Chapter 4
Elodie opened her eyes, her gaze landing on the stark white ceiling and the clear IV fluid dripping steadily from the bag above her.
"Hey, you're finally awake," the nurse said.
The round-faced nurse in a pink cap came over to Elodie's bedside.
"You sure can sleep. You've been out cold for twelve hours straight," she teased.
Elodie opened her mouth, but her throat felt like it had been rubbed raw with sandpaper.
"Wh-Where am I?" she croaked.
"You're in the ER at Sliverbrook Hospital," the nurse replied.
The nurse adjusted the drip rate on the IV.
"Someone found you passed out in the park and called an ambulance. Seriously, you've got a heart condition, and you're still out there delivering food? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" the nurse said.
Elodie closed her eyes, her lashes trembling slightly.
If she didn't have all these gigs, she'd go hungry.
The nurse let out a sigh, her tone growing gentler.
"The older man who brought you in covered your deposit. Do you have any family we can call? Someone needs to come pick you up," she said softly.
Elodie shook her head.
Family? After her father took his own life, her mother couldn't bear the grief and followed him within half a year. As for her relatives, they had all cut her off the moment her family went bankrupt.
As for Sidney.
Elodie stared at the patches of light on the ceiling, her thoughts drifting back to that afternoon five years ago.
Back then, Sidney had just passed the bar exam and was so thrilled he pulled her out to the riverside to watch the city lights.
The breeze from the Sliverbrook River messed up his hair as he held her cold hand in his warm palm, his eyes sparkling like they were filled with starlight.
"When we have a baby," he said softly.
Sidney pointed toward the glittering skyscrapers on the far side of the river.
"One day, I'm going to buy us an apartment over there, so our child can wake up every morning with all of Sliverbrook laid out before them," he said.
Elodie remembered smiling, but as she kept smiling, the taste of tears crept onto her lips.
Sidney thought she was touched, so he bent down and gently kissed her tears away, never realizing how many silent apologies were hidden in them.
How could she ever tell Sidney that she might never be able to give him a healthy child? That as the years went by, she might end up a shell of herself.
After that, Elodie started picking fights on purpose.
She broke the gifts he gave her to hurt him, used his painstakingly prepared case files as placemats for her takeout, and mocked his cheap clothes right in front of everyone.
Then, on that rainy night, Elodie tossed a bank card loaded with breakup cash straight at him.
"Sidney, you'll never measure up to me," she spat, her voice icy.
Elodie glanced indifferently at the TV hanging in the hospital room.
The news was still reporting that five cars belonging to the Maxwell heiress had been destroyed in her garage early last morning, and no one had claimed responsibility.
Once her IV was finished, Elodie was discharged from the hospital. Just as she reached the entrance, her phone rang with an unknown number.
"Is this Ms. Dawson? I'm the HR director at the Regal Luxe Hotel," a woman's voice said.
The voice on the other end was sharp and businesslike.
"I've heard you've got a great look and presence. We have an important dinner event tonight and need a temp server. It's two hundred dollars for the night. Interested?" she asked.
"I'm in," Elodie replied without hesitation.
The hotel's grand ballroom was ablaze with light.
Elodie stood in the changing room with the other temp servers, awkwardly tying her bow tie.
The rough fabric of the black uniform skirt rubbed against the still-healing scrapes on her thighs.
"Hurry up! The VIPs are already here." The head waitress said.
She clapped her hands, urging them on.
Elodie straightened her name tag one last time, and as she glanced up, she caught sight of the banquet schedule posted on the changing room mirror.
Sidney's name jumped out at her from the bottom right corner of the guest list.
Her blood ran cold in an instant.
"I-I quit," she blurted out, her voice shaking.
Elodie's hands trembled as she fumbled to untie the bow she had just put on.
The head waitress grabbed her wrist.
"You signed the contract, and now you want to back out? That's a one-thousand-dollar penalty. Do you even realize how important this dinner is? The city's top brass are all here," she snapped.
Elodie bit her lip. One thousand dollars was half a month's rent and groceries for her.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Her fingers slowly loosened from the bow tie, trembling with resignation.
"I promise I'll do a good job," Elodie said.
The glare from the crystal chandeliers in the banquet hall made Elodie's eyes sting.
She carried a silver tray, weaving through the sea of glamorous guests, making sure to steer clear of the lively crowd in the center.
Elodie slipped into a corner, her gaze drawn against her will to the perfect couple.
Sidney was talking quietly to the woman, his head bent close to hers, and there was a gentle look in his eyes she hadn't seen in ages.
The woman let out a soft laugh and playfully punched his shoulder, their closeness easy and natural.
Elodie's vision blurred.
She turned around on autopilot, only to run straight into a man.
The tray tipped over, dark sauce splattering all over the guest's fancy suit, and champagne glasses shattered on the floor.
"Are you blind or what?" the guest snapped.