Chapter 18
Chad had spent the entire day in his office.
He pulls out a picture of Marlie on a prom day and stares at it blankly.
Audrey sat on the hallway floor still crying her eyes out with her best friend Angelina to console her.
Everyone in the house was worried, except for Marlie.
"It would be easier if he died in the room. It would make my revenge so much simpler," Marlie murmured to herself in the room.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, interrupting Marlie's thoughts.
"Who is it? I'm coming," she responded, getting up from the bed and opening the door. Standing there was a woman in her 40s, identifying herself as Madam Vien, the head chef of the house and Chad's Nanny.
Marlie didn't waste any time questioning why she was being disturbed. After all, Chad was the center of attention, not her.
But her question unknowingly incriminated her.
Vien, as they all call her, stared at her for a while before entering the room with food for Marlie on a food tray.
Vien set the food on the table for Marlie and smiled before asking,
"How is your sister, Charlie? Is she okay?"
Marlie was taken aback by the question and didn't know how to respond. Was Vien close to Charlie or one of those vultures who had bullied her sister?
"How should I respond?" Marlie thought to herself. Sooner than later, they are all going to find out anyway so why hide it? She stared at the woman's face for a while and replied,
"Why don't you ask her directly"
Vie looked around, searching for someone else besides the two of them, but found nothing.
"Where is she, Charlie? I want to finally meet her."
she uttered in excitement.
Marlie brought out Charlie's ashes in a finely polished wooden box, kissed the box, and placed it on the table next to the food.
She couldn't understand Vien's actions. As she approached the box, she wept uncontrollably. Caressing the box as if it were a precious treasure, she let out a cry filled with sorrow.
"Oh, my beautiful girl."
Her actions brought both sorrow and solace to Marlie. At least someone in the mansion loved Charlie enough to also care for her younger sister.
Marlie secretly wiped away her tears as Vien continued to speak to Charlie's ashes. Marlie had promised herself not to cry, but the woman's actions moved her to shed tears.
Then, to her astonishment, Vien spoke words that shocked her.
"Lady Charlie, don't worry. I will take care of Miss Marlie, just as I did with you."
Marlie panicked and tried to refute the woman's claim, but Vien had already figured her out the moment Marlie uttered her first word.
Was she done for? No! That can't be. She hasn't even started her revenge yet. How can this be?
The moment Marlie opened her mouth, she realized that her attempt to refute the old woman's claim was futile.
"What do you mean? Of course, I am Charlie." Marlie tried not to panic and protested.
"Oh really? Then tell me, what do you usually call me?" With a stern expression, the woman challenged Marlie, saying that if she was truly Charlie, she would know the name Charlie used to call her.
Marlie was at a loss for words. How could she possibly know the name Charlie used for Vien? Instead of answering, Marlie rudely demanded that she leave her room.
"I'm tired from my journey and I want to rest. So get out of my room." Marlie said rudely to the lady.
She thought maybe since she was only a house help, she would fear and obey her command.
To her disbelief, the woman responded, "Charlie called me all sorts of sweet names."
Marlie scoffed at this revelation. Was the old woman playing games with her? What was the purpose of such a pointless question if there was no particular name to be known?
She forgot that even without a specific name, she still failed to give her the proper answer.
Madam Vien paused, meeting Marlie's disgusted gaze. "Anger," she uttered.
"What?" Marlie asked in confusion.
"Charlie was slow to anger but you are not, my dear." She said softly.
Marlie's shocked expression gave her away. It was true - anger was her downfall. She tended to easily succumb to anger, and the revenge was fueling her rage.
"You will tell Chad your true identity, Marlie!" The woman said sternly.
Marlie challenged the old woman when she said that, asserting that she owed no one an explanation.
"Never!" Marlie retorted. Neither the family nor Vien deserved her reasoning.
However, Vien gave Marlie an ultimatum, allowing her only one week to come clean or face the consequences of the truth being revealed to the family.
The woman stood up to leave only to pause at the door. She turned to Marlie and spoke...
"I don't know why you changed your face to that of your sister and why you came to this house. However, just know that you may have the same face as hers, but you can never be her.
And my child, sometimes, the truth is not always what it seems. You might unintentionally hurt the wrong person and regret it for the rest of your life. I hope you realize that before it is too late." Madam Vien left, leaving Marlie sitting on the bed consumed by rage and frustration.
"This damn old woman..." Marlie muttered to herself.
In her fit of anger, she vented her frustration by throwing the food tray and its contents onto the floor.
In another setting, Chad reminisced about the first encounter he had with Marlie. Despite her initial rudeness, he found himself constantly drawing closer to her by finding ways to annoy her.
Whenever Marlie became frustrated and blew her hair, she looked adorable to him, even at her worst moments. She resembled a pumpkin, always captivating his attention.
When Marlie confidently declared in college that no girl in her right mind would want to be with him, Chad took it upon himself to date her older sister to annoy Marlie.
A tear escaped from Chad's eyes once again as he held Marlie's picture in hand "I won't shed tears anymore. I will close this chapter, this unending story of ours. Now that you are gone, you will never get to know the truth I have hidden in my heart all these years." He whispered to himself, longing for their connection.
Meanwhile, outside Chad's world, Audrey had reached her breaking point. She had had enough of everything happening in the house.
In a fit of anger, she stood up and declared, "Enough of this!"
Determined to teach the party crasher a lesson, Audrey raced down the stairs, shouting Charlie's name.
Marlie was jolted back to reality by Audrey's outburst and hurried to meet the dear princess.
Upon catching a glimpse of Marlie, Audrey hastily made her way over and proceeded to hurl insults at her.
Unfazed by Audrey's offensive remarks, Marlie stood her ground with folded arms. To further agitate Audrey, Marlie gave her a devilish smirk, resulting in a loud and harsh slap that knocked her to the floor.
As Marlie held her cheeks, in pain, her anger began to surface. However, before she could retaliate, Audrey seized her by her hair and began yanking at it.
"You despicable wench," Audrey spat.
Marlie intentionally let out a loud cry, drawing the attention of Chad, who swiftly opened the door and intervened.
Grabbing Audrey's hands, he freed Marlie from her clutches as she lay on the floor once again.
"Are you out of your mind!" Chad demanded from his sister.
His words only fueled Audrey's rage. Wasn't Chad the one who refused to intervene when her honor was at stake? With a menacing glare directed at both Chad and a tearful Marlie, Audrey pointed accusingly towards Marlie.
"You came down here because she was in trouble?" Audrey asked incredulously.
Yes, every eye in the room looked at him with a questioning stare.
He refused to come down when his sister needed him.
Why would he rush to save his ex-wife? Well, not finalized ex-wife.