Chapter 4

"I'm fine," Olivia managed to say, her voice strained. She quickly shoved the pill bottle under her pillow and forced herself to sit up, trying to hide the tremor in her hands. "Just a headache."

She avoided his eyes, focusing on a spot on the wall behind him. She didn't want his pity, not when it was so fickle and easily swayed.

Ethan walked into the room, his brow furrowed with a flicker of genuine concern. He watched as she expertly popped two pills from a hidden blister pack into her mouth and swallowed them.

"You seem... really used to taking those," he observed, a note of unease in his voice. "How long has your headache been this bad?"

Olivia just shrugged, not wanting to get into it. "It comes and goes."

He seemed to want to say more, but he shifted his weight, his purpose for being there finally surfacing. In his hand, he held a plate of food.

"I brought you dinner," he said, placing it on her nightstand. "Clara made her specialty, seafood risotto. She was worried you didn't eat."

Olivia looked at the plate. The rich, creamy rice was dotted with shrimp and mussels. It smelled delicious, but the sight of it made her stomach clench. She was allergic to shellfish. It wasn't a mild allergy; it was the kind that sent her to the emergency room. Ethan, of all people, should have known that. He had been there once, years ago, holding her hand in the ambulance, terrified she would stop breathing.

"I can't eat this," she said, her voice devoid of emotion.

Ethan looked confused. "Why not? It's really good. Clara worked hard on it."

"I'm allergic to shellfish, Ethan," she said, finally meeting his gaze. Her look was cold and empty. "Have you forgotten that too?"

His face went pale. The realization dawned on him, followed by a flush of guilt. "Oh. I... damn, I'm sorry, Liv. I completely spaced. With everything going on..."

He trailed off, but Olivia finished the sentence for him in her mind. With Clara taking up all your attention, you forgot about me.

She lay back down, turning her face to the wall. "It's fine. I'm not hungry anyway. You can go now."

He stood there for a long moment, the silence thick with his guilt and her resignation. Finally, he picked up the plate and left without another word.

Later that night, the pain woke her again. It was worse this time, a blinding, white-hot agony that the pills couldn't touch. She felt a wave of dizziness and barely made it to the bathroom before she threw up. The System' s countdown clock flashed in her mind, a constant, grim reminder. Her body was failing faster than she expected.

She slumped against the cool tile of the bathroom floor, her phone buzzing on the counter. It was a notification from a high-end custom gift shop.

[Your two orders are complete and will be delivered tomorrow. We hope the recipients enjoy them!]

The gifts. Two handcrafted leather wallets, one for Daniel and one for Ethan, with their initials embossed in silver. She had ordered them months ago, during that brief, happy period when she thought things were getting better. She had used her own savings, money she had carefully set aside, to buy them something special for their birthdays.

A bitter, humorless laugh escaped her lips. The wallets were meaningless now. They would probably end up in a drawer, forgotten, or worse, re-gifted to Clara.

Her first instinct was to cancel the order, but she stopped herself. What was the point? Let them come. Let them be a final, silent testament to what they had all lost. Maybe they' d just throw them away. That felt fitting.

Her thoughts turned to the one creature in the house who still offered her unconditional affection: her cat, a fluffy Persian named Leo. Clara had made several "jokes" about being allergic to him, sneezing dramatically whenever he was near. Olivia knew it was only a matter of time before Clara found a way to get rid of him. She couldn't let that happen. Leo deserved better.

The next day, she called a friend from her university, a kind girl named Sarah who lived off-campus and adored animals.

"Sarah," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I need to ask you a huge favor. Can you take Leo?"

Sarah was surprised. "Take him? Why? Is everything okay?"

"I... I have to go away for a while," Olivia lied. "It's unexpected, and I can't take him with me. I don't trust anyone else to look after him properly. I know you'll give him a good home."

She packed Leo' s things-his favorite toys, his bed, a large bag of his special food. As she handed the carrier to Sarah at the front door, her heart ached. Leo was the last living link to her happiness in this house.

"I'll miss you, buddy," she whispered, stroking his fur through the carrier door. She was entrusting the last piece of her heart to her friend. This was goodbye.

As Sarah was about to leave, the front door opened again. Daniel and Ethan walked in, their expressions immediately darkening when they saw the scene.

"Olivia, what the hell are you doing?" Daniel demanded, his eyes fixed on the cat carrier. "Where are you sending Leo?"