Chapter 3

I drove, my knuckles white on the steering wheel.

The restaurant was loud, full of people laughing, talking.

I saw them at a large table near the back, Mark' s team.

Olivia was next to him, leaning in, her hand resting lightly on his arm.

She looked radiant, animated, the "artistic, sensitive soul."

Mark was smiling, a relaxed, happy smile I hadn' t seen in years.

He was drinking champagne.

Mark, who had a sensitive stomach I' d carefully managed for over a decade. No rich foods, no excessive alcohol.

He was trying to impress her.

I heard snippets of conversation as I got closer.

A junior colleague, a young woman, giggled. "Mark's finally loosening up! Guess Sarah's not micromanaging his social life anymore."

Micromanaging. That' s what they called my efforts to help his introverted nature, to make sure he felt comfortable at these events.

The rage inside me boiled over.

I walked straight to their table.

"Mark."

He looked up, his smile freezing. Olivia' s eyes widened.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" he stammered.

"Having a good time, Mark? Enjoying your 'meeting of minds'?" My voice was shaking.

The table went silent.

"Sarah, this isn't the place," Mark hissed, his face turning red.

"Oh, I think it's the perfect place," I said, my gaze fixed on Olivia. "You must be Olivia. His 'true north'."

Olivia put a hand to her chest, looking shocked, innocent. "I... I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you?" I laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "All those poems in 'Elysium'? All that soul-baring?"

Mark stood up. "Sarah, stop it. You're making a scene."

"I'm making a scene?" I picked up a water glass. My hand was trembling so much, it slipped.

The glass shattered on the table. Water splashed everywhere.

Olivia gasped dramatically, stumbling backward. "She pushed me! My hand! The coffee, it's hot!"

There was no coffee near her. She' d knocked over her own water glass in her exaggerated movement.

A young male colleague, one of Olivia's admirers, jumped up. "Hey! Leave her alone!"

He shoved me. Hard.

I lost my balance, stumbled back, and my head hit the sharp edge of a nearby table.

Pain exploded behind my eyes.

The restaurant noise faded to a dull roar.

I saw Mark' s horrified face, Olivia looking artfully distressed, before everything went dark for a second.