Back at the penthouse, the air was thick with unspoken tension.Ethan was cold, distant.Olivia, however, was energized by the events at the reunion.Her jealousy, always simmering beneath the surface, was now boiling over.She cornered me in the living room after Ethan had gone to his study.“So,” she began, her voice deceptively calm. “You and Ethan. […]

A few weeks later, Ethan announced he was taking Olivia to a college alumnireunion.It was also a charity fundraiser.“You’ll come too, Sarah,” Olivia said, her voice syrupy sweet. Ethan was in theroom. “I’ll need my assistant, of course.”My stomach twisted.Public.With them.A fresh wave of humiliation waiting for me.The ballroom was grand, filled with familiar faces

Olivia’ s handprint throbbed on my cheek.She picked up a small, porcelain figurine from a nearby table.She examined it, then looked at me.“You know, Ethan thinks I’m so fragile,” she said, her voice dripping withsarcasm.She threw the figurine.It shattered against the wall near my head.“But I’m stronger than I look.”I didn’t finch.I had expected this.

Lily’ s medical bills were mountains I couldn’ t climb.The latest one sat on my worn kitchen table, a stark white reminder of myfailure.She needed this next round of experimental treatment, the doctors said it washer best chance.But the cost was astronomical.I saw an advertisement tucked away in the free local paper.“Participants Needed for High-Risk

My name is Sarah Miller.I was nineteen.College was almost over.I studied journalism.My future felt bright.I was in love with Ethan Hayes.He was a business major.His family was rich, powerful.Ethan showed me a world I never knew.Fancy restaurants, fast cars, endless parties.He said he loved my adventurous spirit.He encouraged it.I felt alive with him.The night of