Chapter 5

The next morning, the silence in the apartment was heavy, suffocating. I knew I had to get out of my room. Time was running out, not just for my life, but for finalizing my arrangements with Elysian Fields. The confinement was a problem. I needed freedom. Pride was a luxury I couldn't afford.

I walked into the living room. Olivia was there, her back to me, staring out the window. Marcus was nowhere in sight. "Olivia," I said, my voice carefully neutral. "I... I' m sorry. For last night. I overreacted."

She turned, her expression unreadable. "And Marcus?"

"I' ll apologize to him too. When he gets back."

She nodded slowly. "Good."

Later, when Marcus returned from his morning run, smug and self-satisfied, Olivia prompted me. "Ethan has something to say to you, Marcus."

I faced him, the words feeling like ash in my mouth. "Marcus, I apologize for my behavior last night. It was uncalled for." I forced myself to meet his gaze. "I hope you can accept my apology... brother-in-law." The term felt alien, a brand of my defeat.

A flicker of surprise, then something like unease, crossed Olivia' s face for a split second before it vanished. Marcus, however, beamed. "Apology accepted, Ethan. Glad you came to your senses."

But the apology wasn't enough. My submission seemed to fuel a different kind of reaction in Olivia. "Are you satisfied now, Olivia?" I asked, a bitter edge to my voice I couldn't quite suppress. "Is this what you wanted?"

She looked away, a strange expression on her face. Not satisfaction. Something else. Discomfort? "Ethan," she said, her voice regaining its cool composure. "I think it' s best if you move into the guest room. Marcus and I need our space. And frankly, your... presence... has become a strain."

The guest room. Smaller, at the far end of the apartment, away from her. Another demotion. Another step towards complete displacement. I nodded, a cold knot forming in my stomach. She really believed Marcus. She thought I was the manipulative one, the source of all the tension.

The coldness I felt was profound, seeping into my bones. Despair was a familiar companion now. I accepted it.

The following day, I visited Elysian Fields in person. Not the main research facility, but a small, discreet administrative office downtown. Dr. Albright, the head of the institute, a woman with surprisingly kind eyes, walked me through the final logistical details. "We need to discuss the storage location for your cryopreservation chamber, Mr. Miller."

"I saw an option in the brochure," I said. "The 'Oceanic Serenity' vault. Underwater."

Dr. Albright raised an eyebrow. "That' s a... unique choice. Most clients prefer terrestrial storage. The underwater vaults are primarily for long-term, undisturbed preservation. The pressure helps maintain absolute temperature stability, and it' s shielded from most surface-level environmental concerns."

"My mother... Olivia' s aunt... she loved the ocean," I said, the lie coming more easily this time. It wasn't entirely a lie. My mother had loved the ocean. But the real reason was different. Olivia had once given me a beautiful, intricate snow globe with a tiny, perfect replica of a coral reef inside. "So you always have a piece of the ocean's calm with you, Ethan, no matter how stormy things get." I wanted that calm. That final, silent freedom, surrounded by the deep blue. "I choose the Oceanic Serenity vault."

I returned to the apartment late that evening, the signed contract for the underwater chamber heavy in my briefcase. Olivia was waiting for me in the living room, her face pale, her eyes blazing with a new kind of fury. In her hand, she held a single sheet of paper. My leukemia diagnosis. The one I thought I' d hidden so carefully. "What is this, Ethan?" she demanded, her voice trembling. "Is this another one of your sick jokes?"