Chapter 3
Charles's footsteps faded away as he disappeared down the hallway.
I pushed myself up from the edge of the marble coffee table, moving slowly and carefully.
A dull ache pulsed in my lower back, coming in waves.
I stepped around the broken porcelain on the floor and made my way back to the guest room on the first floor.
The door wasn't fully closed.
Through the gap in the half-open door, I watched Charles as he went up the stairs.
He was the man I'd pursued for more than ten years.
All so I could stand beside him openly, without anyone doubting my place, I put my rising career on hold.
I walked on eggshells around the Grant family's harsh rules.
They wanted me to dull my shine and be an obedient, proper wife.
I went along with all of it.
It was all because of what Charles once said: "I'll protect you for the rest of your life."
Three years ago, on that rainy night, Isabelle brought me a cup of coffee.
She said, "Olivia, Charles said you've been exhausted taking care of Lucas. Drink this and try to get some rest."
Less than half an hour after I drank that coffee, I felt heat spreading all over my body, and my emotions spiraled out of control.
I smashed every mirror and ornament in the room.
The next morning, a diagnosis of severe depression with manic episodes became the final word on me. My fate was sealed.
Isabelle was cowering behind Charles, her eyes red-rimmed.
She looked like she'd been startled into tears.
Charles gave his approval. He had me sent to Hillcrest Wellness Center.
The villa and baby Lucas, who had just turned one, were left in Isabelle's care.
I became the crazy woman everyone whispered about.
I was totally cut off from the Grant family.
I grabbed Charles's sleeve, frantically pleading with him that there was something wrong with the coffee.
But all I got in return was his impatient frown, and the servants quickly looked away, avoiding my gaze.
Before he left, he held me with a force that almost hurt.
"You're tired, Olivia," Charles whispered softly in my ear. "I've found the best doctors for you. Focus on getting better, and once you're well, I'll bring you home."
Back then, I convinced myself that his cold, forceful farewell was really his way of protecting me one last time.
I believed every word of his carefully crafted lies.
Three whole years.
More than a thousand days and nights.
At the wellness center, they held me down on the bed and forced sedatives into my veins.
The meds left my mind sluggish, my nerves dulled.
But they also made me slowly come to my senses.
A chilly draft from the hallway brushed against my face.
I pushed open the partially open door and took a couple of steps outside.
My eyes landed on Charles, just as he was about to open the study door upstairs.
"Charles," I called out to him. My throat felt parched, and my voice came out rough.
He froze with his hand on the doorknob, then turned to look back at me.
"Did you ever trust me, that day you sent me away?" I asked.
The hallway was dimly lit by the wall lights.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
His gaze lingered on the hem of my dress, stained with hot chocolate and blood.
His gaze shifted away, irritation clear on his face.
He didn't answer.
"Charles," Isabelle called softly from the other end of the second floor.
Isabelle appeared, dressed in a thin silk nightgown, her voice gentle. "Lucas has been crying for you. Will you come be with him?"
Charles released the office doorknob. He walked over to her.
He didn't even look back at me.
Their figures slipped inside the room.
The click of the door lock was especially clear in the hallway.
I retreated to the guest room and immediately locked the door behind me.
I didn't turn on the lights.
I sat at the edge of the bed in the darkness.
My eyes burned.
My chest ached with suffocating heaviness, but I couldn't shed a single tear.
I pulled out the old phone from under my pillow.
The soft blue light from the screen lit up the dark room.
I started tapping away on the screen.
I pulled up the contact for a lawyer I'd worked with back when I handled mergers. I sent him a message: [Draft a divorce agreement for me.]