Chapter 2 Conflict

"I wouldn't be marrying her if she hadn't pressured me," Liam replied as he pinned Julia beneath him.

"Baby, your fiancee really is here," Julia gestured toward the bedroom door, her arms bracing against his chest.

"That's impossible. I just saw her off. How..." Liam looked toward the door, locking eyes with me. "Rina, why are you here?" His face turned to stone the instant he saw me.

Liam scrambled off Julia. Panic flooded his eyes as they met mine, the lust in them evaporating. He was so rattled that he did not even think to cover himself. Julia calmly wrapped herself with the blanket, her smirk radiating contempt as she stared at me.

Tears cascaded down my cheeks. A torrent of fury and hatred overwhelmed me, screaming for an outlet. Faced with a truth too savage to bear, all I could do was turn and flee.

With a towel wrapped around his waist, Liam chased after me. His eyes brimmed with guilt as he tried to explain, "Rina, please let me explain…"

"What's there to explain? Everything is as plain as day. What could you possibly say in your defense?" A glimmer of hope flashed through me, aching for some sort of logic behind this even as I felt heart-wrenching pain.

Looking enchanting with her long, flowing locks falling messily over her shoulders, Julia put on Liam's shirt and interjected, "Jamie is Liam's child."

Jamie, Julia's three-year-old, was Liam's child...

My mind froze. It felt as though the sky was falling. I turned to Liam, desperate for a denial. Alas, his bowed head and guilt-ridden eyes confirmed the devastating truth. My heart was cleaved into two. I yearned to lash out, to unleash a scream, but the words choked in my throat and robbed me of my voice.

I was furious, and I hated them to my very core!

They had betrayed me. They had an affair and even a child together. One was my betrothed while the other was my best friend. How could they?!

"You bitch!"

No longer able to hold back my outrage and humiliation, I struck Julia across the face. My hand stung from the slap.

"Julia!" Liam's voice filled with worry.

Julia turned back toward me, her cheek now red and her eyes ablaze with anger.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Liam inquired, his gaze full of compassion for her.

The scene pierced my wounded heart once more. My fiance was showing more concern for the woman who had ruined us. How could I not hate him?

"She hit me, Liam. My face really hurts," Julia said, feigning vulnerability as she clung tightly to his arm and cried crocodile tears.