46 Now You Know

Olivia hatched a plan with the help of Amy and Robin, so that could fulfill her wish and allow her to take Eli to her mother's resting place. Robin had gotten reliable cleaners to sweep the cottage and was pleasantly surprised that they found no bugs hiding in or around the cottage.

Edmond was going to be the one escorting Olivia and Eli to the cottage. If her father called Robin, he could tell him without feeling guilty that she was properly protected at the cottage. Leaving no room for complaint.

Edmond showed up to the Alegria estate and started packing the trunk for the night. Olivia gave her hugs and kisses goodbye. "Tell your mom we say hi." Robin said as he gave her one last hug "You know I will!" she replied before she jumped into the back seat.

"Edmond I owe you for this favor." Olivia began to say but Edmond cut her off. "For your mom I would do anything you know that." Edmond said gently. Olivia started to tear up but Edmond had to ruin the moment "Plus I got Eli to invite Samantha to come along too so it's a win-win for the both of us."

Olivia narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together. "Oh come on princess! Nothing screams romance like a night watching the stars and Samantha hasn't even given me the time of day yet! I need this! I promise to stay away from you guys, I'll just kidnap... cough... gently lead her to a the guest house out back for a better view of the night sky and proclaim my love to her!" Edmond said with stars in his eyes.

Olivia rolled her eyes and sat back into the seat. She then started to grin "So you're saying you owe Eli another debt?" Edmond slightly jerked the wheel "I only owe the one! How do I owe two!" he hissed. If there was one thing Edmond hated, it was owing more than one debt to a person. "Well if he wasn't going to see mom with me, would you have a chance to see Samantha?" she asked with a perky attitude.

"No princess your wrong! I am helping him see you secretly for free!" he proclaimed "Uh huh... but he persuaded Samantha to come along, she could have said no and guess what happens when you confess and she reciprocates your love. Who will you owe for the opportunity to be together? To be so close to her in your car for 3 whole hours? For leaving her intoxicating scent for your own personal pleasure?" Making sure that every word hit his weak spots.

Edmond stopped, parked the car and turned to look at Olivia, nostrils flaring, sweat rolling down his face and eyes blazing "Princess you better hope I owe your prince or he may end up as one of my preys when I go out to hunt next!" Olivia gave a dark laugh as she raised her head with pride "So you admit that your debt will be too big to pay back."

Edmond clenched his jaw and repositioned himself in front of the wheel. The rest of the car ride they sat in silence, once Olivia saw the estate out her window she decided to talk to Edmond again. "Hey when you get a chance knock her up then she'll be yours forever." she said with a grin, Edmond jerked the wheel again causing the car to fish tail.

Once he got control of the car again he parked it in front of the steps. He got out of the car, slammed his door shut and opened Olivia's so he could give her a hand out. Olivia took one look at Edmond's blushing face and burst out laughing.

Edmond scratched his cheek, for the first time ever he was at a loss for words. "Olivia..." he mumbled, Olivia wiped the tears from her eyes and straighten her back up "Ya?" Edmond hauled her in a bear hug "I missed you." he muttered under his breath. Olivia wrapped her arms around Edmond and hugged him back "I missed you too."

....

No thanks to Samantha the car ride was excruciating. She was sitting in front passenger seat, facedn in full pout mode and grumpy. "Eli you said it was Olivia's uncle that was driving us!" she wined "It is. I didn't lie."Eli laughed with a shrug. "No he's not! He is the adopted uncle." she said with an accusing finger.

"Which means her uncle, they may not be blood related but he is one of Olivia's legal guardians, besides when you saw him from the window I didn't hear a word of complaint. Instead you just grabbed your bag and came out anyways." he said matter of factly. Edmond turned to Samantha and gave her a big grin. Samantha puffed out her cheeks and turned to her window.

Olivia laughed and poked Eli in the shoulder. They both caught the pink glow creeping up her ears. After their first pit stop Samantha was in business mode.

"Olivia you need to tell us what happened. Eli said you would explain everything and I want to hear it too." she said coldly. Olivia sighed and began her story...

Edmond savagely undid his pompadour hair and slipped into hunting mode as he pulled a dagger from his steam punk belt. Gave it a slow lick and stabbed the tree beside him "That b*tch needs to die!" he snarled as his copper eyes started to glow with blood lust. Eli stayed silent while Samantha started to twitch as she stared at Edmond, her cheeks started to flush and her eyes glittered with awe.

Olivia looked drained from telling them everything and didn't want to have this day ruined "You know it's just the beginning and who knows what she may do next but I won't let her try to control me again so please can we forget about the conversation and head towards mom?" she implored.

Edmond pulled his dagger out of the tree and placed it back into his belt while Samantha turned and was busy coughing. Eli grabbed Olivia's hand and walked her back to the car. No one talked again till they reached the cottage.

They all chatted merrily as they unpacked for the day. Once they were done they did everything Olivia would do with her dad, play card games, take a walk by the lake, ice skate but only if the ice was thick enough, make dinner together, roast marshmallows and make homemade hot chocolate.

"Edmond" Olivia asked as they all sat by the fireplace. "Mmmh?" Edmond responded lazily as he very slowly stretched out his arms and barely wrapped one around Samantha. "Can you tell me about mom." Edmond's head shot up while his body became tense. Olivia's eyes widened when she saw his reaction and quickly dismissed her question.

Edmond rubbed his hand against the top of his head "What do you want to know?" he asked cautiously. Olivia's eyes lit up with so much love and affection it was blinding "Everything!" she shouted with delight.

Edmond sighed "Fine... your mom... your mom... your mom was something of a free spirit. Robin and her were orphans but worked hard to get ahead in life. Your mother was smart and beautiful, honestly the embodiment of snow white and that's what probably made your dad first notice her, she was kind to all and knew no discrimination. She just didn't think commitment was her thing or even in her future. So your dad had a hard time courting her, took him 3 years to finally get a date." Edmond said with a lighthearted chuckle.

"She loved the arts and was actually very skilled in ballet. Your dad would go to every performance and take a giant bouquet of pink lilies to her. Everyone would laugh that he never brought roses but your mother loved lilies so much that she would always kiss him after she received them. Oh my god I still remember the night your dad proposed! It was right after her debut as prima ballerina, so everyone was waiting backstage to see what type of bouquet he would bring her."

"Olivia you should have seen it! Everyone started to openly mock her for not having received anything after her debut. Your dad let them laugh and waited till it was quiet, your mom was so patient and loyal she knew that he had something else in store, so she stood her ground. Low and behold, he went down on one knee and gave her 'a rose that would never wilt as long as she said yes to become his wife'. The jealousy, the rage, the tears of happiness... was just wonderful." Edmond smiled as he reminisced.

"But there were some pretentious people who didn't approve of Avery's choice in a mate and disowned him when he refused to break off the engagement. They got married and life was happy but then your mom had the accident, it was right around the time your dad won the board over and became the new CEO of Steel enterprises."

"Your mom was devastated that she couldn't dance anymore, it was a dark times, they fought a lot, made up a lot and your dad bought this cottage. On their first night, your parents went star gazing and she instantly fell in love with the outer world, space and stars. She found her new passion and painted, she was a natural, the way she smiled back then the world seemed right again. Then you came along and we were all a perfect happy family." Edmond finished his story with a sweet-bitter smile.

Samantha moved in to cuddle Edmond he was pleasantly surprised by the intimacy she gave him "How did she die?" she asked silently.