Page 25 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
Aria stood silently, waiting.
"When Sandra, Crispin's mother, heard he was...spending time with a cleaner, she was furious. Embarrassed. She had you investigated. Quietly."
Despite trying to keep her expression impassive, Aria flinched.
"She wanted eyes on you. So, she asked me to hire you, said it would be easier that way. And I agreed. She arranged it with your agency."
"At first, I was suspicious. I kept track of my jewellery, I double-checked drawers. Then the incident with the Lackenbys happened, and we all felt...vindicated. It confirmed what we wanted to believe." She looked down into her glass. "But you were innocent, and I knew it even before the pearls were found... I knew it, but it was too late. I'd already let the poison settle."
Ophelia set the glass down and looked up, her voice trembling. "I judged you, Aria. Without knowing you and without giving you a chance. But you...you were always kind, always gentle. The way you read to me...you think I make you read for your own good. But the truth is, I ask because your voice soothes me. You care for me like a daughter. And this is how I repaid you. I wanted you to know the truth. But I didn't expect him to bring that girl, and I certainly didn’t know about the engagement."
Aria said nothing and instead, reached behind her neck. Slowly, silently, she unclasped the opal pendant and placed it on the coffee table. Then the earrings. The delicate drops made a soft clink against the wood.
Silent tears streamed down her face.
"No...Aria, please," Ophelia whispered in a broken voice. "It's yours. I meant it."
Aria finally met her eyes. There was only agony in them.
"When I was about six," she said quietly, "my Mami took me to visit a rich aunt. It was someone's birthday, and they had cake-a rare treat for us. One of those big pink ones with lots of frosting. One slice per child. I reached for a second piece, and my aunt made a comment...something about 'our kind' always taking more than our share."
Her voice was steady. "I said it was for the cat, pretended I wasn't hungry. Mami didn't scold me, but later, she looked at me with such shame in her eyes.
"My parents were not as rich as you are, but they were proud. You and your friends have no honour. All the money in the world and this is the result," she whispered in a tortured voice.
She looked down at the pendant once more. "Taking this necklace... It's not worth giving up the only thing I've got left." She straightened and slowly got up. "My pride."
"Taking this necklace... It's not worth giving up the only thing I've got left."
She straightened and slowly got up.
"My pride."
She turned to the door. "I'll finish out the rest of next week, but consider this my notice. Please find a replacement by then."
Ophelia didn't try to stop her. She simply nodded and whispered, "I'm sorry."
The driver was still waiting outside. Aria rode in silence, her reflection flickering in the dark window glass. Her phone buzzed in her bag.
Once.
Then again.
And again.
Calls. Messages piling up.
The screen lit up with a name she didn't need to see. She knew.
He was calling now-now, when it was too late. There was nothing left but ashes. He probably wanted to offer money to keep her mouth shut.
Little did he know that even Chinese water torture would not have dragged his name from her lips.
There was another name in her call log, too: Lule. Her sister had messaged three times already. Probably sensed something was wrong.
But that conversation would come later.
Right now, she had no strength for anything.
