Chapter 1
Five years had passed since Landen Harrington and I went our separate ways.
Landen was now at the top of his game, successful and well-known.
During a live TV interview, one segment had the host pick a random number from Landen's phone and call it live on air.
My phone started ringing.
I froze.
Landen turned pale when he realized which number had been picked.
Meanwhile, the host still hadn't caught on.
However, nobody answered, and Landen finally let out a sigh of relief.
All of a sudden, I answered the call on impulse.
"Long time no see, Mr. Harrington," I said.
On screen, Landen's face went so dark that it was almost scary.
The host looked startled.
The host quickly came up with an excuse and hung up.
*****
The call was hung up abruptly.
I tossed my phone aside and stared at all those empty pill bottles lined up in front of me.
Yup, I was dying.
Back when Landen and I split, I found out I had pancreatic cancer. The doctors told me I wouldn't survive five years.
After the divorce, I disappeared from Riverside City.
I never came back.
Landen must have thought I was dead, that I'd vanished from the world for good.
But this call let him know I was still around.
That was surely a real buzzkill for him.
I gathered up the empty pill bottles, got up, and walked out onto the balcony, hugging my skinny arms to my chest.
The sunlight washed over me.
But no matter how bright the sun was, I couldn't feel any warmth at all. I felt cold, deep down to my bones.
The doctors told me I wouldn't make it past three months.
I didn't expect that.
I was at the hospital picking up my meds when I ran into Emily Turner, Landen's darling, the apple of his eye.
We were both about to just walk past each other.
But Emily stopped me anyway.
"Olivia? Wait, is that really you?" Emily called out.
I paused for a second, didn't turn around, just tugged my mask up tighter, ready to bolt.
Emily was already right in front of me.
I pulled my mask down.
I shrugged and gave her a small smile.
"Emily? What a coincidence," I said.
She looked totally taken aback when I pulled my mask down.
"It really is you," she said.
Her gaze went straight to the bag of meds in my hand.
"What's wrong? Why are you buying so many meds?" she asked.
The bag wasn't see-through, so she couldn't tell what kind of meds were inside.
But honestly, I couldn't imagine Landen hadn't told her I had cancer.
Landen doted on her.
I'd always been the third wheel between them. If she found out I had cancer, she'd probably be over the moon.
I didn't want to stick around any longer.
I started to walk away.
But she seemed like she had a million questions for me.
"Ms. Turner, please move," I said.
"Can we talk?" she asked.
I just ignored her and walked around her.
I'd barely taken two steps when a sudden thud sounded behind me.
I turned around.
My breath caught in my throat.
I called out, worried, "Ms. Turner?"
"Ms. Turner?"
Two bodyguards rushed over, crouched down, and helped Emily up from the floor.
I just stood there, frozen.
My gaze shifted to the tall, cold-looking man standing nearby.
"Mr. Harrington, Ms. Turner fainted," one of the bodyguards said.
"Take her back to the ward," Landen said, his voice icy and commanding.
The two bodyguards rushed Emily back to the ward.
In the hallway, I felt like I couldn't breathe.
No one could ever match Landen's overwhelming presence.
"I didn't even touch her. She just collapsed out of nowhere," I said.
Landen glared at me. "She's been perfectly fine, but the moment she sees you, she suddenly passes out? How does that make sense?"
"She's got a heart problem, right? Isn't fainting kind of expected?" I shot back.
That set Landen off instantly.
His eyes narrowed, cold and dangerous.
"Five years, and you're still alive. I have to admit that's unexpected. You really are a survivor," Landen said, his tone icy.