Chapter 12: Beneath the Shattered Veil

The weekends with their father became a sanctuary, a gentle world suspended in time where Olivia and her younger brother could breathe without fear, without the veiled malice that clouded their daily lives with Andrea. Bennett, in his quiet, steadfast way, was a compass that guided them through the fog of confusion that Andrea's stories had woven. His warmth and unwavering presence felt almost surreal, a contrast so stark to their mother's ever-shifting temperament that it left Olivia wrestling with emotions she couldn't yet name.

One evening, as twilight softened the edges of the room, Olivia approached her father, carrying the weight of years in her hesitant gaze. She spoke in a whisper at first, her words trembling in the spaces between breaths, unveiling fragments of a truth she had buried even from herself. She described the hollowness that lingered within Andrea's affection, how it blossomed in public, a radiant mask that concealed the chill of indifference that awaited them at home. "I remember," she whispered, "how people looked at us and thought she was… someone she wasn't." She told Bennett how, under the guise of love, Andrea withheld simple kindnesses, denying them the warmth of new clothes, the joy of birthdays celebrated with loved ones, and even the freedom to reach out to him.

As Olivia's voice broke, her words caught between confusion and a dawning clarity, Bennett felt the surge of pain that his children had endured ripple through his own heart. He had always sensed that Andrea's grip on their children had been tight, yet the depth of her cruelty took him by surprise. Each revelation was a wound freshly opened, but Bennett held Olivia's hand in silence, offering her the acceptance and understanding Andrea had never given.