Fated To Not Just One, But Three

Chapter 236: Never A mother-in-law

Olivia’s POV

How would you feel if a funeral service was being held in your name—while you sat there, alive, forced to watch it all?

The pack house was in full swing, every staff member busy preparing for my funeral. Banners with my pictures were everywhere—literally everywhere. The preparations were so elaborate that, for a moment, I wanted to scream and tell them I wasn’t dead, that I was alive but trapped in a different face, that I was right here among them all. But I couldn’t. Not when Alpha Damien had threatened me.

I didn’t feel like eating, yet I found myself at the dining table having breakfast. None of the triplets were there—it was just me, Alpha Damien, and Lady Fiona. My eyes stayed fixed on her, and by the way she calmly ate, I knew she wasn’t mourning me. Not that I really expected her to.

Suddenly, Alpha Louis walked in. Our eyes locked, but he quickly looked away and turned to Alpha Damien.

"Olivia’s parents have been kidnapped," Louis announced.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to keep eating.

Damien raised his brows, acting surprised. "By who?"

Louis frowned. "We don’t know yet... but an eyewitness said they were taken by men in a black van," he said through gritted teeth.

I shot Alpha Damien a cold glare from the corner of my eye.

Damien shrugged. "Well, I have no hand in it... Why should I kidnap them?" he said, as if he already knew Louis was about to accuse him.

Louis growled and ran a hand through his hair. "Today is her funeral... her parents were supposed to be here to pay their last respects," Louis spat.

I looked up at him with a broken heart... had he really accepted that I was dead? Louis looked at me this time for more than a second before looking back at Damien.

"I know you have no reason to abduct Olivia’s parents, but I get this feeling you know something about it."

Alpha Damien leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "Feelings?" he said with a dry chuckle. "You’re letting emotions cloud your judgment, Louis. I have no reason to abduct them... they have their own enemies."

But Louis didn’t back down. "For your own good, I hope you are telling the truth," he said before storming away.

The dining room fell into a tense silence until Lady Fiona turned to me, smiled faintly, and spoke. "Anita and I are going to the spa tomorrow... would you like to join us?"

I stared at Lady Fiona like I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.

A spa?

I swallowed hard, my voice coming out sharper than I intended. "How can you be this calm?"

She blinked, clearly surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Today is Olivia’s funeral," I said, trying to keep my voice as low as I could, but it wasn’t working. "Your daughter-in-law. And you’re planning to go to the spa tomorrow like it’s just any other day?"

Her smile faded, but I wasn’t done.

"Even if you never saw her as your daughter-in-law—she was a member of this pack. A Luna. How can you think of pampering yourself the day after burying her?"

Damien shifted beside me, clearing his throat. "That’s enough—"

"No, it’s not," I cut in sharply, my eyes still on Lady Fiona. "You should be grieving. You should be heartbroken, or at least pretending to be. But you’re not. You’re talking about spas and facials."

Her lips tightened, but I didn’t stop.

"I don’t think Olivia ever had a mother-in-law in you. Not one that truly cared. Maybe you smiled in her face, but I doubt you ever saw her as part of this family."

The air in the room grew thick. Damien tried again, this time firmer. "Enough. Calm down."

But then Lennox walked in.

He froze at the doorway, looking between us. Even his presence didn’t stop me. I looked straight at Lady Fiona one last time and said, "You failed her. And I hope someday that haunts you."

Then I stood up, pushed my chair back, and quietly excused myself from the room.

Instead of going back to the quietness of my room, I walked out to the garden. I needed air. Maybe the morning breeze would help calm my anger... or at least stop the heaviness in my chest.

I reached the center of the garden and folded my arms tightly over myself. The wind brushed against my skin, soft and cool, but it didn’t ease the ache inside me.

Why was my life like this?

Why did it feel like I was always alone... always hurting?

Tears slowly filled my eyes, and I didn’t try to stop them. I let them fall silently, each one carrying a piece of the pain I had been holding in.

I wiped my cheek quickly, but more tears came.

I wasn’t supposed to be dead.

I wasn’t supposed to be watching people mourn me—or pretend to. I wasn’t supposed to be hiding behind another face while they burry someone who wasn’t me.

My shoulders shook as I quietly cried.

And then I heard footsteps.

I quickly turned, wiping my face roughly.

It was Lennox.

He stood a few feet away, his hands tucked into his pockets, his eyes fixed on me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence stretched between us, heavy with things neither of us could say.

I looked away, trying to compose myself, but my voice still came out small and broken.

"What do you want?" I asked, not harsh—just tired.

Lennox didn’t answer immediately. He just kept staring at me, his expression unreadable.

Then slowly, he walked closer.

My heart skipped when Lennox stepped closer.

What if he recognized me?

What if somehow... he saw Olivia beneath this new face?

I quickly wiped my eyes again, looking away in panic, but then he did something unexpected. He reached into his pocket and quietly pulled out a handkerchief, holding it out to me.

I hesitated.

"Here," he said softly. "You’re crying."

I slowly took it from him, our fingers brushing for the briefest moment. I swallowed the lump in my throat, afraid to speak. But he did.

"Thank you," he murmured, his voice low. "Thank you for speaking up for Olivia... even though you never met her. No one ever did that. Not once. And wherever she is... I know she’d be happy."

My chest tightened at his words. I wanted to just excused myself and walk away, but instead, I said, "Was she really that special?"

Lennox let out a shaky breath and slowly sat on the edge of the low stone bench beside the roses. He looked down at his hands for a long time before answering.

"She was the purest person I ever met."

His voice was raw. Honest.

"The first time I saw her, she was just seven. She was crying because a bird fell from a tree and broke its wing. I remember thinking... I have to protect her. I have to keep this world from breaking someone like her."

He paused and clenched his hands together.

"But I failed. I hurt her. We all did."

I stayed quiet, listening, my heart tearing slowly with every word.

"She was kind," he continued. "Too kind. She forgave too quickly, trusted too easily. She smiled even when she was in pain... and no matter how bad we treated her, she never stopped loving us."

He looked up at the sky for a moment, then back down.

"I would do anything—anything—just to see her one more time. To tell her she meant everything to me. That I was wrong. That I was stupid. That I let pride and anger destroy the best thing that ever happened to me."

His voice cracked. "I never told her enough. I never said it the way she needed to hear it. And now... it’s too late."

The silence between us stretched again, his pain settling heavy in the air.

And then, before I could stop myself, I whispered, "You can imagine she’s me... and say it now." noveldrama

His head snapped toward me, surprised.

I didn’t know why I said it. Maybe because I needed to hear it too. Maybe because I wanted to feel something—anything—of the love he once had for me.

"Say what you want to say to her," I added, my voice barely audible. "I’m here. Just pretend... pretend she’s still in front of you."

His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and for a moment, he didn’t move.