Chapter 4

The picnic was torture, exactly as Lily had intended.

She sat close to Ethan on a checkered blanket, while I was relegated to fetching things from the basket, like a servant.

Ethan, to my surprise, seemed almost oblivious to the dynamics, or perhaps he was deliberately playing a part.

He let Lily feed him a strawberry, his fingers brushing hers as he took it. A small, intimate gesture that spoke volumes.

He poured her lemonade, making sure her glass was never empty.

He even shared a bite of his sandwich with her, something I'd never seen him do with anyone.

These weren't grand declarations, but they were the small, everyday intimacies that revealed the depth of his indulgence for her.

It was a stark contrast to how he'd always treated me – with distance, with formality, with suspicion.

I watched them, a strange numbness settling over me.

The sharp pain of the previous day had dulled into a resigned ache.

I didn't react. I didn't speak unless spoken to. I kept my face carefully blank.

I was a ghost at their feast, an unwilling observer of their affection.

My emotional withdrawal was a shield. If I didn't feel, they couldn't hurt me. Or so I hoped.

Then, Ethan did something that shattered even my forced detachment.

He picked up a small camera he'd brought. "Lily, smile," he said, snapping a few photos of her.

She preened, posing playfully.

Then he turned to me. "Elara."

He held out the camera. "Take some of us."

My hand trembled as I took it. He wanted me to document their happiness? His intimacy with her?

The cruelty of it was breathtaking. Was this another punishment? Or was he truly that clueless?

I raised the camera, my vision blurring slightly. I focused on them, Lily snuggled against Ethan, both smiling.

Click. Click. Click.

Each shutter sound was like a hammer blow to my already fractured heart.

Ethan frowned, a flicker of surprise in his eyes as I handed the camera back without a word, my face still impassive.

He seemed... confused by my lack of reaction.

Perhaps he'd expected tears, or an outburst. My calm seemed to unsettle him more than any protest would have.

It was a small, almost imperceptible shift, but I noted it.

He was so used to my emotional responses, my pursuit, my frustration. This new, detached Elara was an unknown quantity.

Lily, sensing a change in the atmosphere, decided to press her advantage.

"Oh, Ethan," she cooed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Wouldn't it be lovely if Elara could find someone too? Maybe one of the ranch hands? Though I'm not sure any of them are... her type."

Her implication was clear: I was too good for them, or perhaps, not good enough for anyone decent.

Ethan looked at me, his expression unreadable for a moment.

Then, he said, his voice cold and clear, "Elara isn't looking for anyone here, Lily. And no one here is looking for her."

He paused, then added, his gaze meeting mine directly, "I've made my feelings clear. She knows I'm not interested. In any way."

It was a public execution of any lingering hope I might have harbored. A final, unequivocal rejection.

The words, though brutal, were almost a relief. There was no ambiguity left.

A strange thing happened. I smiled. A small, genuine, resigned smile.

It was over. The chase, the hope, the pain. It was all finally, truly over.

He wasn't interested. He would never be interested.

And in that moment, hearing it so baldly, so publicly, something inside me... shifted.

The ache was still there, but it was different now. It was the ache of a wound that was finally closing, not one being freshly inflicted.

My feelings, the ones I'd clung to for so long, they were... fading. Changing.

He was right. I wasn't looking for anyone here. Not anymore.

Suddenly, the sky darkened. A wind whipped up, scattering leaves and dust.

"Storm's coming in fast," Ethan said, jumping to his feet. "We need to pack up."

We scrambled to gather the picnic things as the first drops of rain began to fall.

As I bent to pick up the blanket, I saw Lily near the edge of the creek, her back to me.

She had something in her hand.

Then, with a swift, deliberate movement, she tossed it towards me.

It landed near my feet. A snake. A small, venomous-looking snake, now coiled and angry.

Her action was so quick, so malicious, there was no mistaking her intent. This wasn't an accident.

This was an attack.

The snake struck, its fangs sinking into my ankle.

A searing pain shot up my leg.

I screamed, stumbling back.

My vision tunneled. The last thing I saw before I collapsed was Lily's face, a mask of feigned shock, and Ethan rushing towards me, his expression horrified.

Then, blackness.

I drifted in and out of consciousness.

Voices. Urgent. Panicked.

"...snake bite... looks like a rattler..."

"...need the antivenom... we only have one dose left at the clinic..."

Dr. Matthews, the local physician, was there. His voice was grave.

"Both of them were bitten?" he asked.

"What? No, just Elara!" Ethan's voice.

Then Lily, crying, "No, Doctor! It bit me too! On the hand, when I tried to help her!"

I was too weak to speak, to protest her lie.

"Let me see," Dr. Matthews said.

A pause.

"Damn. Both of you have clear bite marks. And we only have enough antivenom for one. The next supply chopper won't be here for hours, maybe not till morning with this storm."

A life-or-death choice. Limited resources.

Silence. A heavy, suffocating silence.

I could feel Ethan's presence near me. I prayed, with what little strength I had, that he would see through Lily's deception.

Then, Dr. Matthews spoke again. "Ethan, you know them both. You're the foreman. Who gets it? We need to decide now. Miss Vance's symptoms seem to be progressing faster."

My heart pounded. This was it. His choice would reveal everything.

Another agonizing pause.

Then, Ethan's voice, cold and decisive.

"Give it to Lily."