All Chapters of Fragile Ties Of Love: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The hallways were buzzing when I walked into school the next morning—voices overlapping, sneakers squeaking, the usual hum of teenage chaos. I kept my head down, slipping through the crowd like a shadow. After last night at Liam’s house, I thought I’d shaken him off. That once the project was behind us, so was he. I was wrong. Because as I turned the corner toward my locker, there he was. Liam. Leaning against the metal like it was his personal throne, one foot crossed casually over the other, his head tilted just enough to look annoyingly cool. His tie was loose, blazer unbuttoned, and the grin he wore when he saw me was just shy of smug. My stomach did that stupid flip again—the one I hated. The one that meant danger. “Good morning, sunshine,” he said, pushing off the locker like he’d been waiting there all his life. I blinked, caught completely off guard. “What are you doing?” “Waiting for you,” he replied, as if it was obvious. “I figured after the quality bonding session

Home didn’t feel like home anymore. The walls were the same—light gray with the little scuff marks near the baseboards from when I used to drag my desk chair around. My books were still stacked in the corner, alphabetized, untouched. Even my favorite hoodie was still hanging from the bedpost, exactly where I’d left it the day I walked out. But everything felt different now. Off. Maybe it was because this wasn’t just my home anymore. It was Nick’s too. After Mom left Dad and I became this two-person universe. And the woman I called her a second mother, well she did actually try to get me to open up, in other words, she tried to replace my mother but I hate her guts. Then I couldn’t take it anymore and moved to Kaylee’s. I just wished they would leave me alone but two weeks later, dad and Nick showed up with the police. They said a bunch of things like how I wasn’t eighteen and didn’t have the right to decide for myself and blah, blah, blah. So here I was. Back in a house I

LIAM I shouldn’t have hit record. I don’t even remember doing it. Just a stupid impulse—something Beatrice suggested in passing, some twisted insurance that the plan was working. “Keep a little trophy,” she’d said, half-laughing. “So we can play it back when she realizes she was just a pawn.” At the time, I didn’t think twice. I didn’t think much at all. I just tapped record on my phone and slid it into my jacket pocket that night under the stars. And now I was back in my basement, sitting on one of the worn-out couches, surrounded by the people I used to think were the only ones who mattered. My guys—Matteo,Lucas, Levi and Mason —were sprawled across bean bags and armchairs, all wearing the same smug expressions. Beatrice was perched on the arm of the couch beside me, manicured hand lazily wrapped around a wine cooler she hadn’t asked permission to open. Her two shadows—Lena and Skye—were whispering and snickering like we were in middle school again. I hated the sound of it.

There are moments in life when the world slows down—not because something beautiful is happening, but because you can feel everything about to fall apart. This was one of those moments. Kaylee stood in the doorway of my bedroom, her face pale, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She looked like she’d seen a ghost—or worse, become one. I was curled up on my bed, Liam’s hoodie swallowing me whole, a book in my lap I hadn’t turned a page of in twenty minutes. His scent lingered on the fabric—something minty and warm—and it had lulled me into a soft place, a dangerous place. The kind where you believe people can actually love you without hidden motives. Kaylee’s voice cut through that illusion like glass. “Zara… we need to talk.” I didn’t look up immediately. “If this is about you leaving your dishes in the sink again—” “It’s not.” She took a step forward, her voice trembling. “It’s about Liam.” That got my attention. I looked up slowly, blinking at her. “What about him?”

The hallway buzzed with tension before I even knew why. Whispers flew past me like bees in a swarm, urgent and unrelenting. “There’s a fight—” “Nick’s losing it again.” “He went after Liam Hunter this time.” “No way, not Zara’s Liam!” My stomach dropped. I took off running. By the time I got to the quad, the circle of students had already closed in around the chaos like a twisted audience. Phones were up. Cheers and gasps erupted as if this were entertainment. I didn’t wait. I shoved through them, elbow-first. And then I saw it. Nick—my stepbrother—was on top of Liam Hunter, his fist flying. Blood dripped from Liam’s lip. His shirt was stretched at the collar, his cheek already purpling from the blows. Liam wasn’t fighting back. “Nick!” I screamed, panic clawing at my chest. “Get off of him!” He didn’t even flinch. His r