Thank you for all the reviews, everyone. They mean so much. This is kind of a two-part chapter, the next part will be up soon, I promise.

Well in case you failed to notice,
In case you failed to see,
This is my heart bleeding before you,
This is me down on my knees, and
These foolish games are tearing me apart,
And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart

"Foolish Games"- Jewel

Another week passed before Corny was medically cleared to begin dancing on the show again, though, because of their problems, neither he nor Amber had made contact with the other to set up a date for his official return as host. In this way, she felt in total control of the situation. She literally had his career in the palm of her hand, and she was dangling it over him. She knew that each time she felt his eyes upon her, he was attempting to demand her to speak to him, if only professionally. She got a strange sense of satisfaction from knowing that she was making him squirm, just as he'd done her for all those years.

Although she had come to terms with the realization that she was still in love with him, it didn't mean that she let herself fall all over him. In fact, it was quite the opposite. When she saw him enter the room, she would become stony-faced and stoic, watching him with hard eyes that she had previously only reserved for mortal enemies. Her assumptions were these: just because she couldn't fool herself into hating him, she could fool him into thinking that she did, and she spent the majority of her time figuring out ways to show how nonchalant she was about their entire situation, even when she was dying on the inside.

Of course, her inability to back down from this charade she was putting on was still spilling over into her personal health. She had taken a sick sense of pride in her ability to go an entire day without eating, and then swallow just enough food to keep her alive until the next morning. She had never made such an attempt to eat so little in her life, and she was positive that she could already feel her stomach beginning to shrink on the inside. She had stopped gaining weight, and had, in fact, begun losing it. She found herself feeling weaker every day, her skin pale and dryer than ever. She tried to ignore the fact that each morning when she woke up, there was a clump of her own golden hair on her pillow, and brushed it away, swallowing the lump in her throat that something may have been seriously wrong. Stupidly, she assumed that this happened to all pregnant women, and that this was nothing out of the ordinary.

She began experiencing dizzy spells, and moved slowly when she was at work to avoid any suspicious glares. She could manage to fake her way through work, and even fooled Link when he continuously asked her what was happening to her. She wasn't completely sure how to answer him, because she didn't know what was happening to her. What was painfully obvious was the fact that her body was weaker, more tired than it had ever been before, and that the slightest bump into any offending obstacle could more than guarantee a huge, ugly bruise on her rough skin. Inwardly, these things that were happening to her body terrified her, though outwardly she would admit to none of that.

It was infuriating to be so desperately close to Corny, and to not be able to touch him. It was the worst kind of torture; worse than when they'd been dating for a few months, and had agreed to wait for their actual first time together. That had lasted for all of about a week, and Amber had ended up begging him to take her at his house one night, long before either of them had thought about engagements or moving in together. No, that had been completely different. Back then, she had known that he was hers, and that she could have him at any time she so choose, but now, he was gone. Her hormones were going completely insane, and she found herself thinking about him in that way for the majority of the day. It was excruciating agony to know that she could not use her fingers to tug on his hair the way he had always liked so much, and to know that he was not going to be leaving a trail of gentle kisses down her neck anytime soon. Not that he would want to anyway, now; not with the harsh appearance of her skin. She reminded herself of the crocodile purse her mother had once owned; she felt scaly, and so pale that her skin was actually beginning to look green to her.

She felt another wave of dizziness hit her suddenly, and let her fingers grip the chair in front of her, focusing all of her attention on the rehearsals before her. She was sure Corny had seen that from where he was standing; he had seen the way she had stumbled, if only for a moment, and forced herself to stand up straight, even if her head didn't think it was such a great idea. She stared straight ahead, ignoring the questioning glares that people shot at her over her slight tumble forward. If there was one thing a Von Tussle woman knew how to do, it was hide her pain; this definitely counted as pain.

A hot rush of nausea slipped up her throat, and she felt her face beginning to burn. She was certain she would throw up at that moment, but the sickness was soon replaced with an unfathomable lightheadedness, and she felt her head beginning to droop as the obliviousness rushed over her, sending her onto the floor, crumpled into a useless heap.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been out for; it seemed like only seconds, but so does a full night's sleep, and when her heavy eyelids opened again, there was a small crowd gathered around her, Link and Corny in the forefront. She knew that someone was holding her hand, and didn't realize for another moment that it was Link, stooped beside her with Corny watching from mere feet away.

"Amber…" Link patted the back of her hand gently, and she stirred, garnering just enough strength to pull her hand from his, clutching it to her chest and studying the surrounding group with wide blue eyes. "Are you okay?"

She blinked, then let herself shift enough to look at Corny, who was studying her carefully. She felt ashamed suddenly, but brushed the feeling aside, forcing herself to nod ever so slightly.

"I'm fine," she tried to pull herself up, to stand, but the room began to spin, and she fell back, closing her eyes again.

"Just lay there for a minute," Link instructed her carefully, "Don't try to stand up just yet." She let her head fall back, wishing she could have had this embarrassing fainting spell on a day that Corny hadn't been here to see it. A woman who was in complete control most definitely did not pass out. She let herself lay still for a moment, and heard the scuffle of shoes as people began to walk away from the scene of the accident.

"Amber, look at me." Corny's words were a direct order, but she hesitated to follow them, afraid of what she might see when she did. She kept her eyes closed, and suddenly felt his hand on hers, brushing lightly along her fingers. "Amber. Open your eyes and look at me."

She did finally, if only because she was afraid she'd never be able to get up if she didn't. He was crouched beside her, holding a small plate with a sandwich on it, glaring at her harshly.

"Eat this." No questions, no time for excuses. He shoved the sandwich in front of her, moving his hand to put the plate in her grasp. She watched him dumbly for a moment, and he kept his eyes locked on her face. She decided to keep her focus on his eyes, and shook her head slightly, her resolve never wavering.

"No." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she returned his hard glare.

He looked at her for another minute before pounding his fist on the ground, dangerously close to her body, and she felt her muscles twitch.

"Damnit, Amber!" His voice was so loud that it made the remaining few people who were standing around them start quickly, "What in the hell is wrong with you? What sick, pathetic point are you trying to make by doing this to yourself?"

She wasn't completely sure that she'd ever seen Corny this angry, even when they'd gotten into their many fights. Even when they screamed at each other, she could always see it in his eyes; the love that he undoubtedly felt for her beneath all of the other emotions, but now, it was gone.

"I'm not-" Her voice was small, but she began to speak, only to be cut off by Link, who glared angrily at Corny from across Amber.

"Give her a chance to get her bearings before you start with your psychotic, domineering shit, would you?" Link was sneering at the older man now, his eyes dark. Even Amber, in her half-state of consciousness, could see that he was biting his tongue to avoid saying anything further. Corny's eyes met his at once, and Amber looked between them worriedly.

"Don't tell me how to speak to her," Corny shot back suddenly, his gaze now completely averted from Amber. "I'll say whatever I want to her."

Link met his hard gaze, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I'm sure you will. Your relationship was just about a stone's throw away from being verbally abusive, so why don't you just get the hell away and let her regain consciousness before you start on her?" He shook his head, looking at Amber again. "I've known her longer than you have, anyway." His words were so absurdly childish and random that Amber almost laughed. He said the words grudgingly, keeping his eyes locked on her. She shifted her gaze to Corny, who was still glaring at Link.

"So you think you know her better than I do?" It sounded like he was challenging Link to a game of Amber trivia. "If you know her so well, then do you realize that this precious little flower you're fawning over is starving herself for attention?" His steely gaze moved down to Amber. "She's putting herself and her unborn baby in danger because she's trying to achieve some sick sense of accomplishment. Get up, Amber, and stop being so damn selfish."

Amber groaned from her position on the floor, letting her eyes roll into the back of her head as Link studied Corny. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to get up; to eat that sandwich that Corny had just offered her, but her body was simply not strong enough to pull herself up. Almost as if on cue, Corny's hands were under Amber's arms, urging her onto her feet, pulling her up with his strength. When she did find her feet, she was wobbly and unsure of herself, and gripped the same chair she'd held onto earlier.

"Damnit, leave her the hell alone," Link shoved Corny away from her quickly, causing Amber to stumble slightly from the lack of support.

"Why don't you leave her the hell alone, you jackass?" Corny pushed Link shoulder's back, causing him to stumble, and Amber's eyes widened as she watched them. "You need to stay the hell away from her. Aren't you happy that you've already broken my family up?"

Amber felt tears stinging her eyes as she heard the words. So this was proof; he still thought about them, and he blamed this all on Link, not on her. Although that didn't help much, she found an odd comfort in it.

"You're the one that thinks you own her. She's not your property, you arrogant ass-" He was in Corny's face now, hollering the words at him. In the blink of an eye, Link had taken Corny down with a solid punch in the jaw, and both men were on the floor, tussling with each other in a blur of punches.

"Stop it!" Amber screamed the words so loudly that the place fell into a quiet hush. She didn't care. She was so beyond caring; beyond having people look at her strangely or question her motivations. "Both of you, stop!"

Corny pulled away from Link, shooting him an angry glare before straightening his tie and cufflinks, then directing his gaze at Amber. She felt the flush rising in her face, and narrowed her eyes at him.

"You two are the reason I'm like this!" She screamed the words at them, pointing her finger at Corny. "You are the reason I'm pregnant, and you," she moved her gaze to Link, "You're despicable. You're the reason I don't have a family, a fiancée, anything." She narrowed her gaze at them as they watched her, both of them flushed and panting from their fight.

"I hate both of you," she spit the words at them, turning on her heels and tossing her clipboard on the floor. "Fuck this, I'm leaving. You can get through today by your damn selves."

She scurried through the studio, despite the fact that her head was still spinning and her heart was still pounding. She managed to drive home, though she wasn't completely sure how, and it wasn't much later, when she was preparing to get into the shower, that she began to experience the lightheadedness again. She gripped the shower curtain, her fingers slipping down it as she fell, her forehead smacking against the edge of the claw-foot tub as she slipped into unconsciousness. She hit the floor, taking the shower curtain down with her, and collapsing into a motionless heap on the cold tile.

For the very first time, Amber Von Tussle was beyond being able to help herself.