Chapter 2

Olivia quickly ended the call before it could connect, her heart pounding. She stared at the door, her mind blank. Daniel's voice was no longer filled with the warmth she remembered but with a cool impatience she had grown accustomed to.

"Nothing," she called out, her voice raspy. "Just resting."

She heard him hesitate for a moment, then his footsteps receded down the hall. He didn' t press further. He never did anymore. The distance between her room and his felt like a vast, unbridgeable chasm.

The painkillers began to work, dulling the sharp edges of her agony into a manageable throb. Feeling a sudden thirst, she slowly got out of bed and made her way downstairs for a glass of water. The house was quiet, and she hoped to avoid everyone.

But as she entered the kitchen, she saw Clara sitting at the island, sipping a glass of milk. Clara looked up, her eyes widening in a display of innocent surprise.

"Olivia! I didn't know you were up," she said, her voice syrupy sweet. "I was just having some warm milk. It helps me sleep. Do you want some? I can pour you a glass."

She held up the carton of milk, a picture of perfect consideration. But Olivia knew better. She was severely lactose intolerant, a fact everyone in the house, including Clara, was well aware of. Daniel had once made a big deal of it, ensuring the housekeeper, Mrs. Davis, always had almond milk stocked just for her.

"No, thank you," Olivia said, her tone flat. She walked to the cupboard to get a glass for water. "I can't drink that."

Clara' s face fell, a look of hurt instantly clouding her features. "Oh, I' m so sorry, I completely forgot. I'm so thoughtless sometimes."

She set the carton down with a clatter, her lower lip trembling. It was a performance Olivia had seen countless times.

"It's just... I've been so worried about Daniel and Ethan lately. They seem so stressed. I just wanted to do something nice, and I messed up again," Clara sniffled, tears welling in her eyes. "You must think I' m so stupid. And you probably hate me because I take up so much of their time."

Olivia didn' t respond. She filled her glass with water, her back to Clara, trying to ignore the manipulative display.

"Why are you so cold to me, Olivia?" Clara's voice rose, laced with accusation. "Is it because I' m here? I know I don' t belong, but I have nowhere else to go. Don't you feel even a little bit sorry for me?"

Just then, footsteps sounded on the stairs. Daniel and Ethan entered the kitchen, drawn by the noise. They took one look at Clara' s tear-streaked face and their expressions hardened.

"Olivia, what did you do now?" Daniel' s voice was sharp, cutting through the silence.

Ethan rushed to Clara' s side, putting a comforting arm around her. "Clara, what' s wrong? Did she say something to you?"

Clara shook her head, burying her face in Ethan' s shoulder with a sob. "No, it' s my fault. I just offered her some milk, and I forgot about her... her condition. I' m so clumsy. I just make everything worse."

Daniel' s gaze on Olivia was icy. "She offered you something out of kindness, and you had to make her feel bad about it? Can' t you just be nice for once?"

"I didn't say anything," Olivia said, her voice barely a whisper. Her throat felt tight.

"You didn' t have to," Daniel snapped, stepping towards her. "Your face says it all. You walk around here with that miserable expression, making everyone feel guilty. Clara' s been through enough without you treating her like this."

He was so close now she could feel the anger radiating from him. He jabbed a finger at her chest.

"She' s family, Olivia. You need to start acting like it." He shoved her shoulder, not hard, but it was enough to make her stumble back against the counter. The glass of water slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.

The sound of breaking glass seemed to stun everyone into silence for a second. Olivia stared at the shards glittering on the tiles, a reflection of her own shattered hope.

She looked up, meeting Daniel's eyes, then Ethan's. There was no sympathy there. Only frustration and disappointment.

Without a word, she turned and walked out of the kitchen, carefully stepping around the broken glass. She didn't look back. As she reached the stairs, she thought she saw a flicker of something in Ethan' s eyes-a brief, fleeting look of regret-before he turned his full attention back to comforting Clara.

"It's okay, Clara, don't cry," she heard Ethan murmur. "She didn't mean it."

"She' s just not herself lately," Daniel added, his voice softening as he spoke to Clara. "We' ll talk to her. Come on, let me get you something else."

Olivia slowly climbed the stairs, their soothing voices fading behind her. She had been replaced. It was a simple, brutal fact. And in their eyes, she was now the one who was wrong.