Chapter 349 - Forgotten (2)
It was around six in the evening, and Angela thought that Oliver should be done with work unless he was working late again. She'd reprimanded him for being a workaholic and even teased how he changed so much in the past few years. When she called him, it took a few rings before he answered.
"Hey, Anj. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, um…" She glanced at Gael, who sat with her quietly, smiling at her as if giving her courage as she tried to speak with her brother. "I'm okay. Sort of. You busy?"
"Uhh… Not yet. I'm still at the office. Though I should be leaving soon to get to a business dinner. What's wrong, Lil Sis? You don't sound okay."
Angela opened her mouth to answer, but she heard a female voice from Oliver's side. It was his secretary, reminding him of his meeting.
"You're busy, Oli. I'll just call you later," she told him.
"No. Tell me. What is it?"
She looked up at Gael again. Although the latter couldn't hear the conversation, he nodded at her—a small gesture, saying that he was giving her support. She cleared her throat before speaking again, "I saw Mom."
There was silence on the other end of the line before Oliver cursed under his breath. Then he called his secretary. "Stace, tell them I'll be running late."
"What should I tell them?"
"Family emergency."
"Yes, Sir."
There was a rustling in the background, and then Oliver came back to the call. "Anj, where are you?"
"In Manhattan—at Gael's place."
"You okay?"
Angela let out a long sigh. This was why she loved her brother—though he could be really annoying sometimes. Oliver was always there for her, ready for whatever shit storm she was having. "I'm…okay."
"What happened?"
She met Gael's stare as he patiently waited for her. Then she decided something she didn't plan to do. Lowering her phone from her ear, she pressed the speaker on so that he could hear the conversation between her and Oliver. Gael's brows raised, certainly surprised, and then he smiled at her, appreciation filling his gaze. He didn't say anything, but he kissed her forehead, his lips lingering for a beat longer before pulling back to give her space again.
"Anj?" Oliver's voice snapped her out of her stupor. She took another deep breath and then began telling him about what happened back at the library.
"She has a daughter huh…" Oliver scoffed. "Can't say I'm surprised. It's been twenty years."
"It's weird, Oli. It feels like I don't know her. She's familiar…yet she's also a stranger. Does that make sense?"
"Sorry, Sis. I can't share the sentiment. She's been dead to me."
Angela's brows knitted. When she asked her brother about their mother in the past, his answers were mostly neutral. "It's the first time that I hear you speak ill of her like this."
Another silence coated the line before Oliver's voice came back. He sounded exhausted and detached while he spoke. "It's been a long time, and I guess you deserve to know what happened back then."
She exchanged glances with Gael, her voice sounding hesitant when she responded, "What are you talking about? I thought you didn't know anything?"
"I don't know the whole story, but I know enough. Sorry, you had to learn about it like this. It doesn't matter now anyway. She's been out of our lives for a very long time."
"Oli… What do you mean? Do you know why Mom left?"
"Yeah… You do, too. Well… You did, anyway. But you forgot about it."
"I…forgot?"
Angela was thoroughly confused. How could she forget something like this? Her mother leaving them was serious.
A long, harsh intake of breath followed by the clinking of glasses came out of the speaker. She guessed Oliver was pouring himself a drink.
"Before Mom left, I saw her and Dad fighting more often. I think it went on for a few weeks. Our nanny used to bring us out to the lake, away from the house so we wouldn't hear them. I guess I already knew their separation was coming…though it was still surprising when she just packed her stuff and left, you know?"
"I couldn't forget that it was raining." She sighed.
"Thunderstorms. I still blame her for your fear of that shit. She's a cruel woman," Oliver muttered under his breath.
"What happened then?"
"After she left, I heard Dad talking to his lawyer in the study. The door wasn't entirely closed, and I was able to see through the gap. He was filing for divorce. The lawyer tried to convince him to file a motion to request a child's testimony. I've learned this years later...but Esmea law limits child involvement in divorce proceedings. Under the rule, family courts don't allow children to participate in depositions. But if a parent files a motion to request, they should explain why the child should testify and establish a good cause for the child's involvement in the proceedings. But Dad was against it. He didn't want to file the motion."
"The lawyer wanted you to testify against Mom?"
"Not me, Anj… You. He wanted you to testify against her."
Angela was taken aback. Did she hear that right? "M-Me? Why me? I don't know anything."
"Actually…" Oliver paused. "While the lawyer tried to convince Dad about the motion, he mentioned something about a notebook. He said he could use it to appeal so that they would approve the request. But Dad was adamant about not involving you. He said you were too young, and it would hurt you if you were to be put on the spot for questioning."
Something pricked her chest as she listened to her brother talk about their father. She didn't know what happened back then, but by the looks of it, her father really cared about her well-being.
Oliver continued, "Anyway… I waited until they finished and left the study before I snuck inside. I…snooped into Dad's drawers and found the notebook they were talking about. I saw the lawyer holding it before Dad took it from him."
"What was it?" Angela swallowed the massive lump in her throat, the dread stroking the pit of her stomach.
"It was your journal. Half of it was used, and the first few entries were just random stuff you wrote. But the latest entry was longer, and you…wrote about how you saw Mom kissing another man."
"What?" Angela nearly shouted, her eyes widening. Her mind ran at a dangerous speed; she had a hard time keeping up with the intrusive thoughts that slammed in her head. "What do you mean? I wrote that? Why don't I remember this?"
Oliver let out a sigh, sounding almost as if he was relieved to finally tell her about what they had been keeping from her.
"You don't remember some things during the day she left and some other stuff. You chased her car outside while there was a storm. Do you remember that you were lost for a few hours before we found you?"
Her eyes met Gael's. He was also surprised, but definitely not as surprised as she was. However, he only observed them silently, his hand firmly holding hers while his thumb stroked her skin. His warmth kept her from breaking apart.
"N-No… I had an episode a few days ago. I tried to recall, but I can't remember what happened." She didn't even know she was gone for hours.
"Mm. You got sick after that. When you woke up, you didn't remember much. Your therapist said it was probably your way of coping with something traumatic. She said you're not doing it on purpose… It's your brain's way of surviving or something like that. Like you cut that part out… It was probably good that you did, but then… You sort of blamed Dad for letting her leave."
Angela gasped, slapping a hand over her mouth. "Oh, my god. Was it my fault? Did whatever I wrote in that notebook cause the divorce?"
"Don't be silly. Of course not! She cheated. She's the one at fault. Not you."
"But… And then…" Her eyes watered, different emotions hitting her all at once. "Then I was mean to Dad… And he didn't even do anything."
"Sir? The clients are asking the time of your arrival," Oliver's secretary's voice came through the speaker. Oliver responded he needed more time before he came back to the phone call.
"Anj… Listen. Don't beat yourself up about this. You didn't do anything wrong. You got that?"
"Where's the notebook, Oli?"
"What?"
"The notebook. My journal. Where is it? Does Dad still have it?"
A few beats passed before Oliver answered, "I stole it. It's with me. Do you want it?"
Angela didn't think twice. "Yes."
"Send me your address. I'll have it delivered via express." There was shuffling in the background, and then Oliver told her, "Sis, I wish I'm there for you right now. But he's…taking care of you, right? Because I'm gonna be a real asshole of a brother. Dad's gonna kick my ass if I don't go to this dinner. I promise to call you after. Will you be okay until then?"
"Thank you, Oli... I'll be fine." She lifted her gaze at the man who had been her rock the whole time. "Gael's with me."