7

The next morning, the soft light of the sun came into the small room. Cass woke up much earlier than usual, her heart beating fast with excitement and nerves. She sat up on the hard wooden bed and grabbed her phone right away. She started searching the internet for modeling jobs in the city. She scrolled through many pages until her fingers stopped.

There it was. A big modeling agency was holding an open audition today inside a large mall nearby.

She smiled, a real look of hope on her face. "This is it," she whispered, holding the phone tightly.

But her excitement quickly faded when she looked down at her wrinkled white dress from yesterday. She had a major problem—she did not have a decent outfit to wear for a professional audition.

She turned her head to look at Liam. He was still fast asleep on the narrow sofa, his long legs bent awkwardly to fit the small space. Cass quietly walked over and stood beside him, staring down at his face. Without his usual mean smile, he actually looked peaceful. His sharp jaw and messy dark hair made him look incredibly handsome, like a real model.

"He really looks like a rich guy when he keeps his mouth shut," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Too bad he acts so rough the moment he opens it."

She knew she had to buy a new dress, and she had no choice but to use her saved five hundred pesos. It was the only money left that her cruel stepmother, Loreen, had not taken from her. It was her very last money.

Even though she hated waking him up, she needed a way to get to the mall. She did not know how to travel around this part of the city alone. Cass stepped forward and lightly kicked the side of the sofa. "Hey, get up. Wake up!"

Liam groaned, burying his face deeper into the flat pillow.

"Liam! I said wake up!" Cass kicked the wood again, a bit harder this time.

Liam slowly blinked, opening one dark eye to glare at her. His voice was thick with sleep, deep and rough. "What is your problem now, Cassandra? It's too early for your yelling."

"Come with me to the mall," Cass commanded, crossing her arms.

"Huh?" Liam sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes, looking completely confused.

"I said come with me to the mall. Are you deaf?" Cass asked, frowning down at him.

Liam looked up at her, a lazy, sleepy smile suddenly spreading across his face. He leaned back against the sofa cushions, looking her up and down. "What are we going to do there? You can see we have no money, and yet you want to go on a shopping date with me? I didn't know you liked me that much."

Cass’s cheeks immediately turned bright pink. "A date?! In your dreams! I have an audition. And since you are the only person I know here, and I don't have money for transport, you are going to take me there. It's your job to protect your wife, remember?"

Liam stared at her for a moment, his smile turning into a teasing grin. He stood up slowly, towering over her, deliberately stepping very close to her. Cass caught the faint, warm scent of his skin, and her heart gave a sudden jump. He leaned down slightly, his eyes locking onto hers. "You are the one who needs help, senyorita, but you are still so bossy. Is that how you ask your husband for a favor?"

"What? You don't want to?" Cass challenged, refusing to back away even though her pulse was racing.

Liam chuckled, stretching his arms over his head. "Fine. But you are paying for our food."

Cass opened her eyes wide and shouted, "WHAT?! Five hundred pesos is all I have left to buy a dress!"

Liam grinned, clearly enjoying how easy it was to make her lose her temper. He reached out, his thumb gently brushing a stray lock of hair away from her face, his fingers staying near her cheek for just a second. The unexpected warmth of his touch made Cass freeze entirely. "Well, nothing is free these days, wife. Take it or leave it."

"Argh! You are so annoying!" Cass yelled, pushing his hand away, though her face was completely burning.

Liam just laughed and walked toward the door. "Hurry up and get ready, or you will be late for your big dream."

"Wait, how are we even getting there?" Cass called out, adjusting her hair to hide her red ears.

The young man turned back to her at the doorway, a playful look in his eyes. "What else? My bicycle, of course."

Cass went completely pale, her jaw dropping. "W-Wait... am I not going to fall off that old thing? It looks like it's going to fall apart!" she asked nervously.

Liam walked back to her, stepping so close she could feel the heat from his body. He leaned in, his lips right next to her ear as he whispered playfully, "You'd have to be really clumsy to fall off. Just hold onto me tightly, like you did last night in your sleep."

Before Cass could process the words or yell at him, Liam turned around and walked out to the yard, leaving her standing in the center of the room, her heart pounding wildly. Cass glared at the empty doorway, her hands shaking slightly from a strange mixture of anger and a sudden thrill. She bit her lip and quickly followed him outside.

The ride to the mall was terrible for Cass's pride, but a complete disaster for her heart. She had to sit on the narrow metal frame of the bicycle, her hands barely touching his waist at first. But when Liam deliberately hit a bump on the dirt road, the bicycle shook violently.

"Whoa there!" Liam called out, laughing.

Cass screamed and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, burying her face directly into his back. She could feel the hard, steady muscles of his back moving as he pedaled, and the warmth of his body felt incredibly comforting against the morning breeze.

"See? I told you to hold on," Liam shouted over his shoulder, his voice full of amusement. "You can hug me tighter if you're scared, I don't mind."

"Just shut up and pedal!" Cass yelled back, but she didn't let go of his waist until they finally reached the parking lot of the massive shopping center.

When they stepped inside the cool, air-conditioned hallways of the mall, Cass immediately noticed something strange about the way Liam moved. He walked around with complete ease, navigating the wide hallways like he owned the place. He didn't look around in shock, and he didn't look like a poor person entering a luxury mall for the first time, which was exactly what she had expected.

"Well, malls aren't just for rich people anyway," she muttered to herself, trying to shake off the suspicion growing in her mind.

As they walked past the high-end boutique stores, Cass suddenly stopped in front of a luxury watch shop. Her eyes caught a specific gold and silver watch sitting on a display stand behind the thick glass. It was the exact same luxury Rolex model that she had seen on Liam's wrist during their very first night together in the apartment.

She leaned closer, her eyes scanning down to find the price tag.

"Three... three million pesos?!" Her eyes went wide, and she swallowed hard, feeling completely dizzy. "No... no way. That is impossible. His watch must be a cheap fake. There are so many fake things in the world today anyway. A garbage collector can't own a three-million-peso watch."

She shook her head, trying to convince herself, but her mind was spinning. When she looked back to find Liam, he wasn't standing behind her anymore. She looked around the crowded hallway and finally spotted his tall figure a few meters away, standing near a large pillar.

He was talking to a man dressed in a sharp, expensive business suit. The man was tall, carried a leather briefcase, and looked like a wealthy corporate executive. What shocked Cass the most was what happened next—the older businessman suddenly bowed his head deeply toward Liam, showing a level of respect that you only gave to someone of very high status.

She raised an eyebrow. Her curiosity was completely driving her crazy. She forgot all about the watch and quietly walked closer, hiding behind a nearby clothing display to overhear their conversation.

"Sir, are you sure you don't want to come back to the office yet? The board members are asking questions," the man in the suit said, his tone incredibly polite and worried.

"I already told you, tell them to wait. I am busy with something important right now," Liam replied, his voice completely different from the playful, sarcastic tone he used with her. It was cold, sharp, and commanding.

Cass jumped slightly when Liam suddenly turned his head, his sharp eyes catching her hiding behind the clothing rack. "What are you looking at?"

The businessman quickly straightened up, looking surprised to see a girl standing there. Liam gave the man a quick, stern look, silently telling him to be quiet.

Cass stepped out, her face hot from being caught spying, but she refused to back down. "Hey, who is that? Why does he treat you like you are his boss? And why did he call you 'Sir'?"

Liam’s serious expression vanished in a flash, replaced by his usual lazy smile. He looked at her completely unbothered. "Huh? Don't you know? I am the king of the beggars. He's just one of my followers."

Cass rolled her eyes, completely frustrated by his deflection. "You are crazy. Just answer me seriously for once."

Liam laughed softly, then turned back to the man in the suit, waving his hand to tell him to go. "Go on, you can leave now. Take care of things at the office for now."

The man hesitated for a second, looking at Cass and then back at Liam, before bowing his head one last time. "Noted, Sir."

"Sir?!" Cass burst out the moment the man walked away. "Wait a minute! Why does he really call you 'Sir'?! You are hiding something from me, Liam Lucas Javier!"

Liam stepped closer to her, the teasing grin returning to his lips. He leaned down, his face inches from hers, trapping her against the clothing display. "Because I am better looking than you," Liam answered, rolling his eyes playfully. "And shouldn't you be at your audition by now, senyorita? Or do you want to spend the whole day staring at my handsome face?"

Cass froze, her eyes going wide as she checked the mall clock on the wall. "Oh shocks! That's right! The audition starts in ten minutes! I will deal with your secrets later!"

She did not waste another second. Even though she could not stop thinking about Liam's strange behavior, the expensive watch, and the mysterious businessman, she put her dream first. She grabbed her small purse, turned around, and ran as fast as her shoes could take her toward the audition hall, leaving a smiling Liam watching her from behind.