Chapter 6 - The Dismissal
The collapse of Olivia’s world was total and instantaneous.
"Get out," Linda said, her voice quiet but carrying the force of an iron sledgehammer.
Olivia spun around, looking at Michael’s mother. "Linda, please! You don't understand! The stress of the wedding... the financial pressure my father was under... I was just overwhelmed!"
"I spent twenty years scrubbing floors just like Sophie, carrying bleach-burned hands home to my son every single night," Linda said, tears of anger glistening in her eyes. "You didn't just disrespect Sophie, Olivia. You disrespected every honest, hard-working person in this world. You disrespected me."
Linda walked over to Sophie, taking the young girl’s shaking hands into her own. "I am so, so sorry, my dear. I am so sorry we allowed this monster to mistreat you in our home."
Sophie shook her head, tears pouring down her cheeks, but for the first time in months, they were tears of profound relief. "It’s okay, Mrs. Miller... thank you."
Robert stepped up to Olivia, pointing his finger toward the heavy oak doors. "Leave this house immediately, Olivia. My security team will gather your personal belongings from the guest room and drop them off at your father’s residence. If you ever step foot on this property again, I will have you arrested for trespassing."
"Michael!" Olivia sobbed, throwing herself at his feet, clutching at his trousers. "Please! We can fix this! I love you! I promise I’ll change! I’ll go to therapy! Please don't cancel the wedding!"
Michael looked down at the woman kneeling before him. He saw no beauty in her face, no charm in her tears—only the pathetic, desperate thrashing of a bully whose power had been permanently stripped away.
He slowly stepped back, pulling his leg from her grasp.
"The wedding is cancelled, Olivia," Michael said coldly. "And if you ever speak to Sophie, my grandmother, or my mother again, I will release every second of this video footage to the Atlanta press and every social committee in Buckhead."
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Olivia looked up, realizing that there was no mercy left for her in this house. The social standing she had spent her entire life cultivating was shattered beyond repair.
She scrambled to her feet, pulled her designer handbag over her shoulder, and ran out the front door, her heels clattering hysterically against the marble driveway as the rain began to fall.
