72. | "You lied..."

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"Well, on the topic of husbands, there's a reason why I wanted you to hang out

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"Well, on the topic of husbands, there's a reason why I wanted you to hang out." Hope states. Then I remember her message. She wanted to tell me something.

"I—" She opens her mouth but stops. Then starts up again. "I wanted to tell you back at the restaurant, but you were so happy, and I knew it would kill that small sliver," She holds her fingers centimeters apart, almost touching. "Of happiness that you had."

My brows crease. "Hope, what are you not telling me?"

"Remember when he died?" She seems scared to even say his name.

"Of course, I do. It's not something I could forget. W– Why are you bringing him up?"

"Four years ago, we were attacked. It was around your birthday, actually." She looks at the comforter, playing with the fabric. "They were so strong. We fought for hours on end, until they wore us out and managed to take us hostage." She looks up at me and whispers, "Not even us Mikaelsons could fight them off." Then she shifts on the bed. "And he– he tried to reason why he was doing this, but we knew what he really wanted." Her gaze travels back up to mine. "He took us because he wanted you."

He.

"Hope," My voice comes out pleading. "What are you trying to say?"

"Lynn," The use of my nickname has my bottom lip trembling, fear running a marathon through my bloodstream. "Oliver's alive."

Two words. One name, one adjective. They'd be considered normal words to any other person. But they shatter my heart.

I leap off the bed, backing away. "No– No. That's– That's not possible. He..." I'm panting now, panicking. "He died. I-I watched it."

"Think about it. There are so many obvious signs that I just know you ignored." She begs. So I find myself listening.

The photograph. It was of me and Ollie, with a message on it.

His last name. It's the same.

The small widening of his eyes when I called him Oliver.

The way he adjusted to my name so quickly, as if he had spent his entire lifetime speaking it.

The familiarity I always had around him.

The way he acts.

It's everything I fell for, just repeated in a different story.

Tears spring to my eyes. I suddenly feel like I can't breathe. I claw at my neck, feeling suffocated. This entire time, I married my first love. He knew who I was and didn't say anything.

"Where are you going?" She asks as I rush to the door.

I turn and struggle with words. "I-I just– I– I need to get out of here." I run out the door as Hope chases after me, calling my name, but I ignore her. I run down the steps and continue to run, just as I've done my entire life.

One of the Last | Book 3 | ✔Where stories live. Discover now