Chapter 3: The Injury

Olivia's POV

I slowly made my way to the guest room. My feet felt heavy—really heavy.

The door was half open and I could see all that was happening.

Ethan had laid Mara on the bed. He sat beside her, his hands on her ankle, touching it, pressing gently, his face tight with worry.

"Does this hurt?" he asked softly.

"A little," Mara whimpered.

"What about here?"

"Yes. Oh, it hurts."

Catherine stood on the other side of the bed, wringing her hands. "Should we call a doctor? What if it's broken?"

"I don't think it's broken," Ethan said. But his hands kept moving over Mara's ankle. Checking. Feeling.

I stood in the doorway with my eyes on them like some outsider creeping in.

He didn't even know I was there.

"What happened?" I asked, bringing their attention to me.

Ethan's head snapped up instantly, almost like he'd forgotten I existed.

"She twisted her ankle. I'm checking it."

I stepped into the room. "You're not a doctor, Ethan."

"I know that." He replied, still not taking his hands off.

"Then don't touch her like that." I moved closer. "I studied sports rehabilitation. I can take a look."

Ethan hesitated. Then he pulled his hands back. "Fine."

I knelt down beside the bed. Mara looked at me with wide, wet eyes.

"This might hurt a little," I said. "But I need to check properly."

"Okay," she whispered.

I took her ankle in my hands, my fingers sliding around it gently along the bone. I pressed gently on the soft tissue as I rotated her ankle slowly.

Nothing. No swelling. No heat. No bruising. Not even any tenderness.

My fingers moved to the other side, but there was still nothing.

"Can you flex your foot for me?"

Mara did. Perfect movement. No hesitation.

"And point your toes?"

Again, perfect.

This ankle wasn't injured.

"It looks..."

"Ahhhh!" Mara suddenly cried out. Her whole body jerked. "It hurts! Stop! You're hurting me!"

"I barely touched..."

Ethan's hand clamped hard around my wrist as he yanked me away from the bed.

"What are you doing?" His voice was cold.

"I was examining..."

"You're hurting her!" He stepped between me and Mara, like he was protecting her…from me. "If you don't know what you're doing, don't touch her!"

My mouth fell open. "I do know what I'm doing. I studied this for four years."

"Then why is she in pain?"

"I don't know. There's no injury that I can..."

"Just leave." He turned his back to me as he went back to Mara. "It's okay. You're okay now."

Catherine glared at me. "You heard him. Leave."

I stood there for a moment, shock and humiliation surrounding me.

With nothing left to say, I turned around and walked out the room.

I could feel my hands trembling slightly as I closed the door behind me.

So was the rest of my body.

***

I lay in our bedroom, my eyes staring at the ceiling as every even from tonight replayed like a move.

The clock on the nightstand glowed in the dimly lit room.

11:34 PM.

I turned to my side, I was unable to sleep. I clinged on to the thought that any minute now, Ethan would come to bed. He was going to explain what was happening. He was going to apologize for snapping at me.

Any minute.

I waited.

And waited.

My eyes grew heavy. My sight slowly began to blur and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

***

Sunlight hit my face through the curtains, causing me to turn to my side. I opened my eyes slightly as I tried to get it to adjust to the brightness of the room.

The clock read 7:15 AM.

I turned my head to the other side of the bed and it was empty. The sheets were smooth, untouched.

He never came to bed.

My chest tightened. I sat up and pressed my hand against the mattress where he should have been.

Cold.

I got up the bed and made my way downstairs.

Maybe he fell asleep at his desk. He did that sometimes when work was busy.

But I found him in the kitchen. Fully dressed in a suit. His hair was damp from a shower.

He was setting plates on the table, a complete breakfast lying on each of them.

"You're awake," he said. "I made breakfast."

I stared at him. "You didn't come to bed last night."

"I didn't want to wake you." He turned to me.

"Where did you sleep?"

"The couch." He pulled out a chair. "Come eat. We need to leave soon."

I sat down slowly. "Why did you sleep on the couch?"

"I told you. I was taking care of Mara. By the time I finished, it was late. You were already asleep."

"All night? You took care of her all night?" That didn't sound right.

"She was in pain, Olivia." His tone was patient, like he was explaining something simple to a child. "I couldn't just leave her."

I picked up my fork, placing it down almost immediately. "I waited for you."

"I know. I'm sorry." He checked his watch. "But we really need to eat. Traffic will be bad."

The knot in my chest loosened a little. At least he apologized and to top it off, he made me breakfast.

"Next time, just come back," I said quietly. "It's okay. I don't mind if you wake me."

He nodded. "I will."

I managed to eat a few bites. The eggs tasted like nothing. Everything had been so bland since last time.

"I'll get my bag," I said.

"Actually, wait." Ethan stood up. "Mara is coming with us."

I froze on the spot, "What?"

"To the office. Mother thinks she should learn the business. Start getting involved."

"But her ankle..."

"It's feeling better this morning."

Of course it was.

***

Mara was already waiting by the car when we came out. She wore a cream colored dress and heels. For someone who sprained her ankle, that was a horrible choice.

Worst of all, The necklace still hung around her neck.

She opened the passenger door and slid in.

I came to a stop as I watched her close the door. What was she doing? That was my seat.

Mara looked back at me through the window, Her eyes widening like she was clueless to everything she did.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, sister in law." She started to get out. "I'm just used to sitting in my brother's passenger seat. Old habit."

"It's fine," Ethan said. He was already getting into the driver's seat.

"Are you sure?" Mara looked at me. "I know it's your seat now. But my foot still hurts a little. It's hard for me to climb into the back with the injury."

Yet she wore heel?

"It's just a seat," Ethan’s voice came out impatient. "Stop fussing. We're going to be late."

I felt my face burn up as I swallowed the words that had lingered on my tongue.

Fine. It's just a seat.

I opened the back door and got in.

Mara smiled at me in the rearview mirror. "Thank you for understanding. Mom asked me to come observe and learn. If I don't understand something, you'll have to teach me."

I didn't respond. Silence was the best at the moment.

The car started moving and I turned my gaze out the window.

Mara reached forward and opened the glove compartment. She pulled out a small compact mirror and began to touch up her makeup.

I blinked a few times. There was a mirror in there?

I'd been riding in this car for two years. I never knew that.

Mara applied her lipstick, casually placed the mirror back and closed the compartment like she'd done it a thousand times.

She knew this car better than I did.

That wasn't weird at all.

My uneasiness grew. It began to spread through my chest like ice water.

How many times had she sat in that seat? How many drives had they taken together?

I looked towards of Ethan and he was focused on the road. Completely calm.

This was normal to him. Mara in the passenger seat. Mara touching his things. Mara being close.

While me? It was normal for him to leave me alone. Me, his wife.

***

We arrived at Ashford Industries. The forty stories sleek glass and steel structure brought some sense of responsible to me—chaos clothed as responsibilities.

I had helped build this company. Project by project. Late night by late night.

But nobody here knew that. No one even knew I was Ethan's wife.

I was just Olivia Bennett, the Project manager.

I went straight to my office without evening sparing Ethan and his sister a glance. I turned on my computer and opened my files.

It was time to pick up where I had left off. There was a project I had been working on for six months and I was so close to concluding.

I clicked on the folder, but to my greatest surprise, my access was denied.

A frown settled on my face. Maybe there was a problem with the server.

I clicked on it once again—Access Denied.

A new message popped up, one that caused my heart to drop.

File has been transferred to another manager.

What?

Without wasting any second, I stood up and walked to my supervisor's office.

"Come in." His voice came from inside the moment I knocked.

"Hi, James. I think there's been a mistake. I can't access the Meridian project files."

James looked uncomfortable. "Oh. Yeah. About that."

"Yeah?"

"The project was reassigned this morning. CEO's orders."

My stomach dropped. "Reassigned? To whom?"

"The new manager. She's starting today."

"What new manager?"

Before James could answer, the door opened behind me.

I turned.

Mara walked in. Her arm was hooked through Ethan's. Casual. Comfortable. Like it belonged there.

This couldn't be happening.