Chapter 12 Entangled in a dangerous web of lies
Ophelia’s POV
“So, babe, I’m listening. How did you manage to get three million dollars in one night? What sort of black magic did you use?” Ava asked me as she lazily munched on a packet of animal crackers.
I sighed miserably to myself from where I was, with half of my head trapped inside the refrigerator as I scavenged for some vegetables to make lasagna and vegetable salad for myself and Ava.
“Give me a minute, Ava. I’ll explain everything to you,” I mumbled, grabbing the can of ground beef and hoisting myself away from the refrigerator.
“I’m here now,” I said, and dumped the ingredients on the kitchen counter as I turned around once more to rummage through the cabinet for a knife.
“Lia, do you need my help? I can help you chop the veggies,” Ava suggested, to which I snorted, forgetting my initial worries of coming up with a reasonable lie to her.
“No, thank you very much. I still want to wake up tomorrow with my head still on my neck and the house unburned,” I teased her, and she rolled her eyes.
“Please, you don’t forget things, do you?” She scoffed and I chuckled as I rinsed the veggies and started chopping them on the board.
“Just because I accidentally boiled two eggs until they were blackened doesn’t mean I’m gonna make the same mistake with the veggies. I’m not moving close to the stove anyway,” She mumbled, and I just shook my head.
“Yeah, right. As if you didn’t almost cut your little finger off two weeks ago when I asked you to help me prepare a bowl of fruit salad,” I reminded her, and she left her mouth open midway as her brows furrowed in concentration.
“Oh, I almost forgot about that. We all make mistakes, but I’ll prove my dexterity in cooking to you very soon. You’ll be blown away when you taste my food. I’ve been trying to learn to cook. I tried out a bunch of tutorials on the internet, and if I may say, I was quite impressed by myself,” Ava flipped her non-existent long hair, with an accomplished smile that made her blonde bob quiver slightly.
“Yeah, soon but not today,” I replied, fondly huffing at her.
“I can’t believe you changed the topic, Lia. How smart of you. I almost forgot about the purpose of this meeting,” Ava cast a weak glare at me, causing me to almost shudder in my stance as a dreadful feeling settled at the pit of my belly.
“You started it,” I tried to wriggle my way out of the tense atmosphere but Ava remained undaunted by my utterance as she chewed the biscuits with a sort of eerie stare.
“Now tell me for real, Ophelia. How did you get so much in a day? You know you can tell me anything, and I mean literally everything and I’ll understand you, right?” Ava inquired, in a gentler tone but the stern expression was still on her face.
I dropped the knife, took a deep exhale before I picked up the utensil again and continued cutting, “I got a job as a nanny for a very wealthy but incontinent man some days ago, I’m sorry I didn’t inform you that I was going for a job interview,” I spat out my first set of lies, and paused to gaze into Ava’s false blue eyes to decipher whether she believed me or not.
I was surprised when she actually seemed concentrated and curious about the job. She didn’t look like she doubted my poor trial of a lie one bit, and inwardly, I applauded myself for not fucking things up and stuttering in my statement.
So, I continued, “I got the job and my employer asked me to start work as soon as possible which I did. Since Rodrigo gave me yesterday’s night off, I decided to go over to start work. I found out that the old man could still manage to have a conversation with me and while I was tidying him up, I must have seemed gloomy to him, so he asked me what happened that I had my face set miserably. I didn’t want to tell him anything because you know, I just met this man and I didn’t want to divulge my worries to him just because he asked,” I stopped once more to gather enough lies in my head as I prepared to move the lasagna noodles, cottage cheese mixture and the beef sauce into the baking pan.
Ava just nodded again, silently urging me on, and I mirrored her actions, “Let me put this into the oven before I continue,” I gestured to the pan.
“Alright, babe,” She smiled, and I grinned back at her before turning my back against her with a grimace as I squeezed my eyes shut and nibbled on my lower lip.
The consequences of my lies were going to be drastic when Ava eventually found out about it. A voice inside my head spoke as I closed the oven.
Afterward, I dumped the used kitchen utensils into the dishwasher and started tidying up the table.
“He kept pestering me until I opened up to him about dad’s condition. When I told him, he laughed and a few minutes later, I found myself with a signed cheque of two fucking million dollars in my hold. At first, I thought it was a dream not until I started ugly crying in front of him and my voice resounded into my own ears,” I finished off my poorly-developed lie with my stare rooted to the table, not wanting to stare into Ava’s eyes and see the scornful, disbelieving gaze which she reserved to the perverted customers who she served at the club.
“Wow, that sounds quite unbelievable but I trust you and I know you’re too chicken to lie to me, so I believe you,” Ava said, and I whipped my head up at the speed of lightning as I gaped at my best friend in shock.
Why was Ava suddenly acting strange? The Ava whom I knew as my best friend since we were both eleven could pry out a liar amidst eleven thousand people, so why had she just believed me like that?
Something was definitely not right but at least, I could use that to my advantage, and hopefully, she will forget about it and never ask me again.
“Yeah, though I still have to work for him for a year. He has a terminal disease, so..” I trailed off.
Why couldn’t I just stop lying?
I was gradually trapping myself in a dangerous circle of lies with my stupid mouth. I inwardly thought to myself.
“Oh? That’s sad. I hope he enjoys what’s left of his life surrounded by his loved ones. Sadly, nice people like him have to die so tragically, while a Voldemort incarnate like the brute I call my dad is still alive and uselessly healthy,” Ava seethed as her grip on the biscuits sachet toughened, and a furious glint crossed her eyes.
“Yeah, such is life, babe. Don’t think about him too much. You have me now, and most importantly, you’ve gained your freedom from him, isn’t that just great?” I placated Ava as I hugged her from behind, and hid my neck in her shoulder.
A few days ago, Ava moved out of her dad’s house to a tiny one-bedroom flat that was just a stone’s throw from my house. I was happy that she had finally gotten her liberation from the abusive asshole whom she called her dad.
“Yeah, it is. I just can’t help but get mad whenever I think of him. Maybe I should really seek therapy,” Ava sighed, and I just snuggled her tighter as I nuzzled her nape.
She caressed my entwined arms as she leaned closer into my hold. We basked in each other’s warmth for a blissful moment until…
“Lia, I think something is burning!” Ava yelped which made me jerk away from her with a start.
I sniffed the air for proof before I gasped when the choking aroma of burnt food filled my nostrils.
I had forgotten about my precious lasagna.
Hastily, I slipped on my oven mittens before I scurried to the oven, and removed the almost-burnt lasagna from the oven before I unplugged it from the socket with a pant.
Afterward, I placed it on the cooling rack and stood with my hands akimbo as I stared at our almost ruined lunch.
“How is it? Can we manage it?” Ava asked me, and I turned to face her with a wary smile.
“Maybe. We’ll top it up with vegetable salad, so it should be good,” I elaborated, and she nodded.This text is © NôvelDrama/.Org.
“That’s a relief because I can’t wait any longer. I need to eat before I die of hunger,” She sighed.
“Such a foodie,” I playfully insulted her, and she just shrugged as she came around to help me salvage the edible parts of the ruined lasagna.
“The great perk of having a chef as your best friend,” She retorted, bumping shoulders with me as she winked at me which made me chuckle and shake my head in amusement.
Ava was such a funny case to be around.
“I’m nowhere near a chef yet but I hope to become one in the future,” I mumbled, almost inaudibly as I turned the ruined lasagna into a trash bag.
“Yeah, you will, babes. I know it and I’ll always be here to cheer you on,” Ava squeezed my shoulder as she darted a reassuring smile at me.
I could only nod in response as I smiled back warmly at her.