---- Chapter 5 The table was set for three, but the meal was a feast for one. Julian had prepared all of Estelle' s favorite dishes: lobster thermidor, truffle risotto, a delicate sea bass. Not a single thing on the table was something Ember could eat. She was allergic to shellfish, a fact Julian used to know better than his own social security number. Ember walked into the dining room to see Estelle sitting in her chair at the head of the table, laughing up at Julian. "Oh, Ember, you' re here!" Estelle chirped, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Come, join us! Julian made all this for you. The lie was so blatant, so insulting. "I'm not hungry," Ember said, her voice cold. Estelle' s face fell. Tears instantly welled in her eyes. "Oh, Ember, | know you' re upset with me. But | swear, Julian and | are just friends. | would never get in the way of your happiness. | wish you both the very best." She stood up and tried to take Ember' s hand. "Please, don't let me ruin your dinner. ' Il leave." Ember pulled her hand back as if she' d been burned. ---- Estelle stumbled backward, letting out a theatrical cry as she collapsed onto the floor. "My ankle! The one | hurt at the gala! | think you' ve re-injured it!" Julian' s face went dark with anger. He loomed over Ember. "What is your problem? Can' t you see she' s trying to make peace?" Ember' s heart felt like a lead weight in her chest. "Julian," she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "Is there anything on this table | can eat?" She saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes as she mentioned her allergies. The sea bass. The lobster. He remembered. For a second, his angry facade crumbled, replaced by a look of guilt. "L.. | forgot," he stammered. He reached for her hand. "Come on. |' Il take you out. We' ll go anywhere you want." It was a pathetic attempt at a truce, but before she could respond, a loud clatter came from the floor. Estelle had "fainted," knocking over a chair. Julian let go of Ember' s hand as if it were hot iron. He rushed to Estelle' s side, his face etched with worry. "Stel! Wake up!" Estelle' s eyes fluttered open. "Julian... I'm so sorry... | think | ' m just weak from the stress..." ---- He lifted her into his arms. "I'm taking you to the hospital." As he carried her past Ember, Estelle opened her eyes. She looked directly at Ember and gave her a small, triumphant smirk. The message was clear. | win. | always win. Ember watched them go, the tears finally coming. Hot, silent tears of utter defeat. He would always, always choose his toxic obsession over the woman who had saved his life. An hour later, her phone buzzed. It was a text from Julian. "Estelle is fine. Doctor wants to keep her overnight for observation. He thinks she might have a concussion from the fall. Come to the hospital." A concussion? From a fall onto a plush carpet? The lie was almost laughable. But a cold knot of dread tightened in her stomach. Despite everything, a part of her, the caretaker part, was worried about Julian. She drove to the hospital, her mind a numb fog. She walked down the hallway to the private wing and stopped outside Estelle' s room. The door was slightly ajar. She saw them. Julian was sitting on the edge of the bed Estelle had her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. It was not the kiss of a friend. "Do you love me, Julian?" Estelle whispered, her voice husky. ---- He hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Yes," he said. "I love you. "And what about her?" Estelle asked, a cruel edge to her voice. "What about Ember?" "Don't talk about her," Julian said, his voice flat. "She doesn' t matter." The words slammed into Ember, stealing the air from her lungs. Her legs felt like they were made of stone. She couldn ' t move, couldn' t breathe. She just stood there, hidden in the shadows of the hallway, as the man she had given everything for shattered the last piece of her heart. She bit down on the back of her hand, stifling a sob. The pain was grounding, a physical anchor in a sea of emotional agony. She turned and fled, running down the hospital corridor, away from the sound of their laughter, away from the ruins of her life.