A beat of silence. Then, Marco’s voice, low and strained. “The doctors don’t know. And Olivia? No one can help you now.” He turned off the call.
A bitter taste filled my mouth. Fate wasn’t just pulling me down—it was burying me alive.
—
I sat in my car outside the hospital, staring blankly at the glass doors. People came and went, their lives moving forward, untouched by the wreckage of mine.
I wanted to go inside. I wanted to see Marco’s grandfather, to tell him how sorry I was that he had to suffer because of all this. Because of Marco. Because of me. But it wouldn’t change anything.
I was alone now. Truly alone.
No. Not alone.
My fingers tightened aroud my phone as I pulled up a number. A number I swore I’d never call again.
My chest ached as I hit dial. One ring. Two. Then, a deep, familiar voice.
“Olivia?”
Tears burned my eyes at the warmth in Damian’s tone, at the way he still said my name like it meant something.
“…I need your help.”
—
Damian met me at a quiet café the next morning. The sight of him made my chest tighten.
Years had passed, but he hadn’t changed. The same calm presence, the same quiet strength. He looked like he belonged in a world far above mine—dressed in a tailored black suit, powerful, confident, untouchable. But when he looked at me, his dark eyes softened.
“Tell me everything,” he said, his voice gentle.
And so I did. I told him about Marco’s betrayal. About Selena. About Celeste. I told him how I felt like I was suffocating, drowning in a marriage that had long stopped being real. By the time I finished, my hands were trembling.
Damian leaned back, studying me carefully. “You should have come to me sooner.”
I let out a hollow laugh. “I thought I could handle it.”
His jaw tightened, frustration flickering across his face. “You don’t have to anymore.”
My breath hitched. “You’d really help me disappear?”
His gaze softened. “Olivia, I would do anything for you.”
Something inside me cracked. There was a time when I could have loved him. Maybe I still did.
—
The days blurred together as I carefully put my plan into motion. A fake name. A one-way ticket. A life waiting for me on the other side of the world.
I avoided Marco as much as possible, but he noticed. The flowers. The gifts. The sudden tenderness in his voice. Desperation disguised as affection.