Chapter 73: Aftermath of the Confrontation

A spoon clinking against ceramic was the only punctuation that broke the thick silence that had fallen over Olivia's loft. Curled up, muggy, with a mug of chamomile tea in her hands—the warmth comparable to the chill that seeped into her bones—she met across the room Mark, who sat perched on the edge of an armchair with a concerned yet patient posture. "A contract?" Mark's voice was so soft that Olivia could hear, under it all, the undertone of incredulity. "He really presented you with a contract to end your relationship." Olivia nodded, her eyes riveted on the swirling steam that rose from her mug. "It was. surreal. One moment we were discussing our future, and then he handed me this document—all cold and businesslike. As if our love could be dissolved with a signature." She finally looked up, meeting Mark's eyes. What she saw there almost unmanned her. "The worst part? I was already sick then. I had just gotten my diagnosis, and, well, I was terrified. I wanted to tell him to lea