Chapter 35

LIAM

Damn it!

Tonight did not go as planned. I managed to screw up everything in a span of a few hours.

I’m relieved when I finally walk into the penthouse. Vivianne’s face flashes in my mind, and all I can do is hang my head.

I should have killed him that night. I was so blind, thinking that his comments were just a show of power. I should have ~seen it~ in her eyes.

And after, once we were home, I should have protected her better. I don’t know how my father knows Beth, but this was him. It has his name written all over it.

He’s toying with her—like the predator he is.

I knew my father would play dirty when he didn’t get his way, but this? Sending Beth to deliberately hurt her? After what he put Viv through?

Rage fills me, an ache starting in my jaw as I clench my teeth.

I try to justify myself. At first, I thought his comments were about class and status. But this feels more like a personal game.

I still can’t believe he tried to out me in front of everyone we know.

Luckily, Viv isn’t that kind of person.

Beth might be. I should’ve seen that from the start. But I was so distracted by running from what I felt for Vivianne.

She left me. She was the one who ended it. And I let her.

I should have fought for her.

The apartment is dark. Her scent is everywhere—oranges, cloves, and something soft and floral like honeysuckle. It’s intoxicating.

I force myself toward her door, bracing for a fight or tears.

I knock gently. No answer.

I knock a little louder and call out for her. Still nothing.

Dread creeps in.

I don’t know if we can recover from this. We were finally getting somewhere tonight. Back to us, to the real us.

I didn’t mean to kiss her. She was just…there. So close. Smelling the way she does. Looking up at me with hope in her eyes.

And I fell again. Harder than before

Maybe she needs time. After what Beth said, after what I said…stupid, heat-of-the-moment things. Old feelings. Lies I never meant to speak aloud.

I sigh and leave her be, deciding we’ll both be better off with sleep.

My bed feels wrong without her. Too big. Too quiet. I stare at the ceiling, unable to stop replaying her face in my mind.

By the time light peeks through the curtains, my eyelids feel like sandpaper.

Vivianne was on my mind all night.

She looked so hurt, her flushed skin making her full lips stand out even more. Her beautiful, long black hair was pulled into a messy, complicated-looking bun, with thick braids running along either side and tied at the back.

And her dress? It was stunning. Bright red. Bold. It pulled her just far enough out of her comfort zone.

She came alive tonight. For the first time in a long time—since her mother died—she truly smiled. And when she did, it lit her up from the inside out.

She didn’t even flinch when my father kissed her cheeks or when Kimberly sneered.

But all of that is overshadowed now by the look in her eyes at the end.

Pain. Confusion. Hurt that I put there.

I fucked up. Maybe too badly this time.

I get up and brew a pot of coffee—her favorite. Extra sweet, just how she likes it.

Still no sound from her room.

I knock on her door. Nothing

“Okay, if you don’t answer, I’m coming in,” I call, pressing my ear to the door.

Nothing.

I open the door. Her bed is made. A shirt here, a shoe there, her dress from last night crumpled on the floor.

She’s been here.

But she’s gone.

Her scent lingers, but the room feels hollow.

A letter sits propped on her desk. I pick it up.

~Dear Liam,~

~This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but I need to say goodbye. ~

~Part of me will always love you, but I can’t keep pretending. I don’t think you ever meant to hurt me, and I know I never meant to hurt you, but the way things have unfolded between us has left us both with bruises and bumps. ~

~I’ve given you so much of myself, hoping things would change—that they could be different. But I don’t have anything left to give.~

~I need to walk away. Not because I don’t care, but because I care so much. We both deserve to heal, and we can’t do that while we’re still holding onto hope. ~

~I don’t want to remember us this way—with so much pain and uncertainty.~

~I know we had a contract, and I’m sorry to break it. But I can’t stay. Here’s a check for the termination fee. I also wrote letters for Nan and Steph. Make sure they get them, please.~

~You’ll always have a place in my heart. ~

~But it’s time for us to let go, Liam.~

~Love always,~

~Viv~

Her words destroy me.

She’s gone?

I reread the letter, hoping it says something different the second time.

It doesn’t.

But one line pierces deeper than the rest.

~“Part of me will always love you.”~

She loved me.

She loves me. And I’m only finding out now—in a goodbye.

I sit down hard on the edge of the bed, the weight of it all crushing my chest.

She never said it before. Not out loud. Not like that.

I spent so long wondering if I was the only one feeling it.

And now I know.

Too late.

I barely glance at the check before I fold it in half.

She left behind most of the clothes she bought here.

She left ~us~.

And just like that, every memory rushes in.

Her laugh when she burned the pancakes. The way she danced barefoot in the kitchen when she thought I wasn’t watching. How she insisted on learning everyone’s coffee orders, including mine.

She made this place feel like home.

I tuck the other letters into my jacket and head to the living room.

My phone dings.

Hope flares—then dies.

Just an investor, requesting a meeting.

I resist the urge to throw the stupid phone across the room.

Instead, I text back.

Liam

Can’t talk. We’ll catch up soon.

Then I call Jenna.

“Mr. Stryder?” she answers on the first ring.

“Jenna, can we meet? Where are you?”

“Um—Sure? Meet where?”

“How about Daily Grind? The coffee shop near the office?”

“Okay. Give me twenty minutes,” she says, then hangs up.

I get there early and order her usual.

Before Viv, I wouldn’t have known her order. Or anyone else’s.

Viv changed me. From the moment we met, I knew she would.

Jenna arrives on time. She smiles, grabs the coffee, and takes a big sip.

“What’s up, boss man?”

I hesitate, then hand her Viv’s letter.

She reads. Then reads it again, her smile vanishing.

Her gaze lands on me, harsh and accusing.

“Jenna—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Liam.”

She stands.

“She was the best damn thing that ever happened to you. And you just had to screw it up.”

I hang my head.

“I know,” I say quietly.

She stares, lips pressed tight.

“You don’t know where she is?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “No, I don’t. You need to fix this, Liam. ~Now~.”

She grabs her coffee and heads for the door.

“I’m taking this. Thanks,” she says over her shoulder.

And now she’s gone too.