So, to make her less attractive to Malcolm, Olivia coerces Alicia into cutting off her beautiful chestnut hair, which Olivia leaves on Malcolm’s desk to show that she now is the one in control. But while locked away in the attic Malcolm continues to see her and take advantage of her loneliness. Alicia reluctantly says goodbye to Christopher. Olivia decides that the only thing to do is hide Alicia up in the attic while she is pregnant and then pass the baby off as hers. This is the moment when she hardens herself and begins to slowly transform into the vicious grandmother from Flowers in the Attic. Then, Alicia confesses to Olivia that Malcolm has been doing this regularly and she is pregnant again. On the night of Christopher’s third birthday, Garland catches Malcolm trying to rape Alicia, has a heart attack, and dies in the fight that follows. When she spurns his advances, he is convinced that she is leading him on and vows to make her pay dearly. However, Malcolm falls in love with Alicia. She gives birth to a son, whom she names Christopher. Olivia is disgusted to see she is only nineteen and very beautiful, and Malcolm is enraged to discover she is pregnant, thinking that her child will inherit part of Garland's fortune. Malcolm’s father, Garland, comes back to Foxworth Hall with his new wife, Alicia. Malcolm ignores the boys for the rest of their lives because he can’t have a perfect daughter to remind him that all beautiful women are wicked and deceitful. Two years later, she gives birth to a second son, Joel, after which she cannot have any more children.
Nine months later, Olivia gives birth to a boy, Malcolm, who is generally referred to as Mal so it would be easier to distinguish between him and his father. Olivia wants to scream but doesn't, trying to save their humiliation from the servants. When Malcolm discovers her in the room, they finally consummate the marriage, an act that could be considered more of an attack than an act of love Malcolm saying his mother's name as they finish. When exploring the house, she discovers the Swan Room that belonged to Malcolm’s mother and has been kept as a shrine to her. She discovers he is still tormented by his beautiful mother Corinne’s "abandonment" of him when he was five and that it was Olivia's plain looks and money that attracted him to her due to his hatred of beautiful women. She thinks she has found "the one" since this is the first man to ever show interest in her due to her height and plain appearance.They soon get married and Olivia leaves her New London family home, Croxteth Hall, and moves to Malcolm's father's manor, Foxworth Hall, in West Virginia, where Olivia starts to discover the dark secrets about Malcolm that start to kill her love for him. Garden of Shadows starts with a tall, plain Olivia being rescued from spinsterhood by the smart and handsome Malcolm Foxworth.