Mia looked at Orla, her heart dropping. She had always hated her, and for this mess, she only knew she was going to hate her more.
"I did it because I wanted you and Mom to love me. I did it because I wanted to know what it felt like to be loved by my parents again. I was losing it all, but all you ever paid attention to were the twins. I meant nothing to you all."
"Oh, shut up Mia," Arnold yelled bitterly. He stared unbelievably at Mia. "What makes you think I will believe you didn't push that innocent girl into the pool?"
Mia lowered her head. She knew she had been caught up with, but she didn't know how else to defend herself. "I didn't push Orla into the pool, Dad. She was already drowned when I saw her."
Orla shifted in her chair, but Callan took her hands in his, soothing her.
Tears fell uncontrollably from her eyes. She didn't know what to believe anymore. At that moment, she missed Isla, and she wished she stayed with her a little longer.
"You killed Isla, and you killed your mother too, Mia. How can you be so evil?" Arnold's voice cracked.
Tears loomed at the corner of his eyes, threatening to fall if he spoke for long. He held back, his heart shattering with pain.
"I didn't kill Isla, Daddy and Mom..." Mia paused, her eyes bloodshot with anger. "I didn't kill Mom, she drank the poisoned water Orla gave her to drink."
Orla felt bitterness surge through her as Mia mentioned her name.
"You gave me the water to give her, didn't you? You told me you would help me now that everyone hated me. I was so young, and couldn't comprehend what was happening, but she said Mommy needed water, and she wanted me to bring the water."
Orla was surprised at how her blurry memory became very visible as she reminisced back to the past. She vividly remembered everything that happened that day, and how it happened.
Arnold shook his head. It was still hard to digest that his favourite child was the devil amongst them.
"Why, Mia?" He was weak.
"I loved Mom, but she didn't get over the twins. She was obsessed with Isla's death and didn't even let you love me. She always mourned her, and all you wanted to do was stay with her. No one wanted me around even when I tried. I didn't know that the poison would hurt her, I got it for myself, but ended up using it for her."
Sophia stared at her sister in disbelief. She would have doubted that Mia wasn't a part of their family if she didn't have a striking resemblance with their late mother.
"You killed Mom?" Orla shook her head.
"She would have killed herself if I didn't make it faster. She was already so depressed." Mia responded, tears streaming down her face. She didn't realize how much evil she had done until now. "But, I didn't push Isla. I wasn't with her when she jumped into the pool. I would have saved her if I was with her."
Arnold was tempted to hit Mia. She had been the one who consoled him the most after their mother died.
She made sure she was always with him, always did everything that wouldn't make him think of his dead wife. She had been his healer when she had also been the culprit all along. He was devastated.
"I don't know who you are, Mia," Amelia said, wiping tears off with her thumb. "You are wicked, I hate that you are my sister."
Mila was yet to recover from the shock of the confession. She was stiffened on the couch she was crouched on. She would never have believed that Mia would be that wicked.
"And you let us blame an innocent girl for years, Mia. You let us hate our sister so much," Camila squeaked, the sound of her tears filtering her remaining words. "You are so heartless, Mia. You deserve to rot in jail. And you two," she pointed at Sophia and Emma, for being her accomplices, I won't spare you, I swear."
Camila stood to her feet and walked up to where Isla sat with her husband, her hands tightly wrapped in his. Tears hindered her from speaking, but after battling with her emotions, she bent a little and said, "Orla, I don't even know you because they made me hate you even before I knew you. But I promise that I will fight this with you if you need to put them all to jail, I will stand by you."
She looked at her Dad and shook her head. "Your favourite daughter is a criminal. I can't be under the same roof as a criminal, Dad." With that, she picked up her bag and walked out of the house.
"Orla, I am sorry." Was all Emma could mutter as she stood in front of Callan and Orla. "I am so sorry.”
Mia was still there, silent. She knew it was over with her. She was done with it, but she didn't feel remorseful about the things she did.
She wanted love, she yearned to be loved, she desperately wanted her father to love her, and that was why she did everything she did.
"Can we leave here?" Orla asked Callan, she was crying a lot now.
All her life, she had been hated for the wrong reasons. She was hated for the things she never did, her heart was broken, and she didn't want to be a part of that family anymore.
She didn't belong with them.
Callan took her hands and helped her up. He shielded her, guiding her towards the doorpost.
Arnold watched as they made to leave, and he was tempted to call her name.
He did. Orla stopped on her track, turning slowly to look at her father.
"Orla," he called again, in the softest voice he had used on her over the years. Pain struck him as he stared at her, there wasn't anything to say.
Orla shook her head, uninterested in whatever her father had to say.
"Let's leave, Callan."
She begged him, and he listened, taking her away from everyone who had always seen her as an enemy of the Sullivan family.
Author's note
Y'all guessed right. Mia is a narcissist, and she's unapologetic about that. She killed her own mother! Definitely deserves to be punished.
The concluding part of this chapter comes up soon.
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I love you all.