She saw Freya running past her, heading towards their parents’ arms. Her legs moved a step forward, but quickly stopped. She took a deep breath, her fingers dug into her palms. How much she had longed for their affection.
She watched as they hugged Freya, showering her with kisses. A part of her wished she was the one in their arms, but sadly, she had no place in their hearts.
"Oh my God! You have grown so thin." Sofia caressed Freya’s cheeks. "Are they not feeding you properly?" she asked with so much care in her voice.
"I’m all fine, mother. We are training to be soldiers," Freya replied with a smile.
"I told you not to co here, but you and your father went behind my back to apply for the school." Sofia pouted before glaring at her husband, who was busy staring in a particular direction.
She followed his line of sight, and her eyes landed on Olivia. A smile ford on her lips. "Co, let’s go greet your sister."
Sofia pulled Freya and her husband towards where Olivia was standing. Every step they took closer felt like a sharp knife digging into her chest. Olivia felt her chest tightening—was it from anger, or was it from anticipation? She couldn’t exactly tell.
She stared at her parents’ faces. They did look good, the feeling of familiarity suddenly felt too overwhelming for her.
"Olivia, I’m so happy that you made it back alive," her mother said with tears streaming down her eyes.
She held Olivia’s balled fist, gently caressing it. "I missed you, my baby." She cried before kissing her hand.
Her father stared at her with so much longing and care, but he refused to make a move. Olivia would have felt over the moon if she had not been discarded by her parents. But everything felt like a joke to her.
Freya stood behind their parents with that sa playful smirk on her face, which Olivia wanted to wipe away so badly.
"You have changed, Olivia," her father said with concern, as he noticed that her eyes were blank and her face was devoid of emotion.
"Yes, Father, I have changed. I have been betrayed, and I have encountered death nurous tis. I have watched people die. I have killed nurous monsters, and I have watched my friend die. So tell , why wouldn’t I change?" she replied coldly, her eyes staring coldly at her father.
Her father shifted his legs, blinking his eyes nurous tis, unable to et her gaze.
"That’s life, Olivia. I’m glad that you have grown up," Sofia said, tapping her hand.
Olivia scoffed, retracting her hand from her mother’s grip. Although it was warm, and it was sothing she had longed for... she felt nothing sincere from them.
"Sure, it really is life. Thanks to you three... Thank you all for your betrayal," she said slowly, letting her words sink into them.
"How dare you be this rude to your parents," Sofia scolded.
"Parents? They died the mont they threw under the bus. You all thought I would die, but I didn’t," she said, walking towards her mother. "The mont you chose her over , and chose to give my life over for hers, that was the mont my family died. I no longer have any parents."
Sofia’s hand trembled. She couldn’t believe that her once timid daughter would beco this bold. What had she done wrong? She only chose the daughter she had loved the most... but Olivia had survived. Does she have to be grumpy about that?
"Do you think you would have been here if it wasn’t for my decision? Would you have dread of becoming a soldier? You would have ended up at the bottom of the rank," Sofia spat out.
"And that was exactly the life I wanted. At least I would have held onto my innocence, and I would have been happier than now. And your decision could have killed too." Olivia smiled sadly at her mother.
Her father’s heart tugged with pain, as if soone had used a hot searing knife to cut his heart open. He regretted his decision that day. He had only wanted his girls to grow up happy. He had thought he was doing the best thing for his family, but he never realized how much he had destroyed Olivia’s life. Even her smile was nothing but pain and sadness.
This wasn’t the daughter that had left ho. He cried inwardly, his heart wailing for destroying his daughter’s happiness.
"Don’t talk to Mother in that manner. If you are not willing to be her daughter, I am enough for them," Freya said, her fist tightened.
Olivia wanted to feel angry, to have the urge to yell at them, to feel the need to cry, to show them how much their decision had broken her. But instead, she felt numb, hollow, and empty.
Strangely, she had no feelings towards them. They were already dead to her.
"If you all are done, I have to go now."
"Olivia," ca her father’s voice. "We are sorry for hurting you. I am very sorry for taking that decision. I’m sorry for destroying your chance for finding happiness." The pain and sincerity in his voice almost made the wall around Olivia’s heart crack.
"That’s why we are here, to apologize," her mother chid in. "And to ask of you... to take care of your sister," she added.
Olivia scoffed, all the walls that had been crumbling down reinforced again, this ti stronger than before.
"You want to sacrifice my life for her again? Is that why you are here?" she asked, pain flickering across her eyes, though it was so fast that they missed it.
She had thought that they were really remorseful for what they did to her. So this was the reason they had co to her.
"Yes, I heard that you have beco very strong. So on the mission, please ensure to protect your sister. We... We will be very grateful," Sofia said, her eyes watering.
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