Chapter 2

The next morning, I met with the clinic director, a kind-faced woman named Dr. Altherr. We sat in her quiet office, the only sound the soft ticking of a clock on the wall.

"Mr. Thorne," she said gently, "we just need to confirm the final details. The procedure is scheduled for two p.m. today. Are you still certain this is what you want?"

Her voice was calm, professional, but her eyes held a genuine concern. I nodded, my throat too tight to speak. Certainty was the only thing I had left.

"Okay," she said, giving me a small, sad smile. "You can spend the morning as you wish. We will be ready for you at two."

I walked out of the clinic into the crisp Swiss air. The city was beautiful, clean, and orderly, a stark contrast to the chaos inside me. I didn't know what to do with my last few hours on earth. I ended up back at the lake, sitting on the same bench where I had seen Olivia yesterday.

My phone vibrated in my pocket. A text message from a number I didn't recognize.

This is Liam Stone. Olivia and I are at the Grand Hotel Dolder. We could use an extra hand with some last-minute wedding preparations. Since you're an architect, maybe you can help with the seating chart. It's a mess.

I stared at the message, a cold fury rising in my chest. Was this a joke? Was he intentionally trying to torment me?

A second message came through before I could reply.

I'll pay you for your time, of course. Say, five thousand dollars? For a few hours of work.

The money was an insult. He was trying to buy my compliance, to turn this final, agonizing day into a transaction. He was flaunting his wealth, his happiness, his victory. He was rubbing my nose in the fact that he had my life, my future, my Olivia.

Against my better judgment, I typed back a single word. Fine.

I don't know why I agreed. Maybe I was a masochist. Maybe a part of me needed to see it all, to burn the image of her happiness into my brain so that I could finally let go.

The Grand Hotel Dolder was an opulent castle overlooking the city. In the lobby, I found them in a flurry of activity. Flowers, ribbons, and stressed-looking staff were everywhere. Olivia was speaking to a florist, her back to me. She looked beautiful in a simple white dress, her hair pinned up elegantly.

Liam saw me first and walked over, a smug smile on his face. "Thorne. Glad you could make it." He didn't offer to shake my hand this time. "Here's the seating plan. Just make sure the families are balanced and no one who hates each other is at the same table. Shouldn't be too hard for a smart guy like you."

He handed me a large sheet of paper and a list of names. I looked over at Olivia. She was laughing at something the florist said. It was a genuine, happy laugh. The kind of laugh I hadn't heard in over a year. It felt like a punch to the gut.

I sat at a small table in the corner and started working, my hands shaking slightly. I tried to focus on the names and the table layouts, but my eyes kept drifting back to them. I watched as Liam brought her a cup of coffee, kissing her on the temple. I saw him whisper something in her ear that made her blush. They looked like a perfect couple. The image was a dagger twisting in my heart.

The florist brought over a bouquet of lilies of the valley. They were my favorite flower. I had once filled our apartment with them for Olivia's birthday.

"Oh, those are lovely," Liam said. "What do you think, Liv?"

Olivia looked at the flowers, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second. "They're okay," she said, her voice flat. "But I've never really cared for them. Let's go with the roses."

Her words cut deeper than anything else. She wasn't just erasing me from her present, she was rewriting our past. It was a complete and total annihilation of everything we had ever been.

A sudden wave of nausea and dizziness washed over me. I gripped the edge of the table, my knuckles turning white. My vision blurred, and the sounds of the lobby faded to a dull roar. The disease was getting worse, the tumor in my brain making its presence known. I took a few deep breaths, forcing the feeling down, trying to look normal. I couldn't let them see how sick I was. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

Liam walked over to my table, looking down at the chart. "How's it coming along?"

"Almost done," I said, my voice strained.

"Good. You know, we have an open spot for a groomsman," he said, his tone casual, but his eyes held a malicious glint. "If you're interested."

The audacity of his offer was breathtaking. He wanted me to stand beside him while he married the love of my life. He wanted a front-row seat to my own personal hell.

"No," I said, my voice firm. "Thank you, but no."

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, turning to walk away.

I finished the chart and stood up, placing it on the table. Olivia was walking towards me. For a moment, our eyes met. Her expression was unreadable, a cool, detached mask. There was no pity, no regret, no sadness. Just emptiness.

"I'm done," I said to her. "The chart is finished."

"Thank you," she said, her voice polite and distant. She didn't look at me, her gaze fixed on a point over my shoulder.

It was the final goodbye. There was nothing left to say. I turned and walked out of the hotel, leaving them to their perfect life.

As I stepped out onto the street, fumbling in my pocket for the address of the clinic, I stumbled. My leg gave out, and I pitched forward, right into the path of an oncoming tram. The world slowed down. I saw the tram driver's horrified face, heard the shriek of the brakes.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm, yanking me back with surprising force. I fell backward onto the pavement, landing hard. I looked up, dazed, into Olivia's face. Her eyes were wide with shock, her chest heaving.

But hidden in my pocket, my hand brushed against a crinkled piece of paper I' d forgotten about. It was an old receipt I' d found cleaning out my wallet. A receipt from a jewelry store, dated a week before she broke up with me. It was for a custom-engraved bracelet. I had never seen it. But as she pulled me up, her sleeve rode up her wrist, and I saw it. A silver bracelet. For a split second, I saw the engraving. L.S. Liam Stone.

The realization hit me with the force of a physical blow. She hadn't just left me for him. She had been with him while we were still together. While I was planning our future, she was having a bracelet engraved by her new lover. The entire foundation of our relationship, the love I thought we shared, was a lie.