Free Web NovelChapter 95: Blank
Olivia looked at the mirror with the widest smile she could manage. She washed her face, letting the cold water refresh her puffy eyes.
"Look at you, Olivia," she whispered to her own reflection.
"You were panicking like crazy yesterday. It was just a dream. Your brain is just tired from that novel."
She tried to build a solid wall of logic. There were no more red lines on the wall. No more suffocating scent of roses. For the first time in days, her shoulders felt light.
She truly believed that everything was finally over.
At the bookstore, the atmosphere felt warm and peaceful. Mr. Tan smiled as he saw Olivia organizing new stock.
"You look like you’re doing better," Mr. Tan remarked.
"Your face looks much brighter too."
Olivia returned the banter with a sincere laugh. Readers might have let out a sigh of relief, thinking,
Finally, Olivia has returned to normal.
However, as her finger touched a historical romance novel on the shelf, her steps halted. She read the synopsis on the back of the book. Her eyes locked onto one sentence in the final paragraph
"A woman who lost her memory."
The world around her seemed to spin. Her heart was no longer just beating, but pounding against her chest. The sound of the wall clock in the shop became incredibly sharp
tick, tock, tick, tock
like a heartbeat slowing down. Yesterday’s dream came rushing back, no longer as a shadow, but as a warning.
That afternoon, she deliberately took the same path, trying to prove to herself that she wasn’t going crazy. She stood beneath the building that housed the billboard.
Empty.
The My Beloved Ophilia ad that had been so grand yesterday was gone. It had been replaced with an ad for luxury watches. Olivia froze. She blinked several times, searching for an excuse.
"The ad... must have expired, right?" she whispered, her voice soft as it was carried away by the wind.
That was the most logical answer. She tried to persuade her own heart, even though her feet felt too heavy to walk away.
That night, in the quiet house, she ate instant noodles while scrolling through social media, trying to fake a sense of calm. However, one memory flashed like lightning.
A photo.
"I took a photo yesterday, didn’t I?" she said to herself. She reached for her phone with hands that were starting to sweat.
She opened the gallery. The photo was there. The date was from yesterday. She smiled, a smile of victory.
"There, look at this. Proof. It really exists."
She tapped the photo to look at it more clearly.
Her blood instantly turned cold. Her world stopped spinning.
In the photo, the building was there, the road was there, the cars were there, and the crowd was there too.
But that billboard... was empty.
It wasn’t just that there was no ad; the screen area looked like it had been ’erased’ from reality blank, white, clean, without a single pixel. No title. No face of Ophilia.
"What... what is this?"
Olivia brought the phone screen close to her eyes. She zoomed in once.
Twice. Three times.
It was still clean and white.
However, right in the corner of that empty white screen, there was a fine black line forming very small words, as if written with almost dry ink.
Olivia squinted, her breath catching in her throat. The writing read
"You finally see me."
The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. An unnatural silence crept in. The night wind that hit her face, for some reason, felt colder than usual.
Olivia stood in the middle of the room, her feet slightly stiff, her eyes fixed on the house door that was suddenly knocked on slowly. Her heart pounded hard who would come to her house in this remote area without notice?
The door opened slowly, and there stood Delia, with a sweet and calm smile. Olivia froze.
Delia entered without hesitation, walking into the house as if it were her own.
She sat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and stared at Olivia with a familiar face but... there was something different. Delia’s aura was different now not the friend Olivia knew, not the Delia she had always trusted. There was something hollow, as if that soul had strayed from its true self.
Olivia swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly.
"You... came here with such a nonchalant face as if nothing happened... Do you have no shame, Delia? You snatched my boyfriend just like that, and now... you appear in front of me, with no guilt?"
Delia paused for a moment. Her smile remained, but there was a small void within it, something that made Olivia feel strange.
"Forgive me, Olivia... I didn’t intend for that to happen. But... Kiel himself was the one who tempted me," Delia said, her voice soft, slightly trembling, and her eyes glinted as if trying to plead for sympathy.
Olivia furrowed her brows, her gut instinct starting to warn her. Something about Delia made her doubt now. Not because of a clear secret or lie, but because of an aura of being lost Delia was no longer like before, as if she had lost an essential part of herself. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Olivia took a deep breath, her eyes still fixed on Delia.
"I... I can’t just believe that. You might be smiling, but I feel like there is something you are hiding."
Delia just smiled, letting the silence dominate the room. The atmosphere was quiet, with only the sound of the wall clock and the wind blowing outside. Olivia stood stiffly, her feet feeling heavy, her mind spinning with various assumptions.
She knew one thing: Delia was still different. And even though she was still sitting on the sofa in this remote house, Olivia was no longer sure that Delia was the same friend she used to know.
Olivia leaned in slightly, hands still at her sides, trying to keep her voice steady despite her racing heart.
"Delia... since when did you... know my house was here?"
Delia offered a thin smile while bowing her head, her hair falling to partially obscure her face. "Oh, I... just happened to stumble upon this area while out for a drive. I thought, why not stop by and check on you?"
Olivia furrowed her brows. The tone sounded too casual, but her eyes suggested otherwise. "Just that?" she said slowly, trying to filter the suspicion that was beginning to thicken.
"Don’t you... find it strange? Showing up out of nowhere at the house of someone who... you know, lives quite remotely?"
Delia shrugged, still smiling. But her smile this time carried the shadow of something else not amusement, but emptiness.
"Strange? Perhaps. But... I only wanted to see that you were doing well. Besides... we used to be friends, right?" Her voice was sweet, but there was a tone that made Olivia feel a distance she couldn’t see.
Olivia stared into Delia’s eyes longer, trying to gauge the sincerity behind that smile.
"Delia... I know you... did something that hurt me in the past. But now... I feel like you’re different. Not like you used to be. What is it that you actually want now?"
Delia jolted for a second, her eyes blinking as she tried to compose herself. Then, she replied in a slow tone, full of sincerity, but also hiding a secret
"Olivia... I only... wanted to apologize. I’m not here to interfere with your life. I know... I made mistakes before. But... I never intended to make you lose your way or struggle. I just... hoped we could start over, even if it’s slow."
"Start over? After everything you did to me, and all that comes out of your mouth is that you want to start over?"
"Don’t even dream of it, Delia. If you only came here for that... then get out of my house!"
Olivia snapped, her face etched with disappointment and anger. Her hands were clenched tightly. Delia, watching Olivia’s behavior, merely scoffed.
Then, she stared at Olivia with a hollow expression, as if every emotion that usually radiated from her had vanished.
There was no playful smile, no warm tone only a void that made the air in the room feel heavier.
"You haven’t changed at all..." Delia said softly, her tone not rising, as if every word were calculated and deliberate.
Olivia straightened her posture, her eyes fighting a mix of anger and confusion. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice still firm but controlled.
Delia rose from the sofa and walked slowly toward the door.
"Fine, I’ll leave... but don’t think for a moment that we won’t see each other again," she said with a thin smile a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, triggering an odd sensation in Olivia.
Olivia watched Delia move to the door, her mind still grappling with rage. However, Delia’s steps suddenly stopped right beside her. Her body seemed to halt in the same space, close to Olivia, and Delia’s voice became softer, almost a whisper
"It’s a real shame, Olivia... that you forgot that event. And... that annoying man actually did something futile... but I like it."
Olivia froze, her eyes widening. Her lips parted slightly, unable to utter a word for a moment. What did Delia mean by that?
Deep inside, only one interpretation surfaced for Olivia that perhaps Delia meant Kiel wasn’t happy with what he had done. All those words hung in the air, unclear, yet enough to stop Olivia in her tracks.
She remained silent, swallowing her anger and confusion, while Delia slowly stepped away, leaving the house. The atmosphere returned to a state of stillness, with only the sound of the wind brushing against the leaves outside the window, and the rhythm of Olivia’s heart slowly returning to normal.
Olivia stood in the middle of the room, stunned, staring at the door that was now tightly shut. In her mind, only one conclusion remained
Delia had left, but the true meaning behind her words remained a mystery.
And with that, Olivia knew that this encounter was not the end. There was something hidden, something left unfinished.
