Chapter 8

Liam’s pov

The station smelled like rust and sweat. Desperation always had a scent. I could taste it in the back of my throat as I signed the bail documents and slid them back across the counter.

“Tara,” I said when she stepped out, eyes red, jaw clenched. “Let’s go.”

She didn’t say thank you. She never did. She just walked ahead of me like she always had, like I was the one who owed her for existing.

Behind us, someone screamed my name.

“Liam!”

I didn’t turn.

Aurora’s voice cracked the way glass does when it finally gives up. I could feel her staring dangerously into my back, waiting for me to explain, to soften, to be sweet to her.

I didn’t.

Liam, Tara finally spoke. “You’re not bailing her?”

I laughed, short and humorless. “Why would I?”

“She loved you,” Tara said carefully.

“She used me,” I corrected. “Big difference.”.

I dropped Tara off without another word and drove back alone. The silence in the car was loud. Too loud. Atleast it gave me room to think.

Everything always came back to her.

I told myself I was doing all of this for her. Every dirty deal. Every compromise. Every line crossed. If I could just remove Yamah from the picture, everything would reset. She would come back. She always did.

That’s what I told myself as I turned the car around and headed back to the station.

Aurora looked smaller behind the glass. Not weaker. Smaller. Fear had a way of shrinking people.

She rushed to the partition when she saw me. “Liam, thank God. I knew you wouldn’t leave me here.”

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed.

“You bailed Tara,” she said. Her smile faltered. “You’ll bail me too, right?”

“No.”

The word landed hard.

Her face twisted. “What do you mean no?”

“I mean you’re staying right where you are.”

Her voice rose. “After everything I did for you? After everything we planned?”

I laughed again. “Planned? You mean blackmailed?”

Her eyes flickered. “You needed me.”

“I needed a companion,” I said. “You thought that made you important.”

She slammed her palm against the glass. “You can’t do this to me.”

“Watch me.”

Her voice dropped, venomous now. “You think Kylie will choose you after this? She’ll never love you again.She never did.”

Something snapped.

I stepped closer, my voice low. “Say her name again.”

She did.

I don’t remember moving. I only remember the guard shouting and hands pulling me back, Aurora’s shocked silence echoing louder than her screams ever had.

As I walked away, I didn’t feel guilt.

I felt relief.

Kylie's POV 

The room felt too quiet. Luxury had a way of amplifying loneliness. Every surface was polished. Every corner perfect. None of it belonged to me.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at my hands like they might tell me what to do next.

Yamah hadn’t pressured me. That almost made it worse.

He had asked once if I was okay. I lied. He accepted it. No questions. No demands. Just space.

Liam never gave space. He filled it. Consumed it. Took whatever he wanted and called it love.

My phone buzzed.

An unknown number.

I didn’t answer.

It buzzed again.

Still, I stared.

The third time, I picked up. “Hello?”

Silence. Breathing

I knew that sound.

“Liam,” I whispered.

“You shouldn’t ignore me,” he said calmly.

My chest tightened. “What do you want?”

“You,” he said. “And a conversation.”

“There’s nothing left to say.”

He chuckled. “There’s always something left. Especially when people think they’ve escaped.”

I hung up.

My hands were shaking now. I pressed them into the mattress, grounding myself. I told myself he didn’t control me anymore. That his voice couldn’t undo years of healing in seconds.

The door opened softly.

Yamah.

He stopped when he saw my face. “What happened?”

I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to collapse into the safety of his arms and let him carry the weight.

Instead, I said, “Nothing.”

He studied me for a moment. “You don’t have to sign today.”

That startled me. “What?”

“The contract,” he said. “It can wait.”

“No,” I said too quickly. “It can’t.”

He stepped closer. “Kylie, whatever is haunting you, you don’t have to face it alone.”

“Exactly Yamah I want to face this with you, I need you please just one night with me" I had never sounded this thirsty in weeks.

I didn't just want to sleep with him for pleasure but I had to before I would get pregnant for Liam. 

" Kylie I can't do this to you…I mean not now,when we get married,we are going to turn the building upside down” He said and chuckled.

Yamah was never looking forward to sleep with me till we were married.i had never seen a man who rejected sex. I couldn't say a word to him. I felt disappointed and lucky at the same time.I was tired of surviving alone.

Later that night, when the city lights blurred into something softer, something less threatening, I let myself sit beside Yamah on the couch. Our shoulders touched. It felt intentional. Safe.

I thought about t

he future. About choosing something that didn’t hurt.

I thought about consequences.

I didn’t think about Liam.

That was my mistake.