Chapter 4: Cut ties with her

“Anna!” Liam called out, his voice carrying an unmistakable panic she had never heard before. He pulled her into a crushing hug that knocked the air out of her lungs. She stiffened at his touch, unable to react as his unique scent—a mix of woodsy cologne and pheromones—flooded her senses. Every cell in her body screamed, urging her to reciprocate his hug, but she summoned the little willpower left in her bones and pushed him away. She refused to fall for his charm again. 

“Well, well, well. Would you look at that,” Anna started, her voice laced with sarcasm, “it only took a divorce for you to come running into my arms. I would have done it sooner had I known it would yield such an amazing result.”

“Anna, please don’t do this to us,” he pleaded, trembling in his voice, betraying his true emotions. “I do not want you to go. Let’s talk things through. Babe, we can make this work.”

“No.” Anna crossed her arms on her chest, refusing to be swayed.

Liam pressed his lips into a straight line and ran his fingers into his hair, tousling it further. “Then I guess we are doing this the hard way.” Without giving Anna time to react, he bent over and picked her up by the knees, and her world turned upside down—literally—when he threw her over his shoulder and walked back into the house.

“PUT ME DOWN!!” Anna yelled, pounding his back with her fists.

 “Simon, bring her bags inside,” Liam instructed, ignoring her flailing arms pounding his back as he made his way to the bedroom under the watchful eyes of all the servants who had gathered in the living room at some point. 

Liam kept going, completely ignoring the commotion he’d caused with his sudden return. He kicked the door open and strode in before slamming the door closed. He carefully lowered Anna onto the bed and propped his hands on the bed with Anna between his arms. “Babe, none of us is leaving this room until we talk things through.”

“Liam, in case you haven’t noticed, we are past the talking stage already.” Anna pushed him aside and sat up on the bed. “We’ve had three whole years to do the talking, but you never made any effort to do so. And now I don’t want to talk anymore.”

Liam straightened up and loosened his tie. “A lot of things were going on in my life at that time, and I didn’t know what would become of us. I needed time to figure out my feelings and get used to this kind of life.” He ran his fingers through his hair once again, a sign that he was either nervous or frustrated.

“That long?” Anna asked, disappointed.

“Unfortunately, yes. Anna, we both know that our marriage wasn’t based on love, and we all did what we needed to do. You couldn’t surely expect me to profess my love to you right off the bat, right? That would have been pretentious of me.” He was quiet for a while, scratching the back of his neck. “But I provided you with the financial aid you wanted. You have your own mansion, servants, and all the good things in life. You lived the good life.”

Anna laughed a bitter laugh. “You may not have married for love, but I sure did.” She walked to the window and fixed her gaze outside, listening to the splashing and gurgling of the fountain below. “I married you because I have loved you ever since that day you saved me. I thought my dream had come true and that I would finally get my happily ever after. But I was in for a shock when you never showed up, even for our first night.”

“Wait…you didn’t marry me for my money?” Liam blurted out, confirming Anna’s deepest fears. He’s always neglected her because he thought she was just another social climber.  Anna frowned at his words, and he quickly added, “I mean, you literally sold your liver to get me.”

“Excuse me?” Anna strode towards him, looking like she wanted to gouge his eyes out. She held him by his shirt’s collar with both hands and pulled him to her level, “Listen, and listen to me very carefully, big man. I did grow up in the dumps, destitute and broke, and I also know that I have done a lot of dumb things in life to get you, but get this clear.” Anna enunciated each word through grit teeth, “I don’t give two shits about your money. I married you, not your bank account." She released his shirt and took two steps backward. “Your financial status didn’t faze me. I survived the first 23 years of my life without you, and I can survive more without you. I have hands, and I can work and feed myself if that is what you are worried about.”

“Got it.” He nodded, raising his hands in surrender. “Is there anything else I need to know? If I’m being dumped, at least I deserve to know why, don’t you think?”

“Aside from you going MIA on me, there’s that Melisa girl. She doesn’t miss a chance to humiliate me, and she is so around you all the time. I understand that you guys were supposed to get married before I crash-landed into your life.” Anna’s voice softened as her eyes stung from saying that out loud. “I am now giving you the chance to get back what I took away from you.” 

“Melisa isn’t as bad as you put it.” Liam avoided her eyes and sighed. “She is just… immature.”

“See?” Anna raised her voice, jabbing a finger on his chest. “That is what I am talking about. You are always so quick to defend her. She is a year older than me, but she still qualifies as ‘immature’, but I don’t.” She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly to regulate her emotions. Her shoulders dropped, and she bowed her head in defeat. “I guess the rumors were right. You two are indeed a couple.”

“No! I have never cheated on you, if that is what you are hinting.” Liam defended, holding her shoulder with one arm and lifting her chin with his other hand. “I may not be the best husband in the world, but I’m not a cheater.” He tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, his delicate fingers brushing against her skin. He inched closer, closing the gap between them, his gaze fixed on hers. “I would never do that to you,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing her skin. 

 A flicker of warmth flashed in his eyes momentarily, but long enough to make Anna’s heart skip a beat. Maybe he wasn’t lying. He looked at her with eyes full of love, something he’d never done before, and for a minute, Anna started questioning her life choices. Was she wrong? Had she misunderstood him, or was this just another trick of his? 

Her knees weakened from the close proximity as his woodsy cologne flooded her lungs, and her defenses against him crumbled. The warmth of his hands against her skin had her heart pounding hard against her ribs, and the anger in her fizzled out. Her hands found their way to his chest despite her efforts to resist, and her eyes gravitated towards his lips. “Then cut off ties with her,” she managed to say, trying not to sound too desperate. 

Before he could say anything, a phone ringing interrupted, ruining the moment. 

“Hello?” a female voice sounded from the other end of the line. “Liam, you haven’t forgotten about the event tomorrow night, right?”

 Melisa. Of course, it was her. What was she expecting? That he would tell her the truth? Not a fat chance! Anna felt her anger rising again.

“What event?” Liam asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“You are supposed to be my date,” Melisa whined, her voice making Anna nauseous.

“I am not available,” Liam replied, ready to hang up.

“I just talked with your grandmother, and she told me you will be available.”

At the mention of his grandmother, Liam stiffened, and his face hardened as if he’d just heard life-threatening news. He gripped his phone tighter, and Anna noticed a slight tremble of his fingers. Something must be wrong. “Alright, I’ll pick you up,” he said after a long silence, his voice hoarse.

Anna’s heart shattered at his response. She ran towards the door.