Chapter 4

Olivia felt a strange detachment as the room began to spin.

The noise of the Gala, the concerned faces, all faded.

She saw Ethan, his back to her, still fussing over Chloe, checking her for any stray drops of champagne.

Chloe was fine, laughing a little shakily.

Olivia' s hand went to her own throat.

She was struggling to breathe.

The shard of glass in her arm throbbed, blood seeping through her ruined designer gown.

Then, darkness.

She woke up in an emergency room.

The sterile smell, the beeping machines.

Chloe was there, her face a mask of tearful apology.

"Oh, Liv, I am so, so sorry! The shellfish... Ethan told the caterers, he really did, but someone must have made a mistake. Are you okay?"

Ethan arrived then, his expression tight. His concern, Olivia noted with a familiar pang, was clearly for Chloe' s distress over the incident, not for Olivia' s actual health.

He put a comforting arm around Chloe. "It' s alright, Chloe. I' ve spoken to Grandmother. We won' t have to endure such family scrutiny again. I' ll handle it."

His words were for Chloe, a reassurance.

Olivia was just the collateral damage.

A doctor came in, checked Olivia' s vitals. "You' re lucky. Anaphylaxis can be fatal. We' ll need to X-ray your arm, make sure there are no glass fragments."

Olivia nodded, too weary to speak.

She needed to get to the X-ray department, down a quieter corridor.

As she walked slowly, an orderly pushing her IV stand, she passed a secluded stairwell.

Voices drifted out. Ethan and Chloe.

"I'd give up the entire Vanderbilt fortune for you, Chloe. You know that," Ethan said, his voice low and intense.

Chloe' s reply was soft. "But Olivia... she's your wife, my friend..."

A pause. Then the distinct sound of a kiss, passionate and lingering.

"She means nothing compared to you," Ethan murmured against Chloe' s lips.

Olivia stopped.

Her heart, which she thought couldn' t break further, fractured anew.

She stepped into the stairwell opening.

"Nothing?"

Chloe sprang away from Ethan, her face paling. "Liv! Oh, this isn't... we were just... a moment of weakness."

Ethan glared at Olivia, no apology in his eyes. Only annoyance at being caught.

Olivia looked from one to the other.

She said nothing. There was nothing left to say.

She turned and continued towards X-ray.