Page 71 of Only You

Andrew

Olivia had been relatively quiet since Andrew had made the initial announcement, and it wasn’t sitting easily with him. But then, how should a seven-year-old act when her absentee parent suddenly turns up out of the blue? When the doorbell rang at exactly eleven o’clock, Olivia had been sitting on the stairs, watching the door for fifteen minutes. Her gaze held a fixed look of concentration, and the smile she offered him didn’t quite reach her eyes. Andrew returned her smile with his brightest one, hoping she wouldn’t pick up on his apprehension. Heading to the door, he flung it open to the face of his ex-wife.

Eva looked like she hadn’t slept. She had tried to hide the dark circles under her eyes with makeup, but Andrew knew her, or had known her. Her discomfort put him at ease. This was obviously as hard for her as it was for him.

“Come in,” he said, stepping aside.

“Thank you,” Eva said, dropping her gaze and tentatively stepping over the threshold, as if stepping into a viper’s den.

Andrew took her coat and turned to his daughter, who was now sitting open-mouthed on the stairs. Eva followed his gaze, her eyes clouding over as she caught sight of the daughter she had abandoned.

“Hi Olivia,” Eva said quietly, as if trying not to scare Olivia off.

Olivia remained seated. “Hi,” she replied, her gaze fixed on Eva, “Are you my Mummy?”

Eva nodded; Andrew was not sure she could speak as he watched her swallow multiple times.

“Why do you look exactly like Ana?” Olivia asked, her confusion clear on her face.

Andrews’ body froze, the internal pressure on his chest making it hard for him to breathe. He hadn’t thought of that. Of course, his daughter was going to see the resemblance. Eva had grown her hair out, so she now wore it long, like Ana. When they’d been together, she’d always worn her hair short in a bob.

Unaware of the firestorm she was about to step into, Eva answered their daughter, “She’s… my sister. Ana is your aunt,” Eva explained.

“Daddy?” Olivia’s attention had left Eva and was purely on him. “Ana is my aunt? Is that why she’s not here?”

Andrew looked at his daughter, the pain in her eyes stealing his breath away.

“Yes, but...” Olivia didn’t wait to hear any more. She ran up the stairs, and Andrew heard her bedroom door slam.

Andrew turned to face Eva, who was currently staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the place her daughter had just been. As if sensing his eyes, she turned to face him, “I’m s-s-sorry,” she stuttered, “I didn’t know. I assumed she knew.”

Andrew shook his head, his heart going out to the woman in front of him. “It’s not your fault. This is on me.” Taking a deep breath, Andrew motioned for Eva to move into the house. “Let’s sit down. I’ll speak to her in a little while, give her time to process.”

He led Eva into the kitchen. “We didn’t tell her,” Andrew said. “How could I explain to Olivia her aunt wanted to be in her life, but her mother didn’t?” Andrew watched as Eva recoiled at his words, but if the truth hurt, he was past caring. She had created this issue. “Ana didn’t know how to answer the obvious questions Olivia would have had, so why put her through it?”

Silent tears were leaving makeup tracks down Eva’s cheeks. He couldn’t sugar-coat it, and his anger was aimed as much at himself as it was at Eva. Half his gut had told him this was a bad idea, and the other half had decided it was worth the risk. Had he now damaged Olivia and Ana’s relationship with a protective lie? Had he damaged his own relationship with his daughter? He had never seen his little girl so happy as she had been in the past few months. He, himself, hadn’t felt as relaxed or happy in years. Had he just destroyed that with one stupid decision?

“I’m sorry, Andrew. I really am. This is the last thing I wanted.” Standing up, she moved her cup to the sink. “I think I should go. Let you and Ana talk to Olivia.” Eva shook her head, her eyes filled with remorse.

“It is probably for the best… Let me talk to her,” Andrew said. “I’ll explain.”

His words sounded hollow, even to himself. He was unsure how he was going to make this up to his daughter.

Eva nodded sadly and made her way to the door. “Is Ana here?”

Andrew shook his head. “She didn’t come home last night,” he sighed. “She stayed with friends.”

Andrew jumped as he felt a hand on his arm, his eyes flying to Eva’s. “I know I keep saying it, but I didn’t come here to ruin your life. I came here to try to make amends for past actions.” She shook her head sadly. “It seems I am making things worse.”

When Andrew remained silent, Eva let herself out and walked away without a backward glance. Andrew slumped against the wall. How had everything gone so wrong?

He braced himself.

It was time to face his daughter.

Chapter Forty-seven

Ana

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