The room was quiet for a short while.
With the way the both ladies glared at each other, you'd have thought they were going to burn the entire prison down. Olivia sat still, reminding herself the importance of being where she was, reminding herself why she had to be there and it wasn't just because she enjoyed seeing Victoria with her scattered hair, faded jeans, extremely normal tee shirt and in handcuffs. Jail looked really good on her. Olivia wished she had the strength to have a good laugh but she also knew she hadn't been the one to laugh at anything since he left, not even as karma was on her side.
"Don't tell me you came here to gloat." Victoria did the honors of breaking the silence. She was tired of sitting in that empty room and giving Olivia the honor of seeing her in that position.
Olivia drew in a deep breath.
God knows the only reason Victoria allowed that visit in the first place was because she didn't want Olivia to think she was weak or her life had turned upside down since the party. If there was one thing Victoria was good at, it was staying strong until the end, it was keeping her head up till the end.
"Don't think you can laugh just yet."
Victoria glared into Olivia's eyes with a huge frown on her face, not minding the fact that Olivia was in no place trying to start a conversation. She just wanted to sit right there, and glare at her through her sad eyes.
"Nothing has changed." Victoria continued. "It's not over yet, this place can't hold me and you know it."
"Why?" Olivia said almost in a whisper. She wasn't exactly in the mood to shout or cause a scene.
"Why what?"
"Why me? " Olivia continued "All my life, all I ever wanted was for you to accept me as a part of your family. I lived my live respecting you and your family, looking up to you. What did I ever do to deserve all the hate you've shown me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Victoria asked her "I just don't like you, I never liked you for my family and especially for my son."
Olivia scoffed. She knew that already.
"Everything was perfect. My family, My boys, my precious boys. Andrew and Austin loved each other so much, the only reason that it grew to hate was because you came along. You destroyed my family."
Olivia shook her head
"That's not true."
"I know my boys better than anyone." Victoria leaned forward, anger evident in her eyes. "I birthed them, they loved each other so much. You came into our lives and ruined everything. You destroyed them, turned one into a lunatic and the other into a murderer, you, a cheap town orphan, benefiting from the crumbs of my family's luxury." Victoria scoffed. "My poor husband would be rolling in his grave at the sound of this."
"You're wrong." Olivia snapped. "I loved your son—"
"No, you loved what you were able to get from them. You loved that you had them both wrapped around your finger tips, you enjoyed the luxury and you wanted more of it. That was why you refused to take the money and leave when I asked you to before. I knew this was going to happen, I saw it coming."
"I didn't ruin your family Victoria, you did."
Victoria lowered her gaze to her.
"You know your sons were sick and yet you refused to help them, you knew." Olivia was trying so hard to remain calm, wringing her fingers that laid on her legs beneath the table. She was so nervous but she tried to keep calm. "And what was worse was that you knew what Austin did, he killed his own brother, your own son and you tried to cover that up. What kind of mother does a thing like that to her family? You framed me for it and tried to kill my daughter, your own granddaughter."
Olivia lowered her gaze, shaking her head like she still found it so hard to believe everything that had happened.
"You think you're so smart don't you?" Victoria cut her off. "You think I did the worst thing to you?"
Victoria clicked her tongue and shook her head in pity.
"You have no idea how much you don't know about, the secrets that revolve around you but I'm glad you don't, because it means I get to live longer, longer to see you get crushed all along with your dreams and hope for happiness. I can't die yet until I know there's no happiness left for you Olivia. Just wait and see, eerything is going to fall in place soon."
Olivia squinted. Just what was she talking about now?
"Somehow, someday, you're going to feel exactly how you made me feel. Don't you for once think this is the end of me, you should know by now that this place won't hold me for much longer. It's you, you should be worried about. I'm going to tear your world apart Olivia, it doesn't have to be today or tomorrow but I will, even if it means I'd have to die trying." Tears welled up in Victoria's eyes.
Olivia drew a deep breath.
She couldn't explain it but sitting there, watching Victoria rant like that triggered a lot of memories inside of her, memories she wanted to share with her. She hadn't changed a bit, three days in prison only brought out the worst of her.
"You know," Olivia started. "I was eleven when I first saw you. My dream then used to be, to be like you someday because I thought you were strong and kind and good. It wasn't just me, but half the kids at that foundation and up until my twenties, you still remained that way to me. Even when you changed with time and began to treat me badly, I always came up with excuses for you, but now, I just can't help but be ashamed of myself, of how wrong I was. I look at you now and all I can see is this old, pathetic woman who would rather blame everyone for her own shortcomings than own up to them and embrace them, try to do better."
Olivia sneered as a tiny scoff escaped from her lips.
Olivia leaned closer so she could look Victoria eye to eye for the next words she was about to say.
"I might have been a cheap small town orphan you picked up from the streets of Lagos but that doesn't change your story. It does not change the fact about what not just me, but the entire world thinks about you now. A complete failure and a joke, a terrible mother, a terrible grandmother and a terrible person."
The frown on Victoria's face worsened
"You don't deserve anyone's forgiveness, especially mine. You deserve to rot in here without anyone loving or caring for you. You deserve to die here, alone and all by yourself for every evil thing you've done to people like me. People like you, you all deserve nothing but sheer and extreme loneliness and hurt and I'm glad I get to live to watch all of it."
"You ungrateful brat,"
Olivia got up quickly, she was done having that conversation. She was done listening to Victoria rain curses on her and she was glad she had to get all that off her chest.
"You're going to be in here for a long time, talk less and you might actually get to leave here alive after your sentence." Olivia told her "At least it worked for me."
Victoria scoffed in disbelief. Was she giving her jail advice now?
Unbelievable!
"Goodbye Victoria."
And she meant every single word.
Olivia turned as fast as she could. How come she felt so much better after letting out all that steam out in the most cultured way she could?
It was the first time, the first time she had ever stood up for herself like that and she had never felt so proud. She loved to imagine the look on Victoria's face as she walked away from that rowdy visitors' room. She loved the fact that everything was beginning to fall in place already.
She was at peace now.
She was at peace with herself for the first time all her life.
"Are you okay?"
Olivia nodded the moment she felt Kemi's warm hands on her shoulders as she led her away from the hallway. She turned slowly and returned the smile.
She was going to be.
She knew she had to.
She had to be okay.