CHAPTER 9

Liam's POV 

I opened my eyes gently as I stirred from my sleep, but I quickly shut them back when I saw how brightly the sun was shining into my room.

After letting my eyelids adjust to the garsh saturation for a bit, I slowly opened my eyes into a squint, only opening it gradually to accommodate the light intensity. 

Once I was fully awake, I sat up and looked around my room. It was bright; too bright for my usual taste. All my curtains were opened, which was weird because I had never done as much as shifted them to the side.

There was a suspicious dent on the bed in the space beside me, and my sheets smelled different. Could there have been an intruder in my space? Who would dare?

I looked around once again to make sure that I was in the right room.

After a thorough sweep with my eyes, I realised that even though the space was a lot more illuminated than I was ever used to, the arrangement of the room and a few personal effects I spotted confirmed that it was my room.

While I was still trying to figure out what was going on, the door to my bathroom flung open.

I immediately turned away at first because I was still haunted by how awkward it was to see Leila come out of her bathroom naked.

However, it took me just a second to realise that I was in my room amd whoever else was coming out of my bathroom had to explain themself to me and not the other way around.

I turned to the door to lock eyes with a familiar face. Blonde, green eyes, pale white skin.

It was a whore whom I had picked up to accompany me the previous night.

Thankfully, she was already dressed in what I suspect was the outfit she had worn when I decided to employ her services. 

“You're awake.” She beamed at me.

I frowned in response and tilted my head at her.

“What are you still doing here?”, I asked. I stared between her and the dent beside me on the bed a couple of times.

“Did you sleep here?”, I fumed.

She shrugged and smirked at me.

“You asked me to, remember? I wanted to leave but you kept holding me and begging me not to let you go”, she chuckled. 

I scoffed at her in disbelief as she walked towards my mirror and took a seat to apply her make-up. 

“It was such an ego-booster. I've had good reviews before, but never as good as that, you know.”

I looked at my open curtains once again.

“Did you let all this light in?” 

She simply glanced at the window and moved her eyebrows up and down.

“The room had a gloomy feeling to it, so I decided to let some sunlight in. I think it would do you some good as well”, she said and glanced at me.

I exhaled noisily before getting off my bed and walking to the window.

“Look, last night was fun, and I'm sure you're good at your job, but you have to leave here now”, I said calmly as I pulled the curtains back to their original state.

She took her hands off her face for a little while and turned to me with confusion on her face.

“Are you sure?”, she asked.

Normally, I would assume that she was feeding me lies and it was all just a strategy for her to retain me as her customer, but there was a genuine look of worry in her eyes that made me believe otherwise. 

“Yes, I'm sure. Forget whatever I said. Please leave now”, I insisted.

She stared at me reluctantly for a little while before shrugging her shoulders once again.

She swiftly got off the mirror seat and headed for my door.

“I'll leave now, but if you're ever looking for a good time…”

“I'll be sure to find you.” I cut her off.

She smirked and nodded at me before opening the door and walking out.

I sighed and fell back on my bed as soon as she was gone.

Suddenly, I felt a warm feeling bubbling in my chest. It came almost immediately I heard a familiar laughter from outside my window.

I slowly walked to my curtain and opened it a little to have a peek.

It was Leila.

She was taking a stroll through the gardens with Elijah and Henry on both her arms.

Her laughter was so loud, so vibrant. I had not heard it in a long while, and part of me felt like I missed hearing it.

“What the fuck?”

I quickly felt my warmth turn to anger. Had she still refused to turn off that stupid bond? Why did I still feel drawn to her like that?

I grunted angrily and stormed out of my room to meet the trio in the garden.

As soon as I reached the garden, I spotted Henry tucking her hair behind her ear while Elijah planted a gentle kiss on her neck.

I saw a strong crimson blush rise to her cheeks and I felt the same intensity of annoyance in my heart.

“You!”, I yelled and stomped towards her.

I saw fear flash on her face as I moved towards her.

“I see you're just stubborn. Turn off this fucking bond so that I can be rid of all your stupid feelings”, I yelled.

Henry stepped in front of her and put a hand on my chest.

I glared at him for a second and looked back at Leila, but she had a strange look of surprise on her face.

“Liam, I don't know what it is you're feeling, but I rejected the bond since yesterday”, she said softly.

My eyes widened slowly as I processed the implication of what she had said.

Did it mean that my feelings from this morning were actually authentic?