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Chapter Twenty-Three
Last Updated:
2025-05-09 03:48:39
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Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Twenty four
LIAM: LIAM It was supposed to be just another afternoon hangout. The same leather booth at Montero’s Pizza, the same laughter echoing around the table, the same forced smile on my face. Beatrice sat beside me, her manicured fingers trailing the rim of her soda glass. Her two loyal shadows giggled over something on their phones, and my boys—Matteo, Lucas, Levi and Mason—were tossing pepperoni slices into each other’s mouths like idiots. Same crowd. Same energy. Except it wasn’t the same anymore. Not for me. Not when Zara’s bracelet was tight around my wrist, reminding me of everything I was pretending not to feel. I was halfway through a slice of pizza when Beatrice leaned in closer. Her perfume was strong—sweet and overbearing, like she was trying too hard to smell expensive. “We’ve been thinking,” she said, lips curved in that signature smirk she always wore when she was up to no good. “Dangerous,” I muttered. Matteo laughed. Beatrice didn’t. “I’m serious,” s
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Twenty-five
ZARAProm queen.Even saying the words in my head felt foreign, like trying on someone else’s clothes that didn’t quite fit.I stood in front of my mirror, twisting slightly side to side as I stared at my reflection. No makeup, baggy hoodie, messy bun. The exact opposite of what a prom queen would look like—and yet… I’d told Liam I’d think about it.And now I was seriously considering it.The idea had haunted me ever since he brought it up. At first, I thought he was joking, or maybe just being Liam—sweet, persuasive, always knowing how to look at me in a way that made the floor tilt beneath my feet. But the more I sat with it, the more it started to feel real.He believed I could do it. And that meant something.No, it meant everything.Still… I wasn’t the prom queen type. I didn’t swoon over gowns or plan Pinterest boards for corsage ideas. I didn’t own a curling wand. My nails were short and chipped, and my favorite shoes were my worn-out black Converse with doodles all over the si
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Twenty- six
Zara By Monday, the campaign was officially in motion. Liam insisted we start strong. “First impressions matter,” he said, holding up a custom flyer he’d helped design over the weekend. My face was sketched cartoon-style, surrounded by little doodles — a crown, boots, and a spray paint can. In bold, block letters across the top, it read: Vote Zara — Prom Queen with an Edge I rolled my eyes when I saw it. “You made me look like a comic book vigilante.” Liam grinned. “That’s because you are one.” We passed out flyers between classes, stuck mini posters on lockers (with removable adhesive, thank you very much), and handed out “ZQ” pins shaped like mini palettes with glitter crowns painted on them. Liam wore his proudly on his denim jacket. To my surprise, people responded. Not just the art kids or the ones who knew me by name — but students I’d never spoken to before. One girl said she loved how “real” my campaign felt. Another complimented my black boots with the silver l
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Twenty-seven
ZARA When I told Liam I was going dress shopping with Kaylee after school, he grinned like I’d just agreed to climb Mount Everest. “Take pictures,” he said as I was leaving. “I need options to obsess over.” “You’re not getting a say,” I’d told him, rolling my eyes — but secretly, I’d already decided that whatever I picked, I wanted him to love it. Maybe that should’ve scared me. Maybe it did. But the soft flutter in my chest drowned it out. ⸻ Kaylee and I took the bus to one of the fancier shopping districts on the edge of town. It was the kind of place I used to avoid — glass windows with mannequins in thousand-dollar outfits, flower boxes beneath storefronts, and the lingering scent of expensive candles mixed with luxury perfume. “You sure about this?” Kaylee asked as we stood outside a boutique with the words Gala & Glow in elegant cursive across the front. “Nope,” I said, pulling the door open anyway. The shop was… overwhelming. Racks and racks of sequins, sati
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Twenty-eight
ZARAMy bedroom, which usually felt like a safe cocoon of black hoodies, ripped jeans, and sports gear, now looked like a whirlwind had passed through it — a whirlwind made of bobby pins, makeup brushes, perfume bottles, and shimmery highlighters that sparkled under the yellow light.Kaylee was standing behind me, curling the last piece of my hair as I sat nervously in front of the vanity mirror.“Will you stop moving?” she muttered with mock annoyance.“I can’t help it,” I said, bouncing my leg up and down. “I feel like I’m about to throw up or pass out. Maybe both.”Kaylee gave me a sympathetic smile through the mirror. “Prom nerves. Totally normal. Also, you’re about to knock Liam Hunter completely off his axis, so you might as well own it.”I let out a breathy laugh, but it didn’t help much.Liam was coming to pick me up in less than half an hour. I hadn’t seen him since last night when he sent a string of texts about how excited he was, how he “couldn’t wait to see me,” and how h
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Twenty Nine
LIAMShe stepped out of the house, and everything around me — the street, the trees, the quiet hum of the wind — just stopped.Zara.There she was.And she looked like the kind of girl you don’t recover from. The kind of girl who walks into your life, breaks open your ribs, fills every corner of you — and then leaves you wondering how you ever breathed without her.Her emerald green dress caught the light like it had been stitched with starlight. The way it hugged her frame, the way her hair fell in those soft, perfect waves down her shoulder, the way her eyes searched for mine the second she stepped outside — it knocked every thought clean out of my head.For a moment, I forgot why I was here.For a moment, I forgot who I was.Until the guilt came rushing back.Because tonight was the end.The night I was supposed to break her heart.The final piece in this messed-up revenge Beatrice orchestrated — the cruel, twisted game we all agreed to play just to knock down the quiet girl who ha
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Thirty
ZARA I’ve never heard silence this loud. Not the kind where no one is speaking — but the kind that fills the air with unspoken words, stares, and stunned reactions. That’s what it felt like walking into prom with Liam Hunter. He hadn’t even said a word when he opened the car door for me, but I could tell. I saw it in his eyes. The way he looked at me like I wasn’t just a girl in a dress but something he hadn’t expected to be real. Something he wasn’t ready for. I thought I’d feel awkward. Clumsy. Like a girl wearing someone else’s clothes. But standing beside Liam, his hand resting at the small of my back, I didn’t feel out of place. I felt powerful. Like I’d just walked into a room and changed the story. I could feel the way eyes followed me. Whispers started. People I barely knew were doing double takes, nudging their friends. And for the first time ever, the stares didn’t feel cruel. They didn’t feel mocking. They felt… amazed. Like somehow, I’d gone from invi
Last Updated : 2025-05-09Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Thirty one
The worst part about knowing you’re about to ruin someone’s world is realizing how much you’ve come to love living in it. That thought echoed in my head as I watched Zara laugh with Kaylee from across the dance floor. Her smile was effortless tonight, her guard down for the first time since I met her. She wasn’t scanning the room for threats. She wasn’t watching her back. She was just… happy. Because of me. Because she trusted me. And I was about to destroy that. “I’ll be back,” I said, leaning toward her and pressing a soft kiss to her temple. “I’m going to say hi to a few of the guys.” She nodded, still laughing at something Kaylee said, and squeezed my hand before letting go. That small, unconscious gesture made my chest tighten. I walked off without looking back — because if I looked again, I wouldn’t be able to do this. I found the guys — Matteo, Lucas, Levi and Mason — standing by the back exit near the gym’s side hallway. They looked hyped up, already grinning
Last Updated : 2025-05-09
Latest chapter
Fragile Ties Of Love BONUS CHAPTER : SNEAK PEEK
Liam’s POV – Years Later The world thought I had it all. Multi-million-dollar companies. A sprawling empire across three continents. A fleet of cars, an estate tucked away in the hills. And behind it all, a carefully constructed underworld — one that moved products with silent efficiency, feared me without knowing me, and left no room for softness. But none of it mattered. Because every night, when the world fell quiet, I still stared at the old phone I’d refused to replace. Cracked screen. Dusty memory card. Battery barely holding a charge. But it held her voice. Her smile. Our story. And I couldn’t let go. Tonight was no different. I sat in my office — the one hidden beneath the surface of my flagship building, where men like me did things we could never confess. The lights were dim, the city glowing like distant fire through the tall windows. And in my hand, that ancient phone rested, open to the last photo I had taken of her. Zara. In her motorbike jacket, smirking at me f
Fragile Ties Of Love EPILOGUE
LIAM: The auditorium buzzed with excitement — tassels swinging, caps slipping, parents clapping at names called out with pride. This was supposed to be the moment we had all waited for. Freedom. Celebration. Closure. But for me, it was a reminder of everything I’d lost. Rows of students dressed in navy blue lined the stage, our names listed neatly on the back of the programs. My name was there too: Liam Hunter, bold and undeserving. It felt heavy on the page, like it shouldn’t be printed next to theirs. Especially not next to hers. Zara’s name was missing. But her presence wasn’t. An empty chair sat in the front row, decorated with a single white lily and a photo of her smiling in that way that made the sun jealous. The school said it was to honor her memory. That she’d left a mark too deep to be forgotten. They were right. She had. On all of us. But most of all, on me. I sat in the back row with the rest of the graduates, my fingers clenched around my cap as the ceremon
Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Sixty Three (FINALE)
Liam’s POV The sound of the casket wheels against the gravel felt like thunder in my chest. Everything was too quiet. No birds. No breeze. Just the dull murmur of footsteps behind me and the sound of fabric brushing against itself as people followed slowly. Each person held something: a rose, a prayer, a heavy silence. I held nothing. I didn’t deserve to. The cemetery was tucked away behind the church, surrounded by trees that stood like mourners themselves, tall and still. The grave was already dug, six feet deep and waiting. Too final. Too cruel. I stood at the edge, a few feet behind Nick and Kaylee. Neither of them looked at me. I didn’t expect them to. Zara’s mother stood at the front, face pale and tear-stained. Her father held her trembling hand, but he looked like a shell—like he hadn’t slept in days. No parent should have to bury their child. And I… I should’ve been buried in her place. The casket was carried gently—like it could still feel pain. Like she coul
Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Sixty-two
I never imagined the last time I’d see Zara would be in a coffin. The rain hadn’t started, but the clouds were heavy. Like the sky itself was mourning. The church was full, but it still felt hollow. People came dressed in black, some with umbrellas, others with red-rimmed eyes. I sat at the far back, where the shadows reached and no one would dare acknowledge me. It felt like everyone could hear my guilt. See it crawling under my skin. I didn’t deserve to be here—but I couldn’t stay away either. The room echoed with the quiet sound of sniffling. The kind of broken silence only funerals knew how to create. Every second in that room felt like a scream inside my head. Every soft hymn, every whispered condolence—none of it touched me. All I could hear was her laugh. All I could see was the way her face fell when I told her she’d never be my type. I’d memorized that moment frame by frame, and now I’d never get the chance to apologize for it. I was the reason she was gone. When
Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Sixty one
Nick’s POV I’ve always hated suits. But today, I wore one for Zara. The black jacket felt too tight. The collar choked me. My fists remained clenched in my lap as the priest droned on about peace and heaven and how “God takes the good ones early.” I wanted to stand up and scream at him that none of this made sense. Zara wasn’t supposed to be in a casket. She was supposed to be riding her motorbike down some open road, wind in her face, music in her ears. Not… here. Not gone. I looked straight ahead, but I couldn’t focus. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t feel anything except the deep, hot ache in my chest that hadn’t dulled since the morning I found out she’d died. The moment they showed me her bike on the news, I knew. I knew before the confirmation call. I knew before the police visited our house. My knees gave out. My heart collapsed in on itself. Kaylee had been the only thing stopping me from breaking something that day. I sat next to her now, her hand over mine, stead
Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Sixty
Kaylee’s POV The sky was a dull gray, as if it, too, mourned the girl who once chased sunsets on her motorbike and laughed like the world hadn’t betrayed her. Zara’s funeral was held in the small chapel near the cemetery—intimate, quiet, and heavy with unshed tears. Rows of students from school filled the pews. Some came out of guilt, some out of shock, and a few, like me, came because their hearts would never be the same again. I sat beside Nick, our hands tangled tightly, grounding each other in the kind of pain words couldn’t reach. Nick hadn’t said much since the accident. Just stayed quiet. Angry. Protective. Devastated. Zara’s picture sat at the front of the chapel—one of her rare smiling photos. Hair down. Eyes gleaming. She looked happy in it. Carefree. Like she had no idea how cruel the world could be. I hated that picture. Because it felt like a lie now. The priest spoke, but I barely heard the words. Something about finding peace, about eternal rest, about how
Fragile Ties Of Love Fifty Nine:
The night air was bitter, but not as cold as the hollow space in my chest. The roads blurred beneath my tires, my grip on the wheel white-knuckled, jaw clenched so tight I thought it would crack. I didn’t remember getting in the car. I didn’t remember turning onto her street. All I knew was rage—and grief. They burned in my veins like poison. When I reached Beatrice’s house, I slammed the car door and marched to her porch, not even bothering to knock. I pounded my fist against the wood hard enough to rattle it. It didn’t take long before the door opened. Beatrice stood there, barefoot, wearing a silky robe and a smug little smirk that dropped the second she saw me. “Liam?” Her brows knit. “What the hell—” “Are you happy now?” I growled, stepping into her space. She stumbled back instinctively. “What?” “Are you happy now?” I repeated, my voice cracking this time. “Is this what you wanted? Because you won, Beatrice. She’s dead.” Her mouth parted. “What are you ta
Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Fifty Eight
LIAM: I didn’t wait. Didn’t care that Nick had just knocked the air out of my lungs. Didn’t care that my lip was busted or that I could barely see straight. All I knew was there was a chance she was alive. That somehow, after everything, Zara might still be breathing. I followed them. I kept a few cars behind on the freeway, watching Nick’s taillights like a lifeline. My hands trembled around the wheel, blood still smeared across my knuckles and jaw. I kept hearing her voice, the last time she looked at me—those wide, broken eyes. The way she yanked her hand away when I tried to speak. I deserved her hate. I deserved worse. But I still had to see her. When we pulled into the hospital parking lot, Nick and Kaylee stepped out first. Kaylee looked around warily. I kept my distance, waiting until they entered through the emergency entrance before climbing out of my car. The cold air hit my face like a slap, waking every nerve. My legs felt heavy, but I moved forward a
Fragile Ties Of Love Chapter Fifty seven
LIAM The morning sun broke through the curtains, but it brought no warmth. I must’ve passed out sometime around dawn after dragging myself back home, my jacket still covered in the smell of grass and midnight regret. The dream I woke from was foggy — I saw her, barefoot in the field, laughing as the stars fell behind her. For a moment, I smiled. Then I heard my phone vibrate. Once. Twice. Then it wouldn’t stop. Groaning, I reached for it, squinting at the screen. Ten missed calls. A dozen messages. Notifications flooded in, from group chats and even people I barely talked to at school. “Please tell me this isn’t true…” “Omg… was it her bike??” “Are you okay, Liam??” And then one from Nick. Just one. You better pray it wasn’t her.My heart dropped. I sat up, adrenaline flooding my veins. “No,” I whispered. “No, no, no…” I searched for the local news link someone had sent in one of the messages. My fingers trembled so badly I could barely click the article
