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She stood sheathed in a column of white, her back towards the wall. Not to be a wallflower; no, Chloe Sullivan could never be a wallflower. The position she took gave her the best advantage to watch what was going on in the room. She was here in Metropolis to cover the story of Bruce Wayne receiving the "Business Man of the Year Award", which was awarded to the man who exemplified honor, integrity, respect and compassion in business. It's hardly a wonder that he won it almost every year, and every year he was humbled at the honor. She was here for her job, and she was in her element.

Chloe did not notice the admiring looks she was receiving from the men in the room. Nor the envious ones from the women. On the outside, she looked radiant with creamy skin against the stark white dress, a dress that clung to the curves of her body, her hair swept up to show the graceful lines of her neck, and with green eyes that could be seen from across the room. But if anyone who really knew her (and there were not many who did) looked into her eyes, they would have seen that on the inside she was not as calm as she looked.

She had not been in Metropolis since she graduated college four years before. When her heart finally broke after years and years of loving someone who did not return those feelings. She had left the city she loved so much the day Clark Kent told her that he and Lois Lane were in love, and she never looked back. It was a triple loss of sorts, leaving Metropolis with the memories of her time there with her father, Clark and Lois. It was here that she and her father had spent their remaining time together before he died, and the memories were bittersweet. Leaving Clark, the boy she loved for more than half her life and the boy who had been her best friend for the same amount of time. But the biggest loss was that her relationship with Lois, her cousin and only remaining relative, had forever changed that day. Lois was the only family she had left in the world, and Chloe felt that Lois had betrayed her. Lois knew of Chloe's love for Clark, but she fell in love with him as well and somehow had managed to capture his heart that eluded Chloe for so long. She couldn't really blame Lois for falling for Clark, who wouldn't? But she did blame her and that's what troubled Chloe most of all. She knew Lois was happy with Clark, but Chloe couldn't be happy for her cousin. She had suspected that something had been going on between them, and the day that Clark confirmed her fears, the pain had finally become so unbearable, she fled from everything she knew and started a new life.

While in college, she had received many offers from major papers all over the country, including the Daily Planet. Clark and Lois had accepted jobs there and wanted her to join them, but she declined. When she started over, she chose to move to Gotham and become a reporter for the flagging Gotham Gazette. She quickly became a star on the rise, easily becoming the star reporter for the dying paper, and inspiring her co-workers to match her determination and zeal to get the story. Six months after her arrival, readership doubled and the paper was beginning to thrive again.

No one in Gotham would believe that Chloe would walk into her apartment at night and cry all night long. Always in control at work, in public, or while getting the story, privately, she was slowly falling apart. She sleep was filled with nightmares and her waking thoughts were always full of Clark. It was hard to try and forget him, when Superman seemed to make the daily headlines whether in print or on the TV. She had her doctor prescribe sleeping pills, but they never helped her sleep through the night. Her diet consisted of coffee and not much else, she was losing weight and it was getting harder and harder for her to conceal her depression. She was dying inside and her body was starting to catch up.