Chapter 4

The tiny, rundown apartment was just as he and Olivia had left it, or rather, as he had kept it after she moved on to her new life. Their old couch, threadbare and sagging. The faint smell of her favorite jasmine tea still clung to the air sometimes, a ghost of a memory. He collapsed onto the couch, the exertion of the hospital visit, the emotional toll, overwhelming him.

His phone rang. Olivia's assistant.

"Mr. Hayes," a cool, professional voice said. "This is regarding the $20,000 transferred to your account. It was a clerical error. Ms. Chen requires the full amount to be repaid within seven days, with interest. Failure to comply will result in legal action."

A clerical error. He knew Liam was behind this. Another turn of the screw.

He remembered the day he'd told Olivia he was leaving. He'd packed a small bag, his face a mask of indifference he didn't feel.

"I got a job offer," he'd said, avoiding her tear-filled eyes. "A real one. Pays a lot. I can't keep struggling like this, Liv. And frankly," the words had felt like shards of glass in his throat, "I can't handle your illness anymore. It's too much."

She had stared at him, her face crumbling. "After everything we planned? Our company? Me?"

"The company was a pipe dream," he'd lied. "And yes, you. I need to think about my future."

He'd walked out, leaving her shattered, leaving his heart behind with her in more ways than one. The anonymous donor program had been his only condition. She could never know. The guilt would destroy her. He'd taken the blame, the scorn, so she could live, unburdened.

Now, he was truly trapped. He needed money for his failing artificial heart, and now he owed Olivia money he didn't have. He looked around the small apartment. There was nothing left to sell.