He had lied again.
One too many times, Olivia had let the lies pass but this one was just the last one she would be able to handle. She was tired of waiting for him.
Olivia ran, tripping over every few steps with her unsteady gate. Her feet bleeding from the injuries inflicted by the glass she had dropped at the news her sister brought forth during dinner.
He lied.
Octavio, Olivia, and Alma. Two sisters and the man who would break them apart from one another.
It was not always like this. It used to be a good friendship between the three of them growing up. After Olivia and her family moved to the city, the boy next door had become their friend. They played together, they went to school together, and they grew up together.
When Olivia turned thirteen, she started to notice Octavio, not as a friend, but as a man. His strong shoulders, his short wavy hair. his tall frame. His voice became deeper, his demeanor more confident. Overall, he was a fine young man.
Five years her senior, he became available to be married but he never did. Olivia noticed how, as she became a woman, he started to linger his eyes on her more often, give her more attention than he used to, and even complimented her more often. Olivia's love for him started to develop, and hope took root in her mind.
The sisters shared their secrets, and one of them was Olivia's hopes to marry Octavio when she became of age. But being the oldest, Alma's turn was first.
Their parents started to look for a good family for her to marry into. It was an obvious option to think about Octavio's, as both families had grown closer due to the friendship between all three of them. Olivia was not worried, she expected both Alma and Octavio to nay the parents' proposal to marry each other and the betrayal was even bigger than expected.
When Alma did not refuse the idea, Olivia thought it was just out of respect for their parents to "consider him" as an option. But when she started to flirt with Octavio, and he reciprocated her advances, Olivia became furious. She had been unable to tell her parent, as all they could think about was marrying the oldest into a good family and ignored Olivia's protests against the couple.
Before she could say or do anything, the two of them married and left on their honeymoon for two months to some faraway city. When they returned, Olivia attempted to confront both her sister and the man whom she loved but was never given the opportunity as both always avoided being left alone with her.
A year after the wedding, they were still childless. Alma confided in her heartbroken sister and confessed that Octavio refused to touch her, seemingly ignoring the fact that the news made Olivia happy.
One night, after a family dinner between the two families, Alma had retired to bed and left Olivia to clean the dining table. Octavio made his way to her when she was done, and in the dark, kissed Olivia with such passion that it ignited the beginning of their affair.
Olivia stopped complaining to her parents and sending death stares toward her sister. The tensions started to die down and the family was at peace once again.
But at the darkest hour, in the room furthest away from the rest of the family, Octavio and Olivia made love every chance they got.
Octavio was careful to not impregnate her. Never placing his seed inside of her womb, denying her the pleasure of becoming a mother.
"I cannot do that to you." He'd say while holding her close to him. "Your parents are looking for a man to marry you. To make you happy."
Olivia, ignorant as she was, always believed she saw sadness running through his eyes whenever they talked about a man who was still to appear.
"You are the only one who can make me happy." She'd always respond.
"I'll divorce Alma. All I need is time." He promised.
So, Olivia waited and refused every man her parents introduced her to.
And waited.
And waited...
But after another year of waiting, on her nineteen birthday, it all came crashing down. After the party, Octavio visited her one last time and gave her a letter with clear instructions to wait for him in a certain cabin in a fortnight for a present he had prepared for her. He left shortly after, Alma following her husband as always.
Olivia felt a pinch of sadness, knowing that they would come back as a divorced couple. She was aware and willing to put up with the family's criticisms for stealing from her sister. Stealing her sister's husband.
But it all went away as she remembered the smile Alma gave her as she said "I do" at their wedding.
The time came and she found herself in the cabin, ready for the news he'd bring to her. When he arrived, he kissed her with need and desperation
He ran his fingers through her naked body, touching places only he was allowed to. She gave him pleasure, filling her mouth with his thickness and swallowing every drop of his release. His long fingers touched her folds with expertise, helping her find her own release. When he finally entered her, they were already high in ecstasy.
They did not make love that night. That night they gave in to every carnal pleasure in existence.
When he was about to finish, she knew he would make her kneel and take his seed on her face, but tonight, she wanted it all. When he moved away from her, she jumped on top of him and rode him until he filled her up. He did not protest.
The following time they gave in to their needs, he continued to pump into her and fill her up, every time until it all just dripped down her legs.
They fell asleep together, and Olivia was finally happy in the arms of the man she loved.
The following day, she was taken by surprise as she found Octavio and Alma sitting together at the dining table. Dinner was served but Olivia was so stunned by what was happening she was unable to react to how Octavio held her sister in his arms.
With... love?
"We have some wonderful news," Alma said when dinner was over.
Olivia was outside, holding a glass of wine, following an invisible line with her bare feet. She was barely paying attention to her sister, thinking of a way to bring out her affair with Octavio.
She was tired of waiting; she'd make Octavio fulfill all his promises.
"Alma is with child." Octavio's voice broke her out of her thoughts as she dropped her glass. She barely noticed the piercing pain on her feet as she stepped on the broken glass. The pain in her heart dulled everything else. The two families looked at her, but all she could see was the smile disappearing from Octavio's face as he saw the blood on her feet.
She ran.
As she was the only one outside, with just the window open to let the warm air out, nobody was fast enough to see where she ran off to. She reached the small forest between her house and Octavio's family house.
She ran uphill, ignoring the pain in her feet, allowing the tears to run down her cheeks. Her brown curly hair, bounced as she jumped from rock to rock.
She looked wild. Her skirt ripped with the branches and thorns on her way, her hair started to collect spider webs, and leaves fell every time she made impact with a tee.
She reached the top of the hill and fell to her knees, screaming at the big red moon in front of her.
"Why? Why would he lie to me?" she begged for an answer from no one in specific. "I gave him everything. They both knew... they both knew but still went with it."
The pain she felt when her sister did not protest marrying Octavio although she knew her sister was in love with him. How Alma smiled at her as she married Octavio. How he looked at her when they returned from their honeymoon. How he took her in bed with such passion for all those months and made her feel loved.
How, just yesterday, she felt loved and today betrayed one more time by that man.
He lied. He promised.
She looked at the moon again. It was glowing with such anger she felt it would explode at any moment.
Instead, she heard a voice.
"What do you want, child?"
It was a woman. Her voice was so calming, that the pain in her heart decreased a little.
"I don't know." She responded.
"Are you sure?" the voice questioned her. "They hurt you."
Olivia was aware of that. She wanted to get back at them, but she was still in love with Octavio, and although she slept with him, she still loved her sister in some twisted kind of way.
Yes, she was the other woman. She was not without fault.
"I know." She did not know why she was answering the voice. It helped her relax, like washing away the dirt in her. "But I do not want to hurt them as well."
"Then, what do you want?" the voice asked again.
What did she want?
She did not regret the affair with Octavio. She'd always love him, but now that she knew he'd not leave her sister, she wanted to continue with her life as well.
"I want another opportunity at love." She replied. "I want to find a man who will love me. I want to not be alone, form a family... be happy."
"What would you do for it." The voice asked.
"Anything." What did she have to lose anyway?
"You'll have your man, child. But I want something in return."
"I have nothing to offer you. Is it money what you are after?"
"No." The voice stopped. "Something of higher price."
Still confused as to why she was replying to the voice, she realized she was probably going crazy.
"I just do not want to be alone. I want to find love. Just take whatever you want."
"Fine." Said the voice.
She felt the wind peak up and blow her hair away from her face. In the distance, she heard wolves howling, owls hooting, and the footsteps of other animals running close to her. Olivia felt at ease, however.
She stood up and allowed the air to continue to mess with her hair and dry the tears running down her face. Something had changed.
Three years later she was in the arms of Zachary, holding her protruding belly between the two of them, smiling at each other. His golden hair tickled her forehead as he held her close to him. She had found a man she loved, not as much as Octavio, but she was still glad he was there.
Zachary was all she needed, maybe not what she wanted, but he was perfect. A great listener, partner, husband, and hopefully a good father.
When the time arrived for the baby to be born, she was in their room with her mother, the doula, and her sister. The relationship between the two started to get better when Olivia stopped messing around with Octavio and found Zachary to fill that void. Olivia always thought Alma was aware of the affair, but never asked, afraid to ruin what she had built with Zachary now.
As the baby made its way out of her womb, she felt the presence of another person in the room and looked to her left. A woman with white hair was looking at her but disappeared just as quickly as she saw her.
"Almost there, love." Zachary was holding her hand, supporting his wife in those hard moments.
Olivia pushed with all her might.
"Good job, my lady," Said the doula. " It's a boy!"
She passed the bundled-up newborn to his mother. Olivia whipped hs face clean, looking down at the baby boy... but something was odd about the child.
"What...? Why is he like that?" Zachary looked at Olivia who was holding the baby with a blank expression.
The baby had white hair and a pale complexion. When he opened his eyes, they were grey instead of brown like both his parents. Olivia was confused, she did not understand how this could've happened.
Was this what some people described as an albino?
"We'll step out..." somebody said as the three women exited the room.
The couple was alone with just the baby. Zachary paced around the room, stopping every few steps to look at the child in his wife's arms. Suddenly, a dark expression filled his face.
Had Olivia been with someone else?
"Tell me, Olivia." Zachary pushed a scream down his throat. "Were you unfaithful?"
Stunned, she replied quietly. "I do not know how this happened, but I swear to you, I have not been unfaithful."
Zachary loved Olivia, but he could not ignore the fact that the baby came out looking very different. Yes, Zach had a lighter complexion than Olivia, but the creature was pale.
Olivia had not been a virgin at the time of their wedding. She refused to tell him the man's name, but he had accepted the fact she had a lover before him. He was a man in love, and he believed her, putting aside the doubts inside his head saying that maybe she had slept with another man.
The look in her eyes helped him clear out all of the doubts in his head and, looking downs at the baby, he nodded.
"I believe you."
That night, there was a knock on the door.
Zachary closed the book he had been reading and went to see who was banging at the entrance this late at night. When he opened the door, there was a woman with white hair and a long thin dress hanging from her shoulders. Her cleavage was on full display and the cloth hugged her curvy body.
Zachary did not see it coming when the woman reached to him and held his forehead for a few seconds, without a sound, he fell asleep on the ground. She moved him with a wave of her hand and closed the door behind her. The woman in white made her way to the upstairs bathroom where she had seen her child being born.
Olivia was asleep and the baby was lying next to her, between his birth mother and a long pillow. She opened her eyes and looked at the woman in white who returned her gaze with a smile.
"Hello, child." Said the woman.
Olivia recognized the voice immediately; it took her back to the worst night of her life.
"You were real..." she said in awe. The woman in white gave her a kind smile. "Wha..." she couldn't continue as the woman reached towards the baby and held him tight against her chest.
"I kept my part of the deal, now it's your turn," she said as she extended her hand and touched Olivia's cheek.
Olivia felt confused. Her brain was telling her to take the baby, but her heart felt different. It was as if a weight came off her shoulders.
She looked at the woman and the baby, they looked like they were mother and child; both with pale skin, white hair, and grey eyes. It was as if she was just returning the baby back to his mother. She hadn't even named the child yet because it felt wrong.
"I will take it from here." The woman said and pressed her thumb between Olivia's eyebrows.
Olivia fell asleep after one last look at the woman and child. She felt proud of herself and knew things would be okay for her from now on.
After Olivia fell asleep, the woman in white left the room with silent steps and the child in her arms. The little bundle was awake and looking at her, unaware of his future as the son of the moon.