Chapter 15: Olivia's New Normal

The obnoxious beeping of the alarm clock cut through Olivia's restless sleep, forcibly dragging her back to a reality she wasn't quite prepared to face yet. In that hazy space between sleep and wakefulness, she allowed herself a wonderful moment. She forgot—just for a moment—about Nathan, about the contract, about the diagnosis that hung over her like a hurricane waiting to make landfall. And then, with full consciousness, it all came crashing back. Olivia groaned and buried her head in the pillow. The pull to let herself go, to give in, and just lie in bed with the covers over her head, hidden from the world, was huge. But a small, stubborn voice in the back of her mind refused to let her surrender. "Get up," she grumbled at herself, her voice only slightly muffled by the pillow. "Come on, Liv. Get up." It took a Herculean effort, but Olivia revised her upward move and threw her legs sideways over the bed. Her feet landed on the hardwood floor, the coolness of it helping to ground