Chapter 4

At the hospital, the doctors battled for three hours, barely managing to save Olivia's left eye. It was a close call.

Olivia had just been wheeled into her hospital room when Ethan rushed in, arriving almost immediately.

He didn't come to check on Olivia. His face was dark and cold. "Olivia, Vanessa feels terrible for hurting you. She's been crying her eyes out, her face is all puffy. It was just an accident, and you actually called the cops, accusing her of murder?"

Olivia's voice was rough, barely audible. "I wasn't even close to the living room, but Vanessa aimed that dart right at my eye. She did it on purpose. She wanted me dead."

"She's new at darts, it's normal to miss. I'll apologize on her behalf," Ethan said, his voice icy and dismissive.

Olivia clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms, the suffocating pain in her chest making it hard to breathe. She asked in a low, trembling voice, "Who are you to Vanessa, Ethan? Why are you apologizing for her to your own wife?"

Ethan paused, then his expression turned icy.

"Wife?" His voice was heartless. "If my mom hadn't threatened Vanessa's life, I never would've married you."

Olivia's face went pale as a sheet, and she bit down hard on her lip.

When Ethan saw her bandaged eye and that look of hurt and suppressed pain on her face, something twisted uncomfortably in his chest.

He handed her a check. "Olivia, your eye's not blind. Let's call it quits. I've already dropped the case at the police station. No lawyer will touch this, no matter what you do."

Olivia stared at him in disbelief. "Ethan, does my life mean nothing to you?"

Suddenly, Ethan's phone rang.

He glanced at the screen and rushed out, not even sticking around to hear what Olivia was saying.

*****

After she got out of the hospital, the first thing Olivia did when she got home was start clearing out her stuff.

There was a diary filled with pages about her secret feelings for him, stacks of love letters she never had the guts to send, and carefully chosen birthday presents he never bothered to look at. She ripped up the diary, burned the letters, and handed the gifts off to the housekeeper, too sentimental to just throw them away.

Olivia dug out that navy blue striped tie from the pile of stuff.

She remembered the day Ethan carried her out of the crashed bus, her head pressed against his chest, taking in the warmth and the steady beat of his heart.

And right then, she could feel her own heart pounding like crazy.

Just then, Ethan walked in and immediately spotted the tie in her hand.

"Oh, is that supposed to be a gift for me?" Ethan said, sounding almost indifferent.

.Seeing that Ethan didn't remember a thing, Olivia suddenly felt like a fool.

Back then, Ethan had saved her life without a second thought, but she put him on a pedestal, feeling grateful and falling for him

She'd made a mess of herself.

"I'll take the gift," Ethan said, taking the tie from Olivia. "You like pandas, right? I'm free today, so I'll take you to the zoo. Vanessa wants some peach cakes, so make some and bring them with us."

Olivia knew Ethan just wanted to take Vanessa out, and he was only using her as an excuse so Mrs. Sterling wouldn't catch on.

Olivia let out a soft sigh and said, "Okay."

She knew if she said no, Ethan would just use her grandmother to threaten her again. With only a few days left until the divorce papers were finalized, she just wanted to get through it in one piece.

It was the weekend, and the zoo was packed with people.

Whether they were looking at Vanessa's favorite flamingos or sloths, Ethan kept his phone camera trained on her, with a subtle smile tugging at his lips.

"Olivia, let's take some photos together," Vanessa suddenly said, pulling Olivia over.

Olivia was holding Vanessa's bag in one hand and her coat in the other, looking a mess next to Vanessa, who was perfectly put together.

Olivia shook her head. "No, thanks," she said, trying to push Vanessa's hand away and leave.

Suddenly, Vanessa let out a scream as she was pushed over the railing. In desperation, she grabbed Olivia's hand, and the two of them tumbled straight into the tiger enclosure.

The tiger, with hungry, bloodshot eyes, spotted them and charged straight at them.

"Vanessa!" Ethan shouted.

As the tiger lunged at Vanessa, Ethan's face drained of color. He vaulted over the railing, landed hard, and kicked the beast square in the head before pulling Vanessa tightly into his arms.

Olivia was scrambling toward the corner, but Vanessa slyly shoved her, sending her tumbling right in front of the tiger.

With a gruesome rip, the tiger's sharp teeth tore into Olivia's calf.

She could almost hear her bone snapping, while Ethan scooped Vanessa up and rushed her out of the enclosure without a second glance, leaving Olivia behind in the chaos.

When the staff finally pulled Olivia out, a huge chunk of her calf was gone, and she was barely clinging to life.

When the doctor saw Olivia's wound, he immediately started barking instructions.

"Tigers eat raw meat every day, so their mouths are full of bacteria. Your leg is already showing signs of infection. We need to operate right now, or you could lose your leg. Call your family to sign the surgical waiver!"

Since Olivia was married, hospital policy required her spouse to sign the surgical waiver.