„Rivalry - something we are afraid of, but also something we tend to reach”

  „Miss Stonebridge?” Eva heard Sophie’s voice behind her the moment that she intended to enter the house after walking for about an hour through the garden in her desperate attempt, but to no avail, to clear her mind.

  Hearing her name, but still not knowing who actually called her, Eva stopped, feeling that the blood stopped flowing through her veins, her breath became interrupted, and her hands suddenly froze as if being made from ice. Even so, after a few moments of staring at a blind spot while feeling a strange buzz of emptiness in her ears, Eva deeply breathed in till she felt her heart again beating in her chest. After that, she squeezed hard her fists and turned to watch the one who called her name.

  And… the inevitable happened then: two women’s glances, warm and cold at the same time, intertwined half of the road, exchanged killing energies, for there couldn’t deal with kindness there when one of them was the ex and the second one was who could have taken the place of the first one next to the beloved man if she hadn’t been so stubborn to chase him away eventually.

  „Do we know each other?” asked Eva eventually, after many seconds of staring at Sophie, who was piercing her with her glacial glance as if she had wanted her dead: there and at that moment. Yet, Sophie knew very well that she didn't have either the courage or the power to kill the other, even if she thought that she was more than capable of doing that.

  „To be honest, I don’t know what to answer,” said Sophie drily, sketching a weird smile of confusion on her face while fighting with the fingers of the gloves which she thought that they looked weird at that moment, making her look clumsy and somehow unworthy while the rival looked so beautiful, almost perfect, even though Eva’s face reflected the tiredness well.

  „Then?” Eva insisted to find out the truth. After that, she took a few steps toward Sophie, making her feel her blood frozen in her veins. „How do you know my name?”

  „I saw it written on a sheet of paper,” Sophie simply answered when Eva took one more step toward her.

  „On a sheet of paper?” asked Eva amused. „And… and how are you so sure that I am who you are looking for?”

  „Because I’ve been told that you’re here.”

  „Have you been told? By who?”

  „Christine Bircham,” said Sophie, this time confidently, and stared into the rival’s eyes, which she found of a dizzy blue and, for the first time, even if for a short time, she understood why her ex-husband lost her head for that woman when he met her.

  „Now I see,” Eva answered, smiling, carefully putting the warm shawl on her shoulders. „As I understand where our respectable Mrs. Bircham vanished a few days ago: she went to meet you… the rival.”

  „Actually I’m more your rival, Eva than hers. Excuse my imprudence: may I call Eva, right?”

  „Of course, not,” said Eva in a severe tone. „My name can be spoken only by my close friends while you already said that you are my rival. More than that: you didn’t tell me who you are.”

  „If I tell you that I’m the… ex, will you understand who am I?”

  „Sophie Anderson Bell,” said Eva with a hissing tone, a fact that made her voice slowly shake, and that slight shaking of her vocal tone, something that she hated at that moment, made Sophie feel that she has been avenged, thinking that at least this way she was superior in front of the rival, who she managed to intimidate.

  „I see that you heard about me,” added Sophie, confidently smiling, somehow triumphantly. But she has been so amazed to see on Eva’s face a kind of weird smile, somehow provocative and cunning, instead of a tremor in her hands. And that smile has been drawn on Eva’s face because she felt attacked and forced to protect herself, for… she didn’t know why, but she felt, with all her body actually, that that first meeting with Sophie was somehow a duel between two women that shared the same man once, even if one of them never loved that man and has been his wife only on a sheet of paper while the other loved him with soul and body, gave herself completely to him and also gave him a child, something that made him completely happy and also sad. And… most important, Eva thought that she must win that battle, no matter what.

  Then, after she finally managed to take heart, Eva stared again into Sophie’s eyes and answered her as she deserved, or at least this was what she thought: „how couldn't I know the one who once had the family name of the man I love? Even if this has been only written on paper.”

  „Did he tell you this? That we’ve been married only formally?” tried Sophie to attack.

  „No. Others took care to tell me about this, for… this is a known fact by everyone, actually like your past, Mrs. Anderson Bell.”

  „Again this tiresome Anderson Bell,” murmured Sophie, shuddering, for even if others called her name so many times to hurt her, this time it was even more killing because it has been told by her rival, even if Eva said this in a neutral tone.

  „I can’t call you differently,” said Eva confidently, seeing Sophie making a wry face. „It is the name you always used to present yourself in front of others, and… a name that I had to hear so many times before finding out who you really are.”

  Eva’s words amazed Sophie a lot, who stared at her as if asking for an answer to that weird question awoken in her chest: „why? answer that actually has been heard soon after.

  „Others called me with this name so many times that I started to hate it, even if I didn’t know why. It was probably because I’ve been jealous… with every single woman seen next to Brian, without knowing that actually he had a wife home waiting for him.”

  „Yet, you followed him everywhere and even gave him a child,” said Sophie, hissing the words through her teeth.

  „Why not?” Eva simply said, and these words amazed her more than Sophie, for she felt them fake, even if told by her, for she has never been happy finding out that she was the „other one.” Yet, now, standing in front of the one who had had the sacral role of being the wife of the man she loved, Eva felt that it was her right to look with superiority at the rival, to let her know that she wasn’t weak and that she won’t allow others to trample her under feet, more when she won, for she was sure of Brian’s love for her.

  „For the simple fact that you hadn’t this right,” suddenly Sophie shouted. „Because I was the wife while you, Miss Stonebridge was only the „other one,” a nice word to call you so. That’s because of this you hadn’t the right to ruin my marriage.”

  „It wasn’t me who ruined your marriage,” Eva said, gnashing her teeth. „And I’ve been the „other one” not because I wanted this. If you want to reproach this to someone, then go and ask Brian for explanations and excuses. And… also reproach this to you, Sophie, for… you also have sins on your soul. More than I have.”

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  „Yet: you feel no remorse for what you’ve done.”

  „Why should I do that? As I said: I found out about you much later when it was already too late.”

  „Even so: you should have left then. You should have had at least the shame to not… occupy a place that wasn’t yours.”

  „A place that wasn’t mine?” said Eva smiling. „Per contra: when I found out about your existence, Sophie that place wasn’t yours anymore.”

  Suddenly, Sophie swallowed hard, not understanding very well what Eva meant. That’s why she focused her glance on the rival, frowning, trying to understand what the hell was going on, for… one it has been told to her, and another thing seemed to have happened.

  Eva instead kept saying, without paying attention to all the grimaces seen on the woman’s face that was standing in front of her and also without caring at all that maybe that change in her own behavior wasn’t something good for her: „it’s exactly as I said: I found out that I’ve been the „other one” only the day I gave birth to my daughter. And… others took care to tell me about your hatred and that you needed someone to trample under your feet to regain your lost honor while I also suffered, maybe more than you suffered.”

  „Did you suffer?” said Sophie ironically. „Don’t be a hypocrite, Eva Stonebridge. You didn’t have why to suffer when…”

  „Of course, I had why to suffer, for after the visit she paid to you when you let Miss Davis know that you can hurt me and my child, she took me away from her and lied to me that I’ve been abandoned by the man I loved with all my heart. If not because of you, maybe I…”

  „If you hadn't done what you've done, you wouldn't have suffered,” attacked Sophie, suddenly approaching Eva and squeezing the flesh of her arm. „I only defended what was mine.”

  Face to face, powerfully blowing hatred toward the other, both Sophie and Eva were looking to see the other one on both knees in front of her, without knowing that both of them already lost: one for being stupid - for fearing for life and having her pride, the other one not knowing how toothy life is and trying to defend the impossible this way.

  „I’ll do the same,” said Eva in a whisper, still staring into the rival’s eyes. „I won’t allow anyone to hurt the people I love.”

  „Even if those „people” did what they’ve done for hurting you? Using you as a shield for a nonsense revenge?” murmured Sophie, a hint about the eternal rivalry between Alfred and Brian, something she thought that Eva wasn’t aware of, but which the young lady knew so well.

  „They also suffered… much more than I. And… even if „I paid for others’sins,” I won’t allow anybody to hurt those who hurt me. I’m more than capable to „avenge upon” them… with my own methods.”

  „That’s why you abandoned him? For „revenge?”

  „This isn’t something you should know.”

  „Yet: it might be something involving me directly in this.

  Eva stared at her in amazement: „like?”

  „Give that child to me, Eva. Allow me to be your daughter’s mother and I promise that she’ll always be happy next to me, as I'll make Brian happy.”

  „You really lost your mind,” Eva hissed the words through her teeth, squeezing the flesh of Sophie’s arms. „You all lose your head if you think that other women give birth to children only to allow you to be mothers. Don’t even dream about something like this, Sophie Anderson Bell: my family belongs to me and I’ll never share it with anyone.”

  „Even so you let them behind you.”

  „Do you think so? That I let them behind me?”

  „I don’t think, only. It’s a real fact. An event that’s actually the gossip on everybody’s lips these days: Brian Beneath left his wife for the mistress, who actually abandoned him eventually - the one who he wanted to be his new wife.”

  „Then… fully enjoy this little triumph, Sophie, for… the others’compassion is the only luxury I can allow you to have now, for the moment, for… very soon, I’ll turn back where is my place: like Brian Beneath’s wife, for namely because of this I suffered so much. And… don’t even think to touch my family, Sophie, or I swear that you can die in circumstances weirder than those in which your father died.”

  Checkmate for Eva. But it has been Sophie’s turn to fall into the madness’arms. She suddenly squeezed again Eva’s arms, shouting: „what do you know? What do you actually know about this, Eva Stonebridge? Who killed my father, in fact?”

  But Eva looked at her with a certain hatred, with a kind of weird regret that she didn’t hurt Sophie earlier with such words, for even if she didn’t participate in Edward’s assassination and she found out about his death much later, she considered that crime a personal triumph at that moment, and this was something she never expected to feel.

  Sophie instead, really driven crazy, was shaking Eva’s body, squeezing her both arms and asking for answers to all those questions that tormented her since her father has been killed: „tell me! Who killed my father, Eva? Who’s the miserable who dared to cut the thread of his life? Who? Or maybe… was it you?”

  Eva looked at Sophie with a certain disgust this time… but it wasn’t a personal disgust for Sophie, but for herself, for being unwillingly involved in that charade of strange events. Then, hardly pushing Sophie away from her, Eva managed to make the rival lose her balance and fall to the ground. After that, she deeply breathed it, saying to her barely heard, not paying attention to the fact that Sophie was sobbing: „you’re wrong, Mrs. Anderson Bell. Even if you badly want to involve me in this and blame me for everything, it’s not my fault for your loss. All I can tell you is that… Edward Anderson Bell paid a higher bill for what he owed with his death.”

  „Bill? What bill?” Mrs. Huntington’s voice has been heard behind Sophie and this made Eva wince while Sophie stopped crying. Then, helped by Alice, Sophie stood up and both looked at Eva, waiting for her answer. „You didn’t answer, Eva. What Edward Anderson Bell paid for?” Alice asked again, heading toward Eva, who crawled a little bit back, somehow ashamed, for even if she talked about Edward, it was to hurt Sophie and make her stop her mad attack, for she understood very well that was Christine who told Sophie where to find her rival and Sophie came there to strike the coup of grace on Eva. However, everything that Eva told Sophie didn’t make her feel better. Per contra: it made her feel dirty inside as if she alone trampled her ego under her feet. „Eva?”

  Eva instead didn’t hear what Mrs. Huntington said. Her glance was focused on Beth, who was staring at her with tearful eyes, unpleasantly surprised to see how Eva changed. And… Eva felt pain seeing that glance, for she considered it unworthy, for she did what she did only to protect herself. That’s all. Yet: she was considered the guilty one for everything and she thought that nobody understood her.

  „What for, Miss Stonebridge? Why did you change so much?” Beth eventually muttered.

  „Because life forced me to fall into sins,” murmured Eva.

  „Eva’s sins,” Sophie eventually murmured, randomly, and her words made Mrs. Huntington watch her, unpleasantly surprised to hear Sophie talking like that, even if she knew very well every single bad thing done by Sophie Anderson Bell in her short life and that she had worse sins on her soul.

  „I don’t think you are well placed to judge others’sins, Mrs. Anderson Bell,” said Alice eventually. „None of us is that innocent to point someone else with the finger when we have a lot of sins on our shoulders.”

  „Yet: some of us have more sins on our souls than others,” Sophie arrogantly said.

  „Do you think so?” Alice severely asked. „I won’t be that sure, for… even if I don’t know how much this child is involved in your father’s death, yet, I feel that your sins can’t be balanced on the same Balance of Fate. That’s why, Eva, tell me: who exactly asked for our ex-Prime Minister’s death?”

  Staring at her, Eva was slowly shaking, for she didn’t want to give Emily away. Yet: she had to, for… that man died because of someone else’s hatred, even if he paid for his sins. Even so, he had the right to be „revenged” at least by telling others what was hidden behind his death and who actually ordered that attack. That’s why, after she did violence to her conscience, Eva murmured: „Emily Davis. But… Mrs. Anderson Bell… you already took revenge upon those who killed your father.”

  Sophie stared in amazement at Eva, not understanding at all what did she mean. But she shuddered, with all her body, when Eva added: „Emily Davis died, killed by the same man who cut the thread of your father’s life. And… I think that they already paid for what they did, punished by fate in the underworld.”