Chapter 7: Beverly Hamilton!

Beverly POV

I turned slowly and, just as expected, I found myself staring into the face of the last person I ever wanted to see.

Marcus Hawthorne.

Seriously… how could this be happening?

Was this some kind of twisted, cruel luck?

After everything that had happened to me… after everything I had dragged myself through just to become whole again, just to stand on my own two feet without feeling like I was drowning… the first person I ran into on my first day in this cursed city just had to be him.

The same man whose face was burned into the worst parts of my memory.

And not just that he turned out to be the father of the child I had already grown so attached to.

Was fate trying to punish me?

Or remind me that I would never really escape my past?

I stood frozen in place my tight, my fists clenched so hard my nails bit into my skin but I barely felt the sting As my entire focus was on him--Marcus, the way he stood, the way he leaned slightly toward the nurse while she spoke, the way his shoulders looked broader but somehow… tired.

I could feel my blood heating under my skin, that familiar angry heat crawling up my chest and settling behind my eyes.

Every second I stood there, memories tried forcing their way back in.

The shouting, the insults, the maltreatment and then silence after.

The way he used to look at me like I was both everything and nothing at the same time.

God, I hated that I still remembered things about him.

And all I wanted no needed in that moment was to march straight up to him and demand answers.

Why him?

Why did it have to be him of all people who turned out to be Liam’s father?

And how was that even possible?

I could still remember the day the call came that he was expecting a child seven years ago that day Vanessa had mentioned a baby girl if my memory serves me correctly.

Liam looked about seven years old too.

Seven.

The number echoed inside my head like something banging against a locked door it was the exact same age the child would have been.

But how?

Something wasn't adding up here I could feel it and unless something changed yeah unless perhaps something I didn’t know what happened here while I was away then this whole Liam being Marcus son just didn't make sense.

My stomach twisted sharply at the thought so hard I almost doubled over.

As if sensing my stare, Marcus and the nurse suddenly stopped talking and both of them turned in my direction.

And right then his eyes locked with mine.

My heart skipped almost immediately at it, not from excitement, not from nerves but from pure, sharp irritation. The kind that made my teeth ache.

I couldn’t hear what the nurse was saying to him. All I could focus on was the way he kept staring at me. Focused and unblinking even as the nurse spoke to him his gaze didn't leave me even for a second which made me wonder.

If perhaps he did recognize me?

Aside from losing weight, I hadn’t really changed much my face and every other thing about me was still intact. No drastic surgeries or alterations so there was no way he shouldn’t recognize me.

But as I studied his expression, searching desperately for something shock, anger, disgust or maybe recognition I found none of it.

Instead… there was warmth, relief and even excitement.

And the Marcus I knew… never looked at me like that again.

A strange, uncomfortable feeling settled in my chest.

Then I noticed him moving toward me.

My shoulders tensed up instantly, my muscles locking like my body was preparing for impact.

Part of me screamed at me to turn around and leave at that instant. To walk out of the hospital before he could reach me.

But another part the stronger part told me to stay and listen to whatever crap he was bringing with him.

And I chose the latter not because I was eager to see him.

But because I was done running from him like some frightened girl.

I didn’t spend years rebuilding myself just to cower in front of a crazy ex.

“Hi… I’m Marcus Hawthorne. Liam’s father.” He spoke finally his voice sounded calm, controlled. Almost gentle.

And as he stepped closer, I noticed details I hadn’t seen earlier.

His clothes hung loosely around his shoulder's where they once used to fit better and outlined his well-built abs and pack and even broad shoulders.

His beard was uneven, overgrown, like he didn’t care enough to maintain it and there were faint dark circles under his eyes like someone who hadn't seen sleep in ages.

Also his cheeks looked slightly hollow and shrunk inside even more when he spoke.

Life hadn't been kind to him it didn't take much for me to realize that.

I wondered what happened to him though?

And I hated that a tiny part of still noticed something was wrong and even cared to know why.

But even with all that…

That arrogance.That quiet pride that he used to have in the past.

It was still there in the way he stood back straight, chin slightly lifted, eyes steady like he still believed he controlled every room he walked into.

“The nurse over there told me you were the good Samaritan who brought him in when he had a seizure. I came to thank you for that.” He continued in that still calm tone of his and hell the calmness unsettled me more than anything.

And wait...he had also introduced himself, like we were strangers.

That alone confirmed it.

He didn’t recognize me.

And God… I didn’t know how to feel about that.

Relieved? Angry? whichever I didn't know what to feel but I didn’t want to be the one to tell him either. No. If he was going to remember me it should hit him on his own.

So I decided to play along.

“Well… yes. But you should thank God for putting me there at the right time, not me.”

As I spoke, I saw it the smallest shift in his face.

The way his brows pulled together slightly. His eyes narrowing just a little.

Like something about me was familiar, but he couldn’t place it.

But before he could respond, the nurse from earlier suddenly approached from behind me.

“Please, miss, we’d like to know the name of the lady who saved Liam. Mr. Hawthorne here would like to give her something as appreciation.”

A gift?

That… I didn’t see coming.

I glanced at Marcus. He gave a small nod, like it was already decided.

I looked between him and the nurse, trying to process it.

Marcus… giving me something?

With how worn down he looked?

Though, honestly, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Pride was stitched into Marcus’s bones. Even when he had nothing, he would never let anyone see it.

Still… the thought unsettled me.

“Well… um… I don’t think that’s necessary. I mean, I didn’t do it expecting any reward. The only thing I want is to know Liam's going to be okay.”

“But I insist,” Marcus said firmly, cutting me off.

There it was.

That familiar command in his voice.

That tone that used to make my chest tighten years ago.

I swallowed slowly, forcing my voice steady.

“Fine… then the name is Beverly Hamilton.”