SON OF THE MOON

Prologue*

He had lied again.

One too many times, Olivia had let the lies pass but this one was just the last one she would be able to handle. She was tired of waiting for him.

Olivia ran, tripping over every few steps with her unsteady gate. Her feet bleeding from the injuries inflicted by the glass she had dropped at the news her sister brought forth during dinner.

He lied.

Octavio, Olivia, and Alma. Two sisters and the man who would break them apart from one another.

It was not always like this. It used to be a good friendship between the three of them growing up. After Olivia and her family moved to the city, the boy next door had become their friend. They played together, they went to school together, and they grew up together.

When Olivia turned thirteen, she started to notice Octavio, not as a friend, but as a man. His strong shoulders, his short wavy hair. his tall frame. His voice became deeper, his demeanor more confident. Overall, he was a fine young man.

Five years her senior, he became available to be married but he never did. Olivia noticed how, as she became a woman, he started to linger his eyes on her more often, give her more attention than he used to, and even complimented her more often. Olivia's love for him started to develop, and hope took root in her mind.

The sisters shared their secrets, and one of them was Olivia's hopes to marry Octavio when she became of age. But being the oldest, Alma's turn was first.

Their parents started to look for a good family for her to marry into. It was an obvious option to think about Octavio's, as both families had grown closer due to the friendship between all three of them. Olivia was not worried, she expected both Alma and Octavio to nay the parents' proposal to marry each other and the betrayal was even bigger than expected.

When Alma did not refuse the idea, Olivia thought it was just out of respect for their parents to "consider him" as an option. But when she started to flirt with Octavio, and he reciprocated her advances, Olivia became furious. She had been unable to tell her parent, as all they could think about was marrying the oldest into a good family and ignored Olivia's protests against the couple.

Before she could say or do anything, the two of them married and left on their honeymoon for two months to some faraway city. When they returned, Olivia attempted to confront both her sister and the man whom she loved but was never given the opportunity as both always avoided being left alone with her.

A year after the wedding, they were still childless. Alma confided in her heartbroken sister and confessed that Octavio refused to touch her, seemingly ignoring the fact that the news made Olivia happy.

One night, after a family dinner between the two families, Alma had retired to bed and left Olivia to clean the dining table. Octavio made his way to her when she was done, and in the dark, kissed Olivia with such passion that it ignited the beginning of their affair.

Olivia stopped complaining to her parents and sending death stares toward her sister. The tensions started to die down and the family was at peace once again.

But at the darkest hour, in the room furthest away from the rest of the family, Octavio and Olivia made love every chance they got.

Octavio was careful to not impregnate her. Never placing his seed inside of her womb, denying her the pleasure of becoming a mother.

"I cannot do that to you." He'd say while holding her close to him. "Your parents are looking for a man to marry you. To make you happy."

Olivia, ignorant as she was, always believed she saw sadness running through his eyes whenever they talked about a man who was still to appear.