Chapter 34

VIVANNE

Liam’s head snaps to her, a wild look on his face. “Beth?”

His voice cracks. Confusion shadows his handsome features. “What are you—what are you doing here?”

I freeze, my hand still curled against his chest. The music fades in my ears.

She’s underdressed and impossible to ignore—her knee-length dress clings in all the wrong ways, but somehow, she still commands the room like a spotlight has found her.

“What am I doing here?” she snaps, stepping into our space like she belongs. “What are ~you~ doing here?”

She gestures between us with venom, and I feel Liam’s arms fall away. Just like that—gone.

I blink up at him. “Liam?”

He doesn’t answer.

Of course he doesn’t.

“What the hell, Liam?” Beth hisses, voice louder now. A few heads start to turn our way.

“I—Beth, we talked about this,” he says, glancing around. “Can we…go somewhere private?”

“Oh, what?” Her smile is all teeth. “She’s good enough to be here with you, but I’m not?”

“No! That’s not—”

“Liam,” I say again, my voice shaking. “What’s going on?”

He still doesn’t look at me.

And that stings more than it should.

“Beth, we talked about this,” he repeats, like it’s the only line he knows.

She smirks, tilting her head. “Right. But I think she should hear what you told me. Don’t you think, Liam?”

A shadow passes through his gaze. Guilt, maybe. Or fear.

“What did you say?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

He glances at me—just once—then looks away.

That’s answer enough.

Beth smirks.

“Beth.” There’s a plea in his tone now. He’s losing control, and she knows it.

“Does she know we were together?” she asks sweetly.

I nod slowly.

Liam winces like the truth hurts.

Beth steps forward. “But she doesn’t know your promise to me?”

“No,” Liam growls. “Don’t do this.”

My pulse is racing. I want to move. I want to scream, by my voice is caught somewhere between my lungs and throat.

“So, Vivianne,” Beth purrs, eyes gleaming. “Do you want to know what he told me about you?”

Her perfume hits me like a wall—heady, artificial, suffocating. Her presence reminds me of Kimberly, all calculated cruelty wrapped in glitter and silk.

“Just say it,” I snap, the tension cracking open in my voice.

“Liam said you were nothing to him,” she says, voice dripping with venom. “Less than nothing. A mistake he wishes he could erase.”

I stop breathing.

“Beth,” Liam warns. But it’s too late.

I’m trapped in my head, her words circling me. They talked about this? About ~me~?

And she’s not finished

“He said not to worry because you’d be gone soon. Back to God knows where you came from. He told me you didn’t have what it takes to stay in this city.”

I feel my heart break into pieces. Uncertainty, anger, and pure sadness take turns, slowly killing me inside. My vision blurs, but I don’t blink. If I do, I’ll fall apart.

“Enough,” Liam says, his voice low and lethal.

He steps between us, his anger suddenly visible—jaw tight, fists clenched. But it’s too late.

“Beth. You need to leave.”

She grins, completely unfazed. “I already got what I came for.”

People are definitely watching now. Whispers ripple through the room.

Tears burn my eyes. I can’t stop them this time.

“Excuse me,” I whisper, and turn before either of them can speak again.

Behind me, I hear her cackle.

Outside, the air bites at my skin, cold and sharp. The street is mostly empty. It’s almost quiet except for the sounds of the city. The gala music barely trickles through the glass doors behind me.

I stop walking.

I did this. I let myself believe.

“Vivianne?”

I turn toward the voice, startled.

Kimberly stands in the shadows, a cigarette in hand. She takes a long drag, flicks it to the ground, then steps on it.

“Just…don’t,” I rasp.

She nods once, says nothing, and gently brushes my back as she passes.

She hesitates by the door.

“I’m sorry for my husband,” she says quietly. “And for who I have to be when he’s around.”

Then she disappears inside, like she hadn’t said anything at all.

I walk down the street and hail a cab.

I don’t care about the contract or the money.

I don’t care about any of it anymore.

Grief clamps around me like a vise.

The cab lurches to a stop, and I pay.

I run inside. No one waiting. No one watching.

My dress is too tight. I can’t breathe.

I strip it off and pull on jeans and a T-shirt. Something real. Something I choose.

I sit on the edge of the bed, staring at the skyline. My heart is broken, furious, and numb all at once.

I want to go home. My ~real~ home.

With Becca, Marcus, and Momma’s memory.

I start to pack. I don’t want most of this stuff. Half of it was never really mine.

My phone rings.

I almost don’t answer.

~Unknown number.~

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mrs. Pierce?” a cheerful voice asks.

“This is she.”

“This is Carol from Stryder Corp. I’m just calling to inform you that you’ve won a basket from tonight’s gala.”

I close my eyes. The Bahamas trip.

“Okay, um…can I drop off a check tomorrow?”

“Absolutely, Mrs. Pierce. We look forward to seeing you.”

I hang up and stare at the suitcase, dreading hearing the door open.

I can’t face him. I just can’t.

Not after everything we’ve been through.

It’s too late to call anyone, but I know I can’t sleep here.

I write a check for $25,000, scribble out three separate letters, and leave them with Liam’s name on an envelope.

That should be enough to make the contract go away.

I take one last look around and shut the door of the penthouse behind me.

I find a hotel and book myself a room.

The sheets smell like bleach and something lemony. The heater clicks on with a low hum.

I burrow under the blanket, my heart still breaking quietly.

This isn’t how I saw this night going.

I wonder if Liam found my letters. If he knows I’m gone.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand.

I don’t check it.

If it’s him, I’ll give in.

The room is cold, but I don’t care.

I turn off my phone.

I’ll face the fallout tomorrow.

But for now?

I let the dark take me.