"You wretched...!" Eve jumped up from her chair so abruptly that it tipped over backward.

"Wow-wow-wow!" This time, Thomas also jumped to his feet and raised his hands placatingly. "Please, ladies, that's not necessary!" he said, and judging by the grin on his lips, he felt mighty.

'Pull yourself together! You're not children; this can all be sorted out sensibly. YOU are better than that,' Eve told herself but couldn't stop her fingers from balling into a fist in anger. She took a slow, quivering, deeper breath.

"Come on. I deserve a fair chance."

Thomas' expression seemed to soften momentarily, and then he caught a glance from Sally and cleared his throat. Visibly nervous, he reached for his tie and fiddled with the knot.

"Look, I have to decide in the interests of the seller, Miss White," he said, "No matter what... relationship you two may have with each other. Unfortunately, Mrs Roberts is right: unlike you, she not only has a solid financial base but also an established customer base that will help her open another shop."

No.

Eve didn't realize that she had stopped breathing.

Her ears began to ring, and her fingertips went cold.

"Mr Hall-" she began but raised her hand and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Ms White. But I'm going to tell the owner to sell the retail space to Mrs Roberts."

Suddenly, her mouth was dry, and Eve's shoulders slumped powerlessly.

"But..."

"Oh, thank you so much, Thomas!" chirped Sally, wrapping her arms around his neck completely inappropriately as if he had just given her a new car for her birthday.

Eve didn't know what to think or feel. It was as if an avalanche had swept over her and buried her under it. She had dug, fought, and tried to be optimistic. But now... she was slowly running out of air.

She wanted to scream and cry. But neither would change anything here.

Eve blinked several times but couldn't stop her vision from blurring and her throat from getting tight.

'No. You're not going to burst into tears now,' she told herself as she stiffly stuffed the folder with the drawings, calculations, and shattered plans of a shattered dream into her bag. 'You won't let her have that. Pull yourself together.

Still, she couldn't manage to squeeze out any more feigned kindness. Her heart felt like it wanted to burst.

Her steps flew towards the exit.

Why was she always so unlucky? Why couldn't something go right for once?

A sob crept up her throat like a disgusting lump. Eve swallowed hard, hoping to hold it back.

Even the cool air blowing around her nose outside couldn't change that. Her mind was racing so much that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her before her fingers closed around her wrist.

"Wait, Evey. We don't want each other like this," Sally's voice stopped her, and the other woman let go as Eve roughly released her wrist from her grip.

"Save your pretense!" Eve hissed back, and it felt like a dam inside her was threatening to groan under all the pressure that had been on it for far too long. Her breath was coming as fast as if she had run a sprint.

"Why are you doing this? What have I done to you that you've treated me like shit since I got back, and now you're destroying my dream too?" she burst out, and for a moment Sally seemed caught off guard by her desperate biting.

Sally raised her arched eyebrows.

"Why?" the slender blonde echoed in her soft and much higher voice, which was sweetened by triumph compared to Eve's. Self-confidence dripped from her every pore as she stepped towards Eve and brushed her blonde strands back over her shoulder.
"Because I've always hated having my toys taken away from me. And I return the favor when something is snatched from me."

For the first time since Eve had arrived, the mask on Sally's features seemed to crack. The smile dropped like a plate and cracked, only to reveal behind it the face of the ice queen she was. Charm, the smile... all as fake as one of those fake Prada bags on a high street bargain table.

"I didn't spend years sweet-talking the idiots in this dump and sucking up to those hillbillies for you to come along and ruin my plans!" she hissed, her eyes narrowing. "I won't tolerate any rivals! Not when it comes to my business or my men!" Sally hissed, her heels clicking on the wood as she melted the distance to Eve. "The new road will be built in a few months, and Silvershore will no longer be cut off. Then the place will be buzzing with tourists, and I'll own the shops in the best location!"

Eve couldn't help but let out an incredulous gasp. This could only be a bad joke. She couldn't believe it. "Are you serious? That... You're crazy."

As Sally took another step towards Eve and let her gaze linger over her, Eve felt the urge to flinch: It felt like a wild animal baring its teeth.

"This is MY town! And do you think I want a fat cow scaring away my potential customers with that ugly face?" She grimaced in disgust. "Look at you!" Sally pointed at Eve, suddenly feeling as if she had been exposed in front of the whole class.

Sally's voice hit her like a hammer on glass.

Sometimes words spoke louder than actions. Sally might as well have plunged a knife into her stomach. Eve felt ashamed, ugly and small. She reached for the blazer in one impulsive movement and automatically pulled it up in front of her stomach. As if she could hide her curves that way. Just this morning, she had felt somehow... good. Not pretty, but not as unattractive as usual. But now... Eve's fingers clutched at the leather handle of the bag as if she could somehow hold onto it with the last of her dignity.

"Just looking at you makes you lose your appetite! You look like a shriveled sausage!" Sally's voice softened, and her brown eyes literally bored into the more petite woman's as her hand shot forward and snatched the bag from her hands.

"Hey, what are you doing!" Eve tried to reach for it. To no avail.

Suddenly, Sally's hand shot forward, and Eve felt the stinging heat seize her cheek as the slender blonde's palm threw her head to the side under the force of the slap.

Stunned, Eve's mouth fell open, and her hand went to her burning cheek because she couldn't believe it...

At that moment, Sally grabbed her blouse and pulled her closer so the tips of their noses almost touched.

"So I'm going to tell you again in a friendly way: get out of here. There's no room for a fat cripple like you in my perfect little town! And stay away from Dr Taylor!" A frosty smile formed on Sally's lips. "Or it'll get filthy. And I promise I'll make you feel that no one in Silvershore gives a shit about you or your fucking family!"

Then Sally let go - and threw the bag over the porch railing into the lake water like a discarded fish.

"No!"

Eve stood there stunned for a second before she snapped out of her stupor and dived for the railing.

A loud splash left no doubt as to where she had landed.

Footsteps clacked behind her as Sally's voice drifted away. "Have fun fishing, you fat sea cow!" she called over her shoulder before the shop bell rang and the door slammed shut again.

Eve's hands clawed at the fence wood as she watched the bag float on the water's surface and begin to sink visibly. Just as her dreams inevitably did.

'Shit!'

Eve pushed herself off and almost buckled as she ran between the small tables. She skidded over the small stones, grabbed hold of the railing, and sprinted across the graveled bank.

Fortunately, the white wooden veranda did not extend far over the lake. Nevertheless, Eve hesitated momentarily as the waves lapped at the shore's edge. Then she kicked off her shoes, grabbed her skirt, and waded into the icy water.

By the time Eve reached the bag, she had already disappeared beneath the surface. Her fingers stung like a thousand needles, were reddened, and her legs were freezing cold as she stepped out of the lake onto the shore. Her tights were sticking to her skin; they were darker above her knees, and water was dripping from the hem of her skirt, which was sticking to her thighs and knees due to the moisture.

But she hardly noticed.

Nausea pressed into her throat from her queasy stomach as she pushed on the clasp, opened the lid, and saw the papers. Everything was completely soaked. Her hands were shaking. As Eve carefully reached for it, the paper frayed in her hands to nothing more than damp, white sludge and soft shreds.

Ruined.

Everything was ruined.

Eve could no longer hold back the sobs that accompanied the rising tears. Her chest was suddenly tight, and the feeling of failure choked her.

Sally's words came crashing down on her and seemed to cut her heart and soul. Sally didn't know what she was doing to her. And even if she did, she didn't care how deeply her words hurt Eve, what they were destroying and causing. All Eve had hoped for here was a new beginning—a new and better life for Liam and herself.

Could she only fail?