The next day, Lillian got up earlier than usual and messaged Riley to not go to their biological parents house since she'd be taking her place for the day.
Riley stirred in her sleep when she heard her phone buzz and decided to checked her phone like she usually does, to check for any important message and jumped out of the bed, freaked out, after reading Lillian's message.
As bad as a sister she was, she wouldn't let her only sister walk into the lion's den. Riley typed up a message telling her to return. But when she saw the blue ticks on the message, it was obvious Lillian was ignoring her message. She called Lillian in hopes of persuading her to return home.
Riley didn't want her sister to go anywhere near that place. She didn't want her to relive her trauma. All for her.
No, Lillian shouldn't be there. No matter what. Riley thought to herself, shaking her head.
~~~
How long has it been since she last saw this place....
Lillian thought to herself in a daze as she looked at the mansion from a distance.
It felt weird, being in this place after such a long time. The guards let her through the gates as they saw her walking towards the gate.
Lillian sighed in relief as it meant she didn't have to engage in conversations with them.
She didn't like talking to strangers. It made her feel uneasy.
She felt her phone buzzing inside her pocket and just knew it was Riley. Probably calling her to change her mind. Though it did shock her to see her sister wake up so early.
Honestly, she was starting to wonder whether she should just turn around and leave, and pretend this whole bravado never happened but she couldn't.
She had to do something, even if it meant dealing with her short comings head on. Though she could've mailed a check to return the money she had taken long ago or something- Lillian felt like she owed Vincent an explanation.
The money wasn't hers. She shouldn't even be having it. Issac would be totally disappointed in her if he knew she stole from someone. But she suppose he'd find it hard to believe since he perceived her as a perfect person with high morals.
She entered the living room- that was filled with sun rays- and sat on the edge of a sectional couch, making herself as small as possible by crossing her legs.
It didn't feel right being there. Almost like she didn't belong. Or maybe it was because she hadn't stepped into this place for almost a decade, she wasn't sure.
After a few minutes of dead silence, her phone rang again. This time Lillian decided to take it.
"What are you doing?" Riley hissed out as soon as Lillian picked up the call.
"Nothing." Lillian replied. Well, technically, she was doing nothing.
"Don't play dumb. Why are you even there?"
"I just wanted to do something." Lillian said. She didn't want to tell Riley that she'd stolen from Vincent or make her feel guilty by telling her she just wanted Riley to clear her head before meeting Vincent and Laura again.
"I will do it for you. Come back." Riley sighed out and said, enunciating the last two words, placing a hand on her temple to calm herself.
"Don't you think that'll be suspicious? Me, leaving for a few minutes only to return a little while later." Lillian said resting her head on the arm rest, playing her cards tactically. Taking advantage of Riley's fear of raising suspicion.
Lillian wasn't usually manipulative. This was her first time taking advantage of someone's fear. Though she didn't like it, she felt like this situation called for an underhanded method as she was sure Riley would be successful in persuading her to return.
Riley was tongue tied, listening to her sister's question.
"I will go there after a few hours...?"
"What if they ask, why were you here in the first place?"
Riley narrowed her eyes at the question. She can come up with a lie but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to do so without raising suspicion. It was 7 in the morning! Why would she go there unless she had something important to do.
She sighed as she realized there's little she could do in this situation and her sister had her cornered.
"Fine." She said through gritted teeth. "You and me, are gonna have a long talk once you get back. Make sure you be your baddest bitch self with them." Riley said the last sentence in her usual cheery tone.
Lillian scoffed with a smile at how fast Riley turned being serious to cheerful.
Lillian covered her mouth as she yawned, pulling her legs to her chest.
It's only 7, she suppose she could get some sleep before things get noisy.
~~~~
Lillian felt someone shake her gently and opened one eye to see who it was.
"Breakfasts ready. Come join us." Laura said gently. She was initially confused to find Lillian curled up in the sofa but decided to let her be as Lillian looked so peaceful while asleep.
She looked adorable. Laura sighed heavily as she recalled how much of her daughter's life she had missed. She had only spent one year with her daughter before she ran away. And during that time, Lillian was curt- only replying with one word as if she didn't want Laura there at all.
It pained Laura to know that she was merely a stranger in her daughter's eyes.
"Hmm? Hmm." Lillian made a sound from the back of her throat, confused and groggily and then nodded her head, recalling why she was there.
Laura. Her mother was standing in front of her.
Would it make her a bad daughter if she said that she didn't feel anything after seeing her mother?
She silently walked behind her mother to the dining room in a trance, as Laura asked her why she was sleeping on the couch instead of her room or at her place.
Lillian simply shrugged in response. Her room... yea, she wasn't sure which one it was and she didn't think she'd sleep for 3 hours straight.
"Lillian, is everything OK?" Laura asked, grabbing Lillian's wirst and stopping her from entering the dining room, with concern written all over her face.
"Yes." She replied looking at her mother. Why would she ask that? She wondered.
"I don't know. You're just.. different. Maybe I'm just overthinking. Let's just eat." Laura paused, looking for a right word before shaking her head and rushing out in one breathe. What could be different? She's her daughter, it's probably because she just woke up. Laura convinced herself.
Lillian followed Laura as she pushed the glass door open, deep in thoughts. She didn't think she'd fool anyone for a long time but she didn't think it'd only take 2 seconds for her mother to see through her lie.
Lillian and Riley are like fire and water. It'd be hard to believe if no one realized something odd was going on.
In the dining room, she saw her father for the first time in nearly a decade.
For a man who was in his mid sixties, he looked good, with only a few wrinkles. According to Riley, it didn't seem like he was planning on stepping down from the company for a long time unlike Riley's dad who- was a few years younger than Vincent and- only managed minimal tasks to keep himself occupied.
She didn't know which seat to choose in the 6 seater table but decided to settle on the nearest one, which happened to be the one across Laura.
The breakfast was as silent as it can be. No one uttered a word. Lillian liked that. Not only because she liked the peace it accompanied with it but also the less she talked, she less chances her lie would be revealed. Laura already noticed something was off and she didn't want to raise Vincent's suspicion too.
She was fairly content when she tasted the sandwich and found hers more tasty. If she was good at something, it was at cooking.
But after breakfast was over, Lillian was in a dilemma. If she went with her mother then she wouldn't be able to return the money to Vincent and risk the possibility of raising Laura's suspicion and, in extension, Vincent's. So the safest alternative was to go to her room and stay there for some time before going to Vincent's office but, the thing is, she didn't know where her room was.
Sigh, Riley is going to kill me.
Lillian thought to herself, thinking of an appropriate lie.
"I'm sorry, my head hurts and everything... is a little hazy. Can you help me to my room." Lillian lied through her teeth as if it were her second language, pausing for a few seconds to clutch the side of her head- pretending to be in pain, to make it more believable.
Laura nodded her head, her mouth making an 'oh' shape, as if she understood what was going on. So, that's why she wasn't herself.
"Does it happen frequently?" She said, worried, getting off her chair and placing her hand on lillian's hand, that was on her head.
It took everything in Lillian to not slap her hand away, not being used to strangers touching her.
Lillian gave her a curt nod.
"Not that often but sometimes. It happened even more frequently right after the accident." Lillian said, giving some information to make it more believable.
She could see Vincent give her a skeptical look from the corner of her eyes.
She didn't have an accident, so why was she pretending? Vincent thought to himself and narrowed his eyes at her. And.. did she, just now, not know where her room was located?
Since neither of them knew Riley and Lillian were twins, it was unlikely they'd figure it out by themselves. And Vincent was a paranoid, he can't be convinced unless he was given a solid evidence.
Goodness what was becoming of her? Lillian wondered. This is the first time she had taken advantage of someone and lied in the same day.
Laura guided Lillian to her room, where she stayed for about half an hour before leaving.
~~~~
"Are you gonna come in or not?" Her father's voice from inside called out.
Somethings never change, do they.
She thought to herself with a ghost of a smile on her face, reminiscing.
She didn't really have much memories about her childhood in that house. Only a few that were scattered from when she was a 4 or 5 year old to a teenager.
She held the door handle and pushed the door open. She has to do this. She was determined to do this.
"Lillian?" Vincent looked surprised when he saw his daughter enter his office. 'Lillian' usually doesn't knock or wait before entering, she simply barges in so it came as a surprise to see Lillian waiting at the door to be beckoned in.
"What do you want?" Vincent said in his business tone.
The room hadn't changed all that much from her memories. Other than the color of the desk and the photo hanging on the wall behind Vincent. The photo frame which previously held Vincent and Laura's wedding picture was replaced with an old couple with a young child in between them, probably Lillian's nephew Riley was gushing about.
"I just wanted to give you this." Lillian said, reaching inside her pocket for the check she had signed that morning.
This money she had borrowed- no- stole from Vincent had been bugging ever since she had left this place and had been wanting to return it.
It didn't belong to her and it didn't feel right holding on to it any longer.
She placed the check on the desk.
Vincent furrowed his eyebrow and looked at the check.
"Before I left, I took some money from the card you gave me. I'm sorry. I even added a 10 percent interest."
Vincent was still looking at the check she had given him in silence and shock.
It wasn't that much, not to him atleast. But he couldn't believe that she gave him the money. Why? He hadn't even noticed she withdrew that much.
She would've needed it more when she- when he....
His breath got stuck in his throat and he had a hard time telling himself what he had done. As if he just realized his mistake.
He hadn't thought about her much before then. He could count on one hand how many times he had thought about her. He had always thought that she'd be fine since she had her cards with her but, if she is returning the money with a check then... does it mean she didn't take the cards with her?
He gulped in difficultly as he sat there with wide eyes watching Lillian turn around and walk towards the door.
Lillian sighed out as soon as she closed the door. She placed a heart on her racing chest and breathed out. She cheered herself mentally as she can finally scratch it out of her to do list.
~~~~
17 YEARS AGO
Lillian fisted her shirt as she closed her eyes and told her to go in. Tell him.
Her nanny had told her to do so the previous night didn't she? If someone touches her in between her legs, she had to tell her dad.
"Are you gonna come in or not?" A voice from inside called out. Not in a angry tone like last night, she noticed. It was just him raising his tone slightly so she would be able to hear him.
Vincent saw shadows of a person standing outside and narrowed his eyes.
If it was going to be his assistant telling him he has an important meeting today. He will legit bite someone's head off.
Lillian's scream from a nightmare had made it almost impossible for him to fall back asleep and he was nursing a bad headache. Was the nightmare that scary? He found himself wondering most of the night, twisting and turning. He had the urge to ask her but controlled himself.
He looked at the clock and frowned when he noticed 5 minutes had already passed.
He concluded it wasn't his assistant. She won't wait at the door for that long.
"Are you gonna come in or not?" He called out. He had more important things to do then wait for an indecisive person to make up their mind.
He was surprised to see it was Lillian.
He tried to remember the last time she had waited for him to call her in and couldn't come up with anything.
"Are you OK?" He asked, perplexed. Trying to find a reason behind the sudden change in her behavior.
Lillian had her head bent down since she entered the room with her hands fisting her shirt and couldn't bring herself to look at her dad.
She opened her mouth wanting to say something. She had a lot to say. She wanted to ask many things. Why did he hate her? She knew she was a monster who almost killed her mother but it hurt her to know her dad thought of her that way too.
"Is it about your nightmare last night?" Vincent asked tilting his head to the side, trying to understand his daughter's strange behavior.
Tears welled up in Lillian's eyes. She remembered how he had looked at her with hatred the night before.
Will he believe her if she told him what happened. Or will he just dismiss her without second thoughts.....
"Lillian." He called out, bringing her out of her thoughts.
Lillian looked up at her dad with wide and tearful eyes only to be met with his usual cold gaze. Almost like he would be anywhere than here, doing anything but talk to her.
Right. He wouldn't care. He never did.
She felt one of her tear trail down her face and she rushed out of the room, closing the door behind her, before it hit the floor.
Vincent looked surprised with a tinge of concern. That was weird and so unlike her. It was probably because of the nightmare..... He thought to himself before he concentrated yet again on his work.
Lillian, standing outside the room- against the wall so Vincent wouldn't detect her presence again- tried to control her breathing so she wouldn't alert the man.
It was hard and she found it hard to breathe when all she wanted was to scream on top of her lungs. When she felt a loud sob threatening to break out of her, she clashed her nose shut and bit her lower lip. The last thing she wanted was Vincent hearing her cry.
He didn't care about her. She shouldn't bother him. She was just a monster in his eyes. The worst kind that deprived him of his wife.
Her knees gave up on her and she slumped against the wall.
Lillian wiped away her tears profusely with the back of her hands. She pitied herself but did that even matter? She didn't matter to anyone... not her father, not her brother, anyone.
She felt her eyes droop heavily, she tried to fight it but soon gave up and feel into a deep slumber by her father's office.
Vincent wasn't expecting Lillian to be still there after he left the room 2 hours later, let alone sleeping on the floor.
He looked at his daughter in distraught. Something was off. He couldn't say what but something was definitely off about her.
He looked down at the floor below to see if he could find Nancy but then internally groaned as he realized that it was her day off.
He wasn't particularly fond of Lillian but he didn't hate her either. It's just how things were between them and he didn't see anything wrong with it.
She'd approach him on her own accord and he'd be either to busy or was just simply ignoring her. Or she'd throw a few tantrums and go her way. That's how it had always been with them.
Vincent wasn't good with children and after Max got kidnapped, he had kept himself farther away from his children. If Laura was here, she'd probably tell him that it wasn't his fault and he shouldn't withdraw into himself for someone else's fault but she wasn't.
And Lillian looking more and more like Laura every single day... he didn't need a constant reminder of what he had lost.
He walked downstairs and into the bedroom he had arranged for her. It went over his head why Lillian would choose a run down room over the fancy one. But whatever, he never tried to understand children. They were complicated.
He tucked her in and sat on the edge of the bed, deep in thoughts.
He can't be a good father to her. He is not a good father.
And Nancy is taking a better care of her than he ever will so he shouldn't intrude and pretend to be something he isn't.
He ruffled her head and left. Something stirred in his chest, it was an unpleasant feeling. Perhaps his heart was telling him he'd regret it. But Vincent pushed it aside. She'd grow up to be a better person under Nancy's care than she ever will in his.
~~~~
PRESENT TIME
He vividly remembered that day. Because it was the last time he had seen her in his office.
The girl who kept coming to his office with the brightest smile stopped coming. The time he saw her became less and less frequent till he stopped seeing her altogether.
He clenched his fist around the check with a clenched jaw, wanting to call her back. His heart sped and he felt his heart contract painfully.
Why did it feel like he just lost something very important? Like, all of a sudden, all his ties to his daughter had been severed, just like that.