Chapter 53
I don’t bother looking at Margot. I already know what I’ll find- her disapproving stare, her silent I told you so. She warned me about this. About him. And I didn’t listen.
Zane clears his throat. “I just needed to speak to Emilia. Wait for me at the sushi spot, I’ll join you in a moment.”
My smile doesn’t reach my eyes. “We were supposed to video call Lolo twenty minutes ago.”
I can see the gears turning in Liam’s head as he tries to figure out who Lolo is. He shouldn’t think so hard. Soon, it won’t be a secret anymore.
Zane doesn’t even look at me. He waves me off like I’m an afterthought. “That’s not important. We can do that another time.”
Margot moves beside me, jaw clenched, voice shaking with barely contained rage. “How-”
“Don’t,” I cut her off. My gaze stays locked on Zane. My voice is steady, cold. Unrecognisable, even to myself.
But then, softer, just for Margot, I add, “She probably doesn’t know you enough to miss you anyway.”
I don’t wait for his response. I turn on my heels and walk away.
Margot follows immediately, her footsteps quick and sharp behind me. “Becca-”
0.00%
16491
Chapter 53
288 Vouchers
“I know.”
She exhales, frustrated. “Lolo-”
“I know, Margot!” My voice cracks. I take a deep breath before I continue, quieter. “But what? You want me to raise Lolo without a father?” My throat tightens. “I won’t do that, Margot. I won’t.”
She stops walking, but I can still hear her. The words she has to say. The ones I’ve been running from.
“But isn’t that what you already do?”
The pang in my chest is unbearable.
But I don’t stop.
Not even when I hear the sound of a door opening and Emilia’s soft voice in the background. Not even when I think of how Lolo‘ s face fell when she realised her dad missed another video call.
I can’t go back now.
EMILIA
Liam has been gone longer than I expected.
I frown. Didn’t he just go to get the door? It shouldn’t take this long.
I try not to let my mind spiral, but it’s hard when everything seems to be crashing down around me.
First, Stone and all the memories he dragged back into my life. Now, this my family’s name, plastered across the internet like a headline in some twisted fairy tale.
25.69%
000
16:48
Chapter 53
288 Vouchers
I force myself to move. I slip into the bathroom, letting the hot water run over me, washing away the weight in my chest. I focus on breathing, on standing still, on the small victory of not collapsing under the pressure of everything that’s gone wrong.
I try not to think about the last time I spoke to my family.
My mother’s voice, sharp and unrelenting. My father’s heavy silence, his disappointment louder than any words he could have said. My younger sister’s glare, filled with a resentment I fully understand.
I shut my eyes. Think of the good things, Em. Don’t drown in everything that’s happened.
By the time I step out of the bathroom, I feel lighter–not fixed, but at least functioning. I wrap a towel around my hair, pull on my swimsuit and throw on a simple sundress over it.
Lacey told me today was pool day last night. It won’t do well to miss it. Plus, Liam and I need to be seen together more. It’ll make selling our relationship way easier.
When I catch my reflection in the mirror, I hesitate. My curls are still damp, still wild. I leave them down. They’ll shrink anyway.
I sit on the bed and wait for Liam.
Five minutes pass. Then ten.
Why is it so quiet?
Just as I start to get up, I hear it–muffled voices outside the door.
At first, I can’t make out the words. But then the volume rises,
49.88%
16.49
Chapter 53
1288 (Vouchers
sharp and heated.
Raised voices.
My stomach twists.
I have a bad feeling about this. Just when I’m about to get up and investigate, Liam’s phone rings. It’s from his agent.
Well, this is as good an excuse as any to see what’s going on.
And because my intuition has never been too far off and life loves fucking with me, when I open the door I’m face to face with Liam and Zane in what seems to be a heated conversation.
The second the door swings open, they both freeze.
Zane’s face is flushed with frustration, his jaw clenched so tight it looks like he might snap a tooth. Liam, on the other hand, stands there cool and composed, arms crossed over his chest, radiating pure disgust.
But the second his blue eyes meet mine, everything shifts. His scowl disappears, replaced by that lazy, dimpled smile that does dangerous things to my pulse.
80.36%
