Chapter 440 The Truth
Upon hearing that, Eugene and Olivia glanced at each other. This revelation is too overwhelming. What’s that supposed to mean?
Did Olivia really make the right guess? Things weren’t really that simple?
“He thought the one who saved him was Lara? Are you saying that Lara wasn’t the one that saved him?” Eugene couldn’t hold himself back from asking.
Ellen nodded with sadness visible in her eyes. She then looked at Olivia, feeling a little flustered to talk about her past in front of her daughter-in-law. “Olivia, these are all trivial issues of our family. Please don’t be scared away by them,” said Ellen vaguely.
Olivia was startled for a moment and she said, “It’s okay, Mrs. Nolan. If you find it uncomfortable for me to stay throughout the conversation, North and I can leave some space for you. We can go take a walk outside.”
As she was saying this, she got to her feet and pulled North as she tried to leave.
Ellen hurriedly took her hand. “No, no. I’m just afraid that my family issues will affect your relationship with Eugene. You can stay if you don’t mind.”
At this moment, Eugene helped Olivia back to the sofa. “Mom, you don’t have to overthink things. I’m going to spend the rest of my life with Olivia. Besides, if it weren’t for Olivia, I wouldn’t have remembered to ask you about this. I haven’t thought about this since the beginning and really thought that Edward was captivated by Lara.”
Ellen sighed again; her voice sounded helpless. “He was indeed captivated by her. Both Edward and Lara were my university classmates, and he always had a crush on Lara. During one of our class reunions, one of the rooms in the hotel was on fire. But, restaurants thirty years ago were very undeveloped and there was no CCTV.
Edward was sitting at the end of the table. Everyone was rushing toward the doors. You can imagine how crowded it was. I was sitting next to the door with Lara and so we managed to leave. But, Edward was nowhere to be seen. I was very worried so I soaked myself with water and went in again.”
When I found the room, the door was closed; the entrance was blocked by a burning beam. The fire was roaring and I couldn’t breathe at all. I closed my eyes and tried to put the fire out with a broom. When I finally got rid of the beam and opened the door, Lara came in. She was covered in a damp blanket and when she saw me, she put it on me. She rushed into the room and helped to get Edward out.
I wanted to help her but she told me that there was someone inside the room. I didn’t doubt her since we were indeed racing against time with the fire. Covering myself in the blanket, I went into the room, but I found no one.
When I finally got out, Lara came in again saying that she might have been mistaken and helped me out. That day, no one knew that it was actually me who had moved the beam and opened the door.”
Letting out a bitter laugh, she continued, “I couldn’t explain clearly what had happened that day. I couldn’t say that Lara didn’t save anyone and tell everyone that she was taking credit for nothing. From Edward’s perspective, it was Lara who had saved his life. In the eyes of our classmates, it was Lara who had saved me and Edward!”
Olivia was startled. “How could Lara be so scheming at such a young age?”
Helplessly, Ellen said, “She’s not scheming. I was the stupid one.”
Olivia frowned in response. “Then, how did you get married into the Nolans? Didn’t Lara do all that to marry Eugene’s Dad?”
Taking a deep breath, Ellen answered, “The Nolans had intended to arrange a marriage with the Mccarthys. Although Eugene really wanted to marry Lara, she was abroad. I told him that if he can persuade both our families, I would agree with his plan too.
So, he went to the Roberts’, but they told him that she already had a boyfriend and rejected his proposal. They didn’t even give him a phone number to contact her. That night, he asked me out for a drink. He told me about how much he was in love with Lara, how grateful he was that she saved him from the fire, and how if it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t be alive.
I didn’t explain, but I did talk about the fire. Maybe he was too drunk, but he didn’t hear what I said clearly. It might be that he didn’t care to listen at all. Anyway, he didn’t pity me at all for everything I did for him.”
