I thought this would just be a one-shot, but because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews and the love I have discovered for this story, I have decided to continue it. I cannot necessarily guarantee set times that I will publish a new chapter, but hopefully they will be frequent.
Send any one-shot requests to my Twitter (itsmebeccax) and I'd be happy to consider them. I have a few in mind but would love to hear any input you may have.
Three more days until the midseason premiere! I cannot wait. The first video in my #GladiatorWeek series on my YouTube channel (AleccaOfficial) was just posted! Check it out and make sure to leave a comment. It is the Scandal Tag, so it is a fun way to get to know me more as a Gladiator ;)
Thank you so much for the support and enjoy this update! So happy to be writing again.
-B
Spring showers tap ferociously against the sliding doors of the grand Vermont home, threatening to soil the day ahead. Inside the house, high heels tap furiously against the floor while pots and pans clang excitedly in hurried preparation. There is a light tension bouncing throughout the halls, but all of it drops to the floor with the loud slam of a door. The house grows suddenly quiet, and after a few moments of heavy silence, yelling can be heard.
She calculates each and every step to the door, knowing full well what lies behind it. She might have handed over the reins to Olivia Pope and Associates, but she will always be the fixer. As she goes to open the door, her husband comes tumbling out, the door slamming behind him even louder than it had before. She notices a visible crack that has formed by the handle.
"She won't listen to me. You talk to her." He storms down the hallway in a predictable fashion. She knows he will blow off steam outside, or with a small glass of scotch, before he returns to the day's festivities. Today, she's okay with that. It gives her more than ample time to do her job.
"Karen, open this door right now." Olivia demands calmly, crossing her arms across her chest. After a few moments of silence, she tries again.
"Karen, it is in your best interest to open the door before I get Secret Service to kick it down." She tries, this time raising her voice a bit. Sure enough, she hears the door unlock and is met with the eyes of her 19 year-old stepdaughter.
"What do you want?" She yells to her stepmother's calm and collected face. Olivia places her hand on the door.
"May I?" She asks politely, challenging the young adult with her eyes. The tension in Karen's shoulders loosens in defeat, and she treads over to her unmade bed. Once seated, she locks eyes with her stepmother's challenging, dark orbs.
"Why aren't you dressed?" Olivia asks knowingly.
"Because she isn't my sister." Karen challenges, her body stiffening. These words were not new, but ones that had been lingering in the air for quite some time. So Olivia lets them settle once more, her only noticeable reaction a slight shift from toe to heel. She knows there is something that will follow.
"And you're not my mother."
Olivia crosses her arms tighter around the top of her stomach.
"You're right. I'm not your mother. I am your stepmother, but I'll never be your mother." Karen slams her hands down on the tangled bed sheets. Olivia's unwavering calmness always has a way of getting to people.
"No. You are nothing but my father's whore. Do not think we can ever be friends. I did not come here for you, or for my despicable father, or for the illegitimate child you want to baptize in the house of the Lord. I came here for my mother's political career and for the future one I am building. I'll need my Daddy's support just like my poor father needed his. It's the name of the game, you know that from being a political fixer, right?"
Silence. Olivia fights the fire blazing from her stomach by taking a small step forward, looking down at the floor. She smiles ever so slightly, a nervous habit she still has not broken, and looks back up at the infuriated girl.
"First of all, I'd like for you to refrain from calling me a whore, considering that now I am legally Mrs. Grant." She adjusts the ring on her finger ever so slightly before continuing.
"I do not care, quite frankly, why you came here. But talking to you as a fixer and not as your stepmother, coming here and not attending the actual baptism because of a feigned illness or whatever botched plan this is will not help you nor your mother's careers. Your father does not require your presence for political support anymore, and I do not need it either. Your presence, or lack there of, may make your dad furious and frustrated, but other than that your it has no effect whatsoever. However, returning back to me as your stepmother, I want you to know your sister, who was conceived after marriage in case you were interested. You would not have known that since you did not attend our wedding, come to my baby shower, or visit us in the hospital after she was born, even though you conveniently attend Wellesley College less than four hours away. Fitz fought very hard for you to get into that, you know, since you decided to major in partying at private school. I vividly remember saving you from the aftermath of one of those parties, if I'm not mistaken?"
Karen looked at her with doe eyes, and Olivia could see right through them to her core.
"I find it strange that the few times you have been here since she was born, of course either against your will or because you needed something from your father, you never wanted to hold her. Why is that?"
"Because she is not my sister." Karen repeated through gritted teeth. Olivia smiled.
"Nniñera Dorin! Please bring Isabella to me. Por favor." Sure enough within minutes, Dorin came wobbling into the bedroom with the infant in her arms, donning her beautiful, custom Christening gown sent to them from the British Royals.
"Gracias. Tell the photographer I will be down in ten minutes." Dorin obliged with a small nod, ignoring Karen's flustered state and hurrying out of the room to make sure Teddy was properly dressed. Once the door was shut, Olivia turned her attention back to Karen.
"Make sure to support her head and keep your hair away from her hands. She likes to grab." Karen shook her head.
"No. I'm not holding her!" Olivia held Isabella expectantly in front of Karen's crossed arms.
"She's not going to bite you. It's good practice for the cameras."
"I barely want to hold her for a publicity picture, let alone in my free time." Olivia brought Isabella back to her chest, smiling as the baby looked up at her happily.
"You don't want to fall in love with her. That's why you have refused to hold her all this time." She tore her eyes from Isabella to look back at Karen.
"You're afraid that once she's in your arms staring up at you, she'll capture your heart forever. You won't be able to hate her for being my child any longer because she'll be your sister."
"That's not true!" Karen argued, pressing her sweaty palms to her knees.
"Then prove it." Olivia challenged, offering Isabella to her once more.
Reluctantly, Karen slowly positioned her half-sister in her arms, trying not to meet her gaze. However as Isabella reached up to touch her chin, she became entranced by her eyes. The brown orbs locked with her light ones, as if the final two pieces of a puzzle were snapped together. For years, she had wanted to blame her parents' divorce and unhappy marriage on Olivia because deep down inside, she felt responsible for it. She hadn't been a good enough daughter, and her parents had fought over her day in and day out. It was easier to put the blame on someone else and make them the villain. It was harder to understand her family's hard past while she was shoved away at boarding school. Her dad's profession did not make things easier to understand either.
As she looked down at this baby, she felt a warmth spread from the tips of her toes to her cheeks. She could not deny her sister's beauty. Bella's curly, jet black hair went perfectly with her pure white headband. She did not know her mother's or Karen's pasts, but her deep chestnut eyes loved them. She knew nothing yet of the world's cruelty. She was as pure as the snow that fell on the day she was born, and a part of Karen wanted to shelter her from being tainted. She slowly pushed the hand away from her chin, and Isabella wrapped her tiny, delicate fingers around her pointer finger, as if to further win her affection. For the first time that morning, Karen smiled.
She hadn't even noticed Olivia had left the room.
"Consider it handled." Olivia said as she passed Fitz's office. He looked away from the sunny window and whirled the small dash of scotch left in his tumbler in a circular motion with a smirk.
I always wondered what Fitz and Olivia's future would hold with his other children, so I had inspiration to bring Karen into the mix.
Please do not forget to leave a review! It's what made me want to continue this story :) And if you wish, please check out my YouTube channel (AleccaOfficial) and Twitter (itsmebeccax).
Until next time…