to live while her sister went missing.
I… I didn’t say a word. Deep down, I hated her too–for making Maureen leave me, leave the triplets. I even believed Laura did it on purpose, just to have me for herself.
I should’ve hated her. I shouldn’t have married her. I only needed her to raise the triplets.”
“There’s no way I loved you, Laura. Not ever.“M
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