Chapter 160
“I was in my room. With my girlfriend. You walked in.”
“This is our house.”
“And I don’t care. When Emilia comes out of that bathroom, you’re going to apologise to her. For every word that just came out of your mouth.”
There’s a pause. The kind that feels cold, not quiet.
“How absurd,” she says.
“Then don’t wait around for the goodbye,” Liam says. “We’re leaving in twenty minutes. I’ve had enough of watching my girlfriend be disrespected in this house. You can go back to pretending I don’t exist.”
“You will not-‘
“Watch me.”
I hear her heels move across the room. I press my ear against the door.
“All this over that girl?” she spits. “You refuse to come home for years, and now you’re throwing away the chance to see your family? Or Rowland? He’s been asking for you. But I guess you don’t care about that either.”
My eyebrows lift. Rowland?
“Don’t,” Liam says again, colder now.
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“She’s tearing you apart from your family. Seth told me what happened. It’s obvious what she’s trying to do.”
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“Did he tell you why it happened? Or are you just clinging to the version that makes him the victim again?”
Tuli doesn’t answer.
I start pulling on clothes. Jeans. Shirt. My hands are shaking.
Then her voice comes back, low and hateful. “She’s lucky to even be here. It doesn’t matter what Seth did. He did it for you.”
Liam’s voice cuts in immediately. Hard. “Do you hear yourself? What gives you the right to speak about her like that?”
“I’ve said nothing untrue. I’ve done nothing wrong. And I have nothing to apologise for. I want her out of my house. You didn’t want to marry Jessica? Fine. You refused responsibility for Rowland? Wonderful. But this? Letting some girl tear our family apart? That’s where I draw the line.”
Liam laughs – sharp, bitter. I flinch.
“And you still ask why I don’t come home. Have you already forgotten why Seth hates me? You were the one who kept pushing me to marry the girl he was in love with.”
“He would’ve gotten over it.”
“Oh, sure. Just look at how well that turned out.”
“If that boy wasn’t in the picture-”
“Don’t bring Rowland into this,” Liam snaps, louder now. “Say one more word about him and I swear-”
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He doesn’t finish the sentence. Doesn’t need to.
The silence that follows says enough.
I can’t take it anymore. I push open the bathroom door, just as Tuli says, “Well, it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, it’s your name on his birth certificate. He’s your child. Regardless of what you might think, your father and I did our best to raise you all and we never raised a deadbeat.”
There’s so much wrong with that sentence, I don’t know where to start. The sheer nerve of pretending they ever tried. But one thing finally clicks into place – and it makes my stomach drop.
Rowland.
It’s never good to jump into conclusions or make assumptions, but it’s hard not to when the truth is laid down in front of you.
I step out of the bathroom before I can stop myself. Liam doesn’t notice until I speak.
“Did you and Jessica have a child?”
He turns fast, a grimace crosses his face.
Tuli’s expression flickers. Something triumphant crawls across her face
when she sees mine.
She’s no doubt about to say something scathing, but a knock interrupts her. The door creaks open.
Eliza peeks in, paint streaked across her cheek, her expression uneasy. “Sorry to interrupt,” she says carefully. “Li? Someone’s downstairs. She’s looking for you.”
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Chapter 160
EMILIA
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I hear her before I see her, but it doesn’t make a difference.
Jessica Monroe knows how to take up space. Her short black hair is pulled into a careless bun, her face scrunched at something Seth says – until her eyes find Liam. Then she smiles. Bright. Effortless. Like she’s the sun and everyone else is just lucky to orbit her.
She brushes off Seth’s hand like it’s nothing. He flinches, hurt clear on his face, but she’s already moving. Straight toward Liam.
Only, he’s not looking at her.
After a brief glance, his focus is on me. Locked.
“Emilia-”
“Don’t.” My voice lands like a slap. He deserves worse.
No more secrets? What a joke. There was nothing between us? Bullshit. I’ve ended things? With what a child in the picture?
–
And he never thought to tell me. Not once. Not when I was falling for him. Not when I gave him everything. My time, my trust. My worst moments, laid bare. He knows the ugliest parts of me — and I don’t even get the basic courtesy of knowing he has a kid?
–
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Chapter 161
