5

Chapter Five

Liam Lancaster

~•~

My eyes were still closed.

I stretched my arms to the other end of the bed, trying to find the lady I had spent the night with.

But the sheets were empty.

I opened my eyes immediately.

Where did she go?

I got out of bed and checked the bathroom but I couldn’t find her. All her things were gone.

Letting out a deep sigh, I sat down on the bed, running a hand through my hair. We had a really crazy night and I wasn’t surprised that she left without telling me.

Maybe she was embarrassed by sleeping with a stranger. But I wasn’t embarrassed by sleeping with her, I had a good time.

I didn’t even get her name.

A mischievous smirk plastered across my lips as I remembered everything that happened the previous night.

The only thing I could think about at that moment was her. I needed to find her number or something.

I picked up my stuff and drove back to the bar. It was a good thing I owned the bar and had access to the security footage.

It didn’t take long before I discovered who she was.

Abby Hale.

Such a lovely name.

My chest warmed unexpectedly.

I sent her name to my private investigator and asked him to find her number.

While I waited for feedback, I drove back home. When I pulled up to the driveway, a relieved sigh escaped my lips when I saw that my brother’s car wasn’t parked there.

At least, the house would be peaceful.

When I got inside, I saw my parents in the living room. “Your brother resumed as the company’s new CEO today, but you didn’t even care to show up last night,” my mother nagged as I walked to the stairs.

I didn’t say anything, I kept on walking.

“Liam!” My father’s thunderous voice echoed through the living room. “Your mother is speaking to you, don’t you have the decency to stand back and listen to her?”

I held back a scoff. Did they really expect me to stand and listen to them compare me to Landon for the millionth time?

“Good morning to you two, I hope you have a great day,” I said sarcastically before heading over to my room.

A relieved sigh escaped my lips when I closed the door behind me.

I didn’t care if Landon became president, the king of the universe, or whatever title they wanted to give him. I was tired of living in his shadow and being compared to him.

We were just twins, we didn’t have to be the same people or have the same job. I dropped my keys on the nightstand and pulled off my shirt.

I was ready to take a shower and wash off the exhaustion from last night when my phone started ringing.

I reached out to it, half-expecting it to be my private investigator, but I let out a disappointed sigh when I saw it was from Jordan.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, my voice rough.

It wasn’t like I wasn’t excited to hear from my best friend, I just didn’t expect him to call me so early in the morning.

And I’d rather have the PI calling me.

“Dude, please tell me you’re awake,” he groaned through the phone. “I need you at the studio like right now.”

I frowned. “The studio? Why? Isn’t it too early for a shoot?”

A dramatic sigh left his lips. “The model is leaving town earlier than expected. And I need this shoot badly, so she agreed to come this morning.”

I rubbed my palm across my forehead.

Photography. This was the job my parents hated. According to them, it wasn’t a real career. It was just a hobby that would waste my time. Another perfect reason to compare me to my brother, the new CEO.

I wasn’t even interested in the family’s business. I had other things bringing me money, I just focused on photography because it was something I started with my best friend and I couldn’t leave him hanging.

It wasn’t a source of income for me, it was just like a distraction. But still, I needed to take it seriously because Jordan always acted like his life depended on it.

“Can’t you just get another model?”

Jordan scoffed. “Not everyone is a billionaire like you, or even has billionaire parents. I need this model to take our studio next level.”

I knew that if I didn’t agree, he would give me a long lecture about the importance of photography.

“Fine,” I responded with a defeated sigh. “I’ll see you soon.”

After the call ended, I showered, got dressed, and grabbed my car keys, then I made my way downstairs.

“You just arrived and you’re leaving again?” My mother asked, stunned. “Why can’t you be like Landon?”

A long breath escaped my lips as I looked at her. Wasn’t she tired of saying the same thing over and over again?

“I’m going to the studio, I’ll see you later.”

It was a good thing my father had left the living room, or he would have found a way to keep me there for a while longer.

I had no idea how I even put up with both of them.

Everyone always wondered why two men who were badass in every other area of their lives still lived with their parents.

But no one could ever understand how it felt growing up in the Lancaster house — a controlling father and a perfectionist mother.

I had tried to move out a few times, but they all didn’t end well. As long as my father still wanted me around, I had no other option but to stay.

It was really complicated.

I drove out of the house as fast as I could.

All I wanted to think about was Abby Hale… and not my parents’ obsession with turning me into Landon 2.0.

Just as I arrived at the studio, my phone buzzed with a text. It was from my private investigator.

He had sent me Abby’s number.

I texted her immediately.

[ You disappeared this morning, was the sex that terrible? Did you get home safely?]

I waited for a while for her to respond.

And she did.

But I wasn’t prepared for what she replied with.