On the day of winter, Cedarburg received its first snowfall of the year.
"Miss, you can't come alone with an IV; you just fell asleep, the medicine finished, and the blood returned all; luckily, my mom saw it and called the nurse for you."
Olivia Smith lay in her bed in the hospital's emergency infusion room, the kind reminder of the little girl in the next bed ringing in her ears, her mind still in turmoil at this hour.
The little girl is still talking.
"Miss, you still have a couple of bottles left; call your family."
Olivia thanked her before picking up where she left off.
"I am Orphans."
The little girl froze and apologized, and Olivia smiled and said it was fine, moving sluggishly to fumble her phone out from under her pillow and check the time.
Two o'clock in the morning.
It's so late.
She was in the studio all day, ordered takeout at night, ate, and went into the darkroom to wash the photos for four hours. None of them satisfied her, all garbage, and when her emotions were about to fall apart, she had abdominal cramps again.
I went back to the house to lie in bed, thinking rest for a while would be fine; not long after, the nausea and vomiting began, and I finally really could not survive and could only take a taxi to the hospital.
The doctor said it was acute enteritis.
Two potions had already been administered; she was awake during the first and couldn't hold it halfway through the second.
Too sleepy.
It's been too long since I've gotten a solid night's sleep.
The nurse changed the infusion bag and then gave a few more instructions before leaving. She was quite a nice young nurse, knowing she had no family member with her, and said she could connect her with a caregiver.
Olivia was in the hospital for three days, and Emma called the day she was released.
"It's Ava-Smith's birthday tomorrow; don't you forget."
Olivia just walked out of the hospital, "Can't go, sick."
Emma knows this daughter inside out and clearly doesn't believe it.
"Sick? You're pretending, right? You don't get sick sooner or later; why did you get sick only when your sister's birthday came?"
It's humid, and Olivia's eyes are damp for a moment, just a moment, before snorting lazily again.
"Believe it or not, I'm not going anyway; what's the point of a birthday? A funeral is fun; I'll go when she's dead."
"Olivia! Why are you so vicious!" Emma's anger rose high.
"Any more vicious than that; you gave birth to me, and to curse me is to curse yourself."
"You know I gave birth to you, and this is how you treat your mom?
"Can't you learn from Ava? Ava listens and knows what she's doing, and she never lets us worry."
"Learn from her what? Her shamelessness? That she takes everything from others? That she's got no character and no morals and is full of shit? Like she's a whore?"
"Olivia!"
A cab stops at the curb, and a passenger is getting out; Olivia lifts her foot and walks over to it.
"So she dislikes me but also asked me to go to her birthday party for what? You are not afraid of being angry with me, or we delete each other's contact information."
"Olivia! Talk to me properly!"
Conversations like this happened every year, and Emma had gotten used to it long ago and, after a reprimanding warning, began to give orders.
"I'm too lazy to bullshit you; liam-johnson is coming over tomorrow, too; he said he'd pick you up."
Olivia cooled her face at that, "You called him?"
"Yeah, I heard you guys had a fight, so when you see him tomorrow, you'll apologize to him, so you'll make up."
At the mention of this, Emma began to ground educate again.
"You'll be married after the New Year, so don't stay in that crappy studio of yours all day; you can't earn much Money.
"You need to work on Liam more, don't fight with him every day, your temper needs to change, you need to learn from Ava, your sister has a great temper, your sister ..."
A whole lot of babbling. Annoying.
Olivia opens the car door and gets in, ready to hang up when Emma rushes:
"There's a lot of people coming tomorrow, and people will say we have a family conflict if you don't come to Emma's birthday.
"It was already rumored outside that you two didn't get along, and if you don't come, Ava will be gossiped about, so give Mom a face and come over."
Olivia told the driver an address and then leaned her whole body back, "Oh, I'm expensive to appear."
Emma was speechless, "Money, Money, Money! Every time I tell you something, you always end up talking about Money!"
After cursing and holding his breath, he asked, "How much!"
Olivia: "Didn't I say I'd give you face? How much is your face worth?"
...
Olivia came home and cooked porridge, ate it, and went straight to bed. She slept until noon the next day when she was woken up by a phone call.
Good friend Amelia called.
"Honey, I have a 3:00 p.m. flight, I'll be there at 5:30, pick me up."
Olivia slowed down as she stared at the ceiling, "I thought you were traveling for a month? It's not even half a month, and it's over?"
"No, I'll take half a day off and have dinner with you before I go back."
Olivia froze and slapped her forehead, sobering up a bit.
By the way, it's Ava's birthday, and every year on this day, Amelia spends the whole night eating Italian fondue, drinking, and getting high.
"You don't have to go back and forth."
Olivia sits up from the bed and takes a sip of the tea that has gone cold on the nightstand.
"I'm going back to the old house tonight."
Emma transferred Money to her, and at first, she only had five figures, but she did not care. Emma repeatedly tried to get seven figures, but she only sent a 'thank you, God of Fortune' emoticon.
Emma is half dead with anger, nagging half a day; her anger is quite smooth, with seven figures to go over to drink a glass of wine and, in the meantime, give those people a bit of blockage. What a good deal.
"Seven figures? Heh, Emma's so generous."
Amelia's words were tinged with sarcasm; she really didn't understand Emma, and she was so biased. She was usually mean to Olivia, but now she was throwing Money at her own daughter to save face for her adopted daughter.
She is mean to her own daughter and generous to her adopted daughter.
What kind of mom is that?
You Smiths, with the exception of Olivia, are all psychotic brainiacs.
Amelia is pissed off to no end every time she mentions the Smith Family's lackadaisical ones, curses a few times, and changes the subject.
"How are you and Liam doing? Still fighting?"
Olivia took another sip of her cooled tea; her hands and feet were cold, "He's going to the birthday party tonight, too; Emma asked him to pick me up."
Didn't say it would be reconciled, didn't say it wouldn't be reconciled.
This means that there is a serious problem at this time.
Amelia was silent for a while, but eventually, she couldn't hold back, "Honey, don't blame me for talking too much; it's not a good idea for you and Liam to keep fighting like this."
Olivia put her glass back and didn't answer, counting the minutes with her eyes closed.
A fight? They did. It seemed that she and Liam had a bigger fight this time, and it's been a cold war for two months now.
"Liam is not the same Liam."
Amelia wanted to scold Olivia to clear her head.
"Liam's changed his mind; he's in love with Sofia; he doesn't love you anymore; why don't you just give up on him?"
The truth is so harsh, like the sharpest of blades, that it can dig bloody holes in a person's heart.
Olivia had pins and needles in her head.
Indeed, Liam had loved her passionately.
It's true, Liam doesn't love her now; she's gone from being Liam's darling to being a pain in the ass now.
Sophia.
Olivia abhorred the name and was especially reluctant to bring it up, but the truth was that the woman named Sophia had become Liam's new darling.
Why don't you give up on Liam?
Of course, she wasn't happy; after all these years of waiting, she was finally close to getting married, and now this.
Besides, it's all engaged; the wedding is in the New Year, and there are still over three months to go, and the invitations have all gone out.
Everyone knows she's getting married. Where would she put her face if she gave it up now?
Okay, she's thick-skinned; she can be shameless, but she's still not happy about it.
Not willing to give up just like that, not willing to cheapen that white wolf Sophia.
But if she's not willing to do that, what can she do?
Liam says she's turned into a hedgehog, which she is.
Unfortunately, that wasn't to be the case right away; the thorns all over his body had been pulled out one by one by Liam, and the armor was gone, leaving only bloody holes.
When the last thorn in her side is gone, how will she survive?
...
As Emma said, Olivia gets a call from Liam.
"Your sister's birthday, Emma asked us to come along; where are you? I'll pick you up."
Olivia just got out of the shower and headed for the checkroom with her phone, "I thought you were ignoring me? So now it's a reconciliation?"
Liam paused and asked rhetorically, "Do you want to reconcile?"
Olivia listened to his condescending tone and didn't back down. She knew that once this topic came up, it was going to be another fight, and she didn't want to do it over the phone.
"Apartment."
As night fell, gray clouds coiled in the sky, and a sense of draping weight weighed down the air.
The black sedan is parked on the curb, and Liam is leaning against the door, smoking a cigarette.
Olivia asked with a smile as she walked over on her heels, her waist swaying, her clear eyes glancing at a few cigarette butts at his feet.
"Tired of waiting?"
Liam leaned against the car door without going over, waiting for her to come over, his eyes falling on her nonchalantly as he returned a perfunctory greeting.
"No."
Impatient, in fact, he'd been waiting for almost an hour, and five minutes later, he'd have just left.
Liam knew he'd changed; once upon a time, Olivia would have waited for her, no matter how long it took, not to mention an hour, if she was a day late.
Now, he was impatient with her and could only tolerate her for an hour.
Many say that whoever marries Olivia is blessed.
First of all, Olivia is beautiful, a veritable knockout.
Liam agrees with this because Olivia is indeed beautiful; on appearance alone, she's a favorite of many men, with a hot body, teasing eyes, white cheeks soft as water, and seductive peach blossom eyes curled with a unique wintry look.
Even with light makeup, it's bright enough.
For example, at the moment, a low-key luxury brand name and style are not ostentatious; the next person is wearing the rules; she is wearing a glamorous, unique, and reserved pure lust wind.
The body posture is upright, and the manners are like a proud princess.
She's such a big beauty; it's absolutely honorable to take her out. What's more, Olivia is from a good family, the daughter of a real estate tycoon and a famous woman from a noble family, so she has face and Money when she marries home.
The blessing fell on Liam's head.
Olivia is his fiancée.
Unfortunately, he didn't value Money; the Smith family was no match for the Johnson family; he was the youngest son of the Johnson family, and the last thing he needed was Money, and Olivia was moving up the ladder if she married into the family.
As for looks, Olivia does meet his aesthetic, but a blooming red rose, owned for too long, will one day get tired of it. Just like getting used to eating seafood, you will get tired of it after a long time.
A mutual friend of the two advised him.
"Liam, don't you make it? There is no one in the world who loves you more than Olivia; piss her off, and there will be times when you regret it."
Olivia loved him; he knew it.
He also loved Olivia, initially loving passionately; later, the love became flat and boring, and with a ... resentment that he dared not admit.
Now he's in love with Sophia, a woman whose life is like a weed but who is tenacious and resilient.
The friend advised again.
"Liam, come to your senses; you've been in love with Olivia for so many years; there's no way you're going to suddenly fall in love with someone else.
"It must be an illusion; you're just temporarily deluded; you actually still love Olivia in your heart."
Is it an illusion?
Liam doesn't know what it means; Sophia does matter more than Olivia in his mind these days.
...
On the way to the old Smith Family house, Liam mentions the cold war between the two, repeating the question from the phone call.
"Do you want to reconcile?"
Reconciliation?
Of course, I want to reconcile, it's just--
Olivia turned her head to look at him, "Sure, I'll never argue with you again as long as you dismiss Sophia."
Sophia, Liam's secretary.
When Olivia found out that Liam and Sofia were involved, she told Liam to fire Sofia.
Liam refuses, saying that Sophia's abilities are outstanding and there's no reason to dismiss her.
She was more anxious about how to get Liam back then, thinking that Liam just blamed her for staying away too long, thinking that Liam was just mad at her.
She never believed that even Liam was going to abandon her.
Until two months ago, when she'd seen Liam and Sophia's intertwined hands downstairs in Liam's apartment, the lingering morning kiss had stung.
Liam's subsequent candor is more like charity, like a hand from hell ripping her apart at the seams.
He said, "Olivia, I don't want to hide from you that I'm in love with Sophia. Of course, there's no way the Johnson Family is going to recognize her, so don't worry, I'm still going to marry you, and the wedding will go on as usual."
...
A quiet, soothing piano tune plays in the car, the falling notes stirring Olivia's memories on the verge of decay.
The vows of youth are nothing more than that.
She wanted to marry Liam and dreamed of it, and Liam was certain that she would compromise because she loved him.
Her pride won't allow her to coexist with Sophia, but Liam is in love with Sophia and has to force her to fulfill his second love.
It's a dead end.
Unexpectedly, the topic of "reconciliation" again collapsed with no concessions from either side.
Liam's words were devastating.
"Olivia, I can also back out of the engagement if I have to.
"You need to stop being irrational and tell yourself something you don't like to hear. Our kind of circle is full of married couples who play each other after marriage."
Olivia didn't reply to this; her arm was supported by the car window to look at the scenery outside, the high-rise buildings lined up on both sides of the road, and her thoughts went nowhere.
When she was almost out of the car, she took her phone and sent a WhatsApp.
The message was sent to Liam.
[99]
Liam glanced at the screen and tucked his phone away in his pocket again without much care.
It wasn't the first time Olivia had sent him a number, the first time she had sent him a "1," and this was the ninety-ninth time she had sent it, so it was "99".
He asked her what she meant, and she drunkenly joked.
"Liam, I'll give you credit for all the times you've stabbed me in the heart, and when you've stabbed me in the heart a hundred times, Olivia, who loves you, will be dead and won't want you."
Olivia sent the "1" last year, the first time the two had a fight since they got engaged.
Liam had analyzed her patterns, and it was true; every time she sent a number, it was after a big fight between the two of them, but not every fight; it seemed to depend on her mood.
Liam didn't take it seriously and just assumed she was playing hard to get.
After all, Olivia loved him as her life depended on it, and he was certain that she would eventually compromise.