"Olivia, dear… can you hear me? It's me, your mother." I heard my mom's panicked voice through the mind link.
"Are you okay? What's going on? Do you remember me? It's your mother!"
I frowned, realizing I had forgotten to tell her about my plan.
"Mother, calm down… I'm fine," I said softly.
There was a beat of silence, then a soft, shaky sigh of relief from her end.
"You're sure? Alpha Levi just contacted me through the mind link. He said you're suffering from memory loss and false memories."
"That's what I made them believe, Mother…" I murmured, lowering my voice as I moved toward the window. "But I'm fine. Completely fine."
Her confusion pulsed through the link. "What? Olivia… what are you talking about?"
I exhaled slowly, watching the wind play with the leaves outside. "I'm pretending. Faking the memory loss. It's part of the plan. I want them to let me go."
"Olivia…" her voice dropped, almost like a whisper. "You're lying to your mates? Your Alphas?"
"Yes," I said, firm and cold. "Because it's the only way they'll let me go. If they think I don't remember them—don't love them—they'll loosen their grip. And when they do, I'll finally be free."
Her silence stretched for a moment too long. Then she said carefully, "And what if they find out? What if they realize you're faking it?"
"They won't," I said sharply. "They're too focused on trying to fix me. Too wrapped up in their guilt and desperation to notice what's right in front of them."
"And if they do?" she pressed, her voice tight. "Lennox isn't the forgiving type. Louis… he'll be angry. And Levi—"
"I don't care, Mother! I will go on with my plan. All I have to do is to continue playing that I'm love-sick with Gabriel and keep begging that they let me go to him. Once they do, the rest will be history," I said.
She was quiet again. But this time, I could feel her pride, even through the worry. "Is Alpha Gabriel aware of your plan?" she asked and I frowned.
"No, Mother, I haven't had the chance to talk to him yet, but now that you've reminded me, I will," I assured her.
"Okay. Tell me what he thinks," she said, and I nodded, even though I knew she couldn't see it.
"I'm so proud of you, my little angel, and I believe your father is proud of you too—wherever he is," Mother said, her voice filled with pride. Tears gathered in my eyes, but I held them back.
"Mother, I'm preparing a surprise for you. Don't worry, you will see it soon," I said, referring to my plan to expose Anita's father.
"I can't wait," she said with a chuckle. "The Alphas want me to come back, but don't worry. I will tell them I got food poisoning and will have to rest for the next few days… don't worry, I will act well."
I chuckled. "Of course, Mother… I got my acting skills from you, remember?"
We both laughed softly, and I felt some of the heaviness in my chest lift.
"Soon, you'll see the surprise I'm preparing… just stay patient." Follow current novᴇls on novel·fire·net
"I can't wait," she said with a chuckle, and with that, our mind link faded.
I stood there a moment, letting the silence settle in. My heart slowed, calm and steady.
Then—knock knock knock.
I already knew who it was.
I turned and walked to the bed, carefully sitting down, arranging the blanket over my legs. I kept my expression soft, my posture a little weak, just enough to look fragile.
"Come in," I called out gently.
First in was Lennox, holding a thick novel in his hand. His soft eyes scanned my face carefully before he stepped closer.
"You'll be bored in here," he said quietly, offering the book. "This… might help. It's a good one."
I smiled politely, taking the book from him.
The moment I looked at the cover, I felt a jolt.
It was the exact same novel I gave him on his seventeenth birthday.
The same one I annotated, marked with little hearts and underlined quotes. I never knew he still had it… and it seems so new, like he preserved it somewhere. I thought he might have thrown it away.
A tiny glint of happiness sparked inside me, but I didn't let anything show on my face.
"Oh," I said softly, flipping it open casually. "Looks interesting. And it's romance."
I looked up briefly and caught the pain in Lennox's eyes.
But I blinked it away, pretending not to notice.
Then came Levi, stepping in with a small speaker in his hands. "I figured you might want music," he said, setting it gently on the bedside table. "I… uh, made a playlist. You can listen if you want."
I glanced at the speaker, then picked it up.
As soon as the screen lit up, I saw the playlist name: O&L Vibes.
My chest tightened, but I forced it down.
"This is nice," I said lightly. "Thank you. It'll help with the silence."
I couldn't believe he still had this.
He looked like he wanted to say more, but didn't. He just nodded and stepped aside.
Then came Louis, walking in with a small tablet. He handed it to me carefully. "I downloaded a movie," he said with a nervous smile. "You might like it. It's called Flip."
Flip. My favorite movie. When it first came out, Louis had found a way to get an early download just for me. We watched it together three times in one night.
But now, I only smiled, tilting my head slightly. "Hmm. Haven't seen it before. Thanks, Louis."
He looked as if he wanted to say something, maybe remind me—but instead, he just nodded slowly.
The room fell quiet as all three brothers stood around me, all three staring with a look in their eyes. A look of warmth. The last time they all looked at me this way was before my fourteen birthday.
"Apart being married to Gabriel and being his mate… is there anything else you remember?" Lennox suddenly asked, and I frowned, looking up at him. There was a certain look in his eyes, and I could feel it—something was coming. And it wasn't going to be good.