THE COST OF THE UNSPOKEN

Lily was sitting in a cold marble floor room, her arms were tightly wrapped around him. He was burnt in his mind reminding her of the hatred of a past which he tried hard to forget.

Liam's father her father. Blood. Screams

I thought it was just a bad dream.

But it was not.

The silence was suffocating.

she looked at Liam. He was standing from the window from the floor to the roof, staring at her back, on the city's horizon. His reflection on the glass looked cool and away as usual.

Lily shivered.

He did not say a word since showing him the photo.

Not a single word.

The air between them felt thick with stress delicate to tolerate too much to tolerate too much heavy breakdown.

"Liam," Lily whispered, her voice was barely audible.

He did not turn.

"I didn't kill him," he said again, this time more strongly. "I did not hurt your father. I swear."

Gradually, Liam changed. His silver-gray eyes were unmatched, his face was carved with stone.

"Do you expect me to believe that after everything?"

Lily inflated.

"Believe me or not, this is the truth."

He stopped further, slow and deliberately, just inch from him.

"Truth?" Liam bluffed, his voice fell for a dangerous whisper. "Your whole life is a lie. You show in my gala, pretend to be your sister. You become my so called fiancé due to a scam. And now, a picture connects you with my father's death. is convenient."

"Stop," Lily whispered, taken back one step back.

But Liam did not stop.

"Tell me, Lily. Is this your plan? To get close to me? To waste what I have made?"

He had tears in his eyes. "No! I will never do-"

"Will you not?" His gaze became bored with her. "You should think that I am a fool."

"I'm telling the truth!"

Liam grabbed her wrist, not difficult, but enough firm to make his breath bottleneck.

"Then prove it," he murmured, his voice ice-cold.

Lily looked up at him, her heart racing.

"How?" she whispered.

He released her hand as if he burnt it and stepped back.

"marry me."

The words were hung in the air like a thunder.

Lily saw her, her mouth opened a little.

"What?"

"you heard me." Liam's expression was unmatched. "Marry me. For the real time. There is no scam. There is no escape. A binding contract."

Lily stumbled back. "You can't be serious-"

"Oh, I am very serious," Liam said, close step. "You want to prove your innocence? Then marry me. Be the right wife under my watch. My rules."

Lily nodded her head. "Why would you do-"

"Because if you are lying, I would know. And when I do, I will destroy you."

Lily's heart came to her chest.

"And if I am telling the truth?" she whispered.

Liam's jaw stopped. For a moment, a flicker of something crossed his face - trouble? Regret?

"If you are telling the truth," he said softly, "then you will keep me alive."

The room became silent.

Lily looked at Liam - this cold, ruthless man whose vitality and pain were built on the walls of pain. The man who believed that he had destroyed everything, which he cared for.

But behind her facade of apathy, Lily could see it.

Fear.

Fear of truth

Fear of past.

And somehow, she knew this marriage was not just about Liam's revenge. This was about the answer.

Answer: Both of them need.

"I have no choice, do I?" Lily whispered, her chin rose.

Liam's lips smiled, calm, dangerous and victorious.

"No," he said. "You don't."

Suddenly, the door exploded.

In Adrian, holding a smooth bullet in his hand. His face was yellow.

"You need to see this," he said, looking at Liam directly.

Liam took the tablet, her eyes scan the screen. His jaw was tightened.

"What is this?" Lily asked, dipping her spine.

Lily gasped.

On the tablet’s display was a live security feed.

Standing at the front gates of Liam’s mansion flanked by two unfamiliar men in black suits was someone Lily hadn’t seen in years.

Someone she thought was dead.

Her mother.

"Lily," Liam said, his voice cold but confused, "care to explain why your mother presumed dead for ten years is demanding to see you?"

The ground seemed to shift beneath Lily’s feet.

Her world tilted.

“No... this can’t be…”

But there she was.

Her mother. Alive.

And with her return, the secrets Lily had buried were clawing their way back to the surface.

The past wasn’t done with her.

And neither was Liam.