Sleep was a stranger all night. I tossed and turned until my sheets twisted around me like a trap. My mind wouldn’t stop racing. Liam was back. Back in L.A. Back in town. And still, he hadn't reached out to me. Not a call. Not a text. Not even a damn emoji.Where did that leave me? Us? Were we still even a ‘we’?It hadn’t even been a full month since I agreed to be his girlfriend, and here I was, lying awake in a bed that suddenly felt too cold, too big, too filled with doubt. I knew dating Liam Black wouldn't be a fairy tale. I didn’t sign up expecting roses and lullabies. But I hadn’t expected... this. Silence. Confusion. Hurt that tasted like betrayal.I stared at the ceiling, counting the seconds until sunrise, until I could knock some answers out of him face to face. Because I couldn’t do this not-knowing thing anymore. I needed the truth. And if there was nothing left to fight for, I needed to hear that too.When I finally fell asleep, it was morning already. My body gave out be
Days passed. Then more days. And still, nothing.Not a call. Not a message. Not even one of Liam’s usual snarky texts to lighten the mood.After that one angry text he sent the night I had dinner with Kelvin, and my reply that I was just glad he was alive, he vanished. Poof. Like he’d been erased from my life. No follow-up.Just silence.At first, I tried to play it cool. I told myself he was probably busy. He did say he had a lot to fix. That he’d be back as soon as he could. But soon, every sound my phone made had me checking it like a madwoman. Every time it didn’t ring, it rang loud in my chest.I was his girlfriend now. That counted for something, didn’t it?But days bled into each other. My modeling offer kept moving forward–Jay helped me review the paperwork, introduced me to a branding consultant, even gave me a crash course in managing sudden fame. Brands were calling, emails pouring in. People wanted to work with “the girl who caught Liam Black.”Funny. Because “the girl who
Liam left that morning with one last kiss and a promise that tasted too sweet to doubt.I'll call the second I land, he’d said, pulling me into his chest like I was the only thing tethering him to earth.“I hate that I have to leave right now,” he murmured against my hair. “But I need to fix this deal myself. It will only be a few days.”My fingers brushed his collar as I looked up. “You telling me the big boss couldn’t pull a few strings and skip it?”He grinned, kissed me again, longer this time. “Text me everything. What you eat, what you wear, what you miss. Especially what you miss.”“So basically... you want to stalk me through your phone.”“Exactly.”Then he was gone. A blur of cologne, lingering warmth, and an unspoken goodbye. The house–once filled with laughter, inside jokes, and tangled sheets, felt too quiet. Too hollow. Too much like it did before him.But we kept pace.He texted like clockwork. I sent him pictures of my breakfast and outfits he’d once half-undressed me f
The first delivery arrived just after noon.I was still in Liam’s house robe, flipping through TV channels like a bored house cat, when the doorbell rang. The housekeeper handed me a sleek, matte black package with my name etched in silver cursive across the top.Inside the box? A crimson dress–silk, scandalous, sculpted like a second skin. My breath hitched as I lifted it from the folds. It was unapologetically sensual, unmistakably expensive. Liam Black didn’t just pick a dress. He commissioned temptation itself.Tucked inside was a single note:“Dinner. 8 PM. Wear this.”I shook my head, already smiling like a fool. I should’ve known he wasn’t done making statements.Then came the second delivery.This time, a bouquet of red roses so deep in color they looked almost black under the light. The scent was intoxicating, wild. My phone buzzed just as I pressed the petals to my nose.Liam: Hope you’re not making other plans, sweetheart. I’ll be claiming all of your evening.I laughed, bi
Jay and I ended up at a sleek rooftop restaurant, velvet-lined booths, soft jazz threading through the air, and a view of the skyline framed like a painting.The kind of place where celebrities could breathe, eat medium-rare steak, and not worry about paparazzi lurking behind wine glasses. Jay said I needed this. A real meal. A moment to feel normal again. And maybe, he was right.Lunch started off light. We talked about music, travel, a dream he had where he accidentally officiated a wedding between two cats. He made me laugh, the kind of laugh that started in your chest and shook loose all the tension you didn’t realize you were carrying."You good?" Jay asked, swirling the straw in his mocktail. "Like actually good?"I nodded. "I think so. Just... adjusting.""Yeah," he said. "You didn’t exactly sign up for all this. But welcome to the circus."My phone buzzed on the table. I reached for it absentmindedly, expecting another meme from Sophia or Liam sending a naughty text. But inste
The grin on Liam's face didn’t fade the entire morning. It stretched from cheek to cheek like he’d won some silent victory, and even as we sat at the breakfast table, he kept flashing me smug little looks over his coffee mug."You know that look is annoying, right?" I said, reaching for my phone beside the toast.He didn’t respond, just grinned wider.My phone buzzed with yet another notification. I tapped it and my mouth dropped."Oh my God."Liam raised a brow. "What now?"I held up my screen. "I gained over two hundred thousand followers overnight. I’m at nine hundred and forty-something thousand now."He leaned in to look. "Huh. Almost a million. LA's new It Girl.""Stop," I said, laughing and trying not to let the nerves creep in. "This is crazy. People are saying maybe I left Mason's tour because my jealous billionaire boyfriend called me home. Others think I staged it for PR."Liam smirked. "They're not entirely wrong."I nudged his arm. "Liam."He chuckled and popped a piece o