003

~YVONNE POV~

I got off the floor.

My legs felt like they were made of water, but I forced them to hold me up. I wiped my face with the back of my hand, smearing tears and snot across my cheek.

Pathetic. I was so pathetic, but I didn't move toward Arthur, I couldn't, not yet. Every time I blinked, I saw them. Arthur's hands in Holly's hair. Her lips on his neck. The way he looked at her.

My fists clenched at my sides.

The stranger stood behind me, so close, I could feel the heat of him at my back, reliable and steady. Like a wall I could lean against if I wanted to but I didn't lean.

Arthur's eyes flicked from me to the stranger, then back to me. His jaw tightened.

"Who is he?" Arthur asked. His voice was strong, controlled, like he was the one who had the right to ask questions right now. I almost laughed, almost.

"That's what you want to ask me?" My voice came out rough. Broken. "That's what you want to talk about right now?"

Arthur's face didn't change. "Yvonne…."

"Do you even feel guilty?" The words spilled out before I could stop them. "Do you feel anything at all?"

For a second…just a second….something flashed across his face, maybe guilt or regret? It was gone before I could be sure. He stretched his hand toward me. Palm up. Like he was offering me something.

"Come here," he said, softer now. "Let's talk about this. Just the two of us."

I stared at his hand. I should've been angry. I should've screamed at him. Thrown something. Slapped him across the face and walked away.

But I didn't.

I couldn't. Because a part of me….the stupid, desperate, naive part….wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe there was an explanation. That maybe it wasn't what it looked like. That maybe he still loved me.

My feet moved before my brain could catch up, one step, then another, I reached for his hand. Behind me, the stranger laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was low and harsh and mean. The kind of laugh that made your skin crawl.

I froze. My fingers hovered inches from Arthur's. I turned my head to look at the stranger. He was smiling again. That same dangerous smile from before. But now there was something else in his eyes. Something darker.

Entertainment. No….contempt.

Arthur's face went red. "What the hell is so funny?"

The stranger tilted his head, hands sliding into his pockets, in a relaxed way, like he had all the time in the world. "You haven't changed a bit, big brother," he said, his voice smooth and cold. "Still the same jerk you've always been."

The air left the hallway.

Arthur's hand dropped. His eyes went wide. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"Liam?" Arthur's voice cracked on the name.

Liam.

Liam.

I blinked, my brain scrambling to catch up.

This was him? Arthur's stepbrother? The illegitimate one he always complained about? The one who thought he could steal Arthur's birthright, who didn't know his place, who should've stayed overseas where he belonged?

I looked at Liam again. He didn't look like someone who'd been sent away in shame. He looked like someone who owned the room, the building and the whole damn world.

Arthur took a step back. His confident disguise broke down just a little. "What are you doing here?"

Arthur's voice was tight now and weakened.

Liam's smile widened.

"I came back." He paused, letting the words sink in. Then his eyes slid to me, slow and intentional. "And it looks like I got here just in time." His gaze dropped to my hand….still halfway stretched toward Arthur.

"Tell me, Yvonne," Liam said, my name rolling off his tongue like he had said it a thousand times before. "Does he even know your favorite color? Or is he too busy with blondes to notice?"

My stomach twisted.

Arthur's jaw clenched. "Liam, I swear to God…."

"Relax." Liam's voice was ice. "I'm not here to ruin your fun. I'm here to take back what's mine." He stepped forward and closer, close enough that I could smell his cologne…woodsy, expensive, nothing like Arthur's.

Close enough that when he leaned down, his lips were right next to my ear.

"Starting with her."