I quickly turn my face away from Liam, hoping he doesn’t see the tears that are threatening to spill. It’s stupid, really, crying over a simple compliment, but hearing those words—You did great—from him feels like a weight lifted off my chest. Since forever, all I’ve ever heard from Dan is that I’m not enough, that I never do anything right.I inhale deeply, and focus on the rain hitting the window, watching as the droplets streak down the glass, my thoughts drifting. I wish it were Dan sitting here beside me, telling me I did a good job, making me feel like I matter. The thought burns a little, ached deep in my chest. I can’t help but wish things could go back to how they were, before everything fell apart between us. I know I sound like a broken record but, I can’t seem to help it.Liam’s voice breaks the stillness. "Amber?" His tone is soft, concerned. "Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"I force myself to nod, not trusting my voice. I turn back to face him, offering a smile
AmberMy heart is hammering in my chest as Dan stands up, his footsteps heavy and deliberate as he strides toward me. His eyes are blazing with fury, and his voice cuts through the silence like a knife. "I asked you a question. Where the hell have you been?"I stutter, trying to keep my composure, but the words won’t come out fast enough. "I—I was at the charity event we’ve been planning… it was today." My voice trails off, unsure of what will set him off next.His glare sharpens, and he crosses his arms, eyes narrowing. "What did I tell you about going out without my permission?"I swallow hard, panic rising in my throat. "I... I’m sorry. I completely forgot about it. I... I texted you about it." My voice wavers, desperate for him to understand. “When you didn’t reply, I decided to Uber my way there.”Dan scoffs, his anger escalating. "Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you on time Madam! You think I’m sitting around, waiting for your last-minute messages?" He takes a step closer, his
I stood frozen at her doorstep, staring at the closed door she’d just shut in my face. My jaw clenched as I replayed the sight of her bruise. That bastard hit her. I know it. I wanted to kick the damn door down, force her to tell me the truth, to stop lying for him. But I knew it wouldn’t work. She was too scared, too conditioned to defend him. But why? Why would she do that?I took a deep breath and stepped back, my fists curling tightly at my sides. For a moment, I couldn’t move, just stood there staring at the door. If I walked away now, what would happen to her? Would he hit her again? Worse? The thought made my blood boil.My boots hit the pavement harder than I intended as I walked back to my car, the rain drizzling starting to soak through my jacket. I slid into the driver’s seat and sat there, gripping the steering wheel.Calling the cops wouldn’t work. Amber would lie, just like she did to me. I know her. She’d protect him at her own expense, and that bastard would get away w
As I shut the door behind Liam, I leaned against the door, sliding to the floor as the tears I’d been holding back came rushing out. My chest heaved with every sob, and the guilt churned in my stomach like acid. He hadn’t deserved the way I spoke to him. He was only trying to help.Liam was right, God, he was so painfully right about not making excuses for Dan. And I hated that he was. My life was a mess, and I was stuck, drowning in it.Dragging myself off the floor, I shuffled to my ensuite bathroom. The harsh light from the mirror made me wince as it highlighted the bruise on my cheek. My fingers hovered over the purple blotch before I pressed gently against it, hissing in pain.I opened the cabinet above the sink, fumbling for the aloe vera gel I kept on hand for moments like this. I wiped my face clean before applying it. As I smoothed the cool gel over the tender skin, I couldn’t stop the wave of bitterness that hit me. Sometimes, when Dan was mad, he forgot himself and hit me so
Dinner at my parents’ house. Just the thought of it made me want to groan out loud, but skipping wasn’t an option. If I did, my mom would be calling me nonstop, guilt-tripping me into next week. So, here I was, sitting at the dining table, trying to focus on my plate but failing miserably.Amber was all I could think about. The way she looked at me earlier at the grocery store, so torn, so fragile. Played on a loop in my mind. Was she okay now? Did Dan say something hurtful to her? Or worse, did he hurt her again? My jaw tightened at the thought, my grip on the fork almost snapping it in half.I let out a relieved breath remembering my men were stationed near her house, ready to report if anything seemed off.And then there was the burner phone. I’d slipped it into the chocolates I gave her earlier, with a note explaining it was for emergencies. She’d probably be furious when she found it, but I didn’t care. I needed to know she had a way to contact me if she needed help.“Liam!” My m
I placed the burner phone on the nightstand and stared at it, a ghost of a smile tugging at my lips. Talking to Liam had stirred a strange comfort I hadn’t felt in a long time.He had a way of making me feel seen, like I wasn’t invisible. I hated that. Hated how my heart fluttered at his attention, hated the warmth his voice carried, and most of all, hated that I was still thinking about him long after the call ended.With a shake of my head, I forced myself to focus. I was a married woman. No matter how much Dan and I had drifted apart, I had made vows. I closed my eyes, imagining what life would be like if Dan could just be the man he had once been the charming man who brought me flowers, whispered sweet promises, and made me believe in forever.I tried to remember the man I married—the one who used to hold me close and make me feel like I was the only one in the world. But lately, all I could feel was his anger. His dismissiveness. His cold indifference.Sleep found me eventually,
He was cheating on me. I couldn’t believe it. I looked around me wondering if I was dreaming. Maybe it was a nightmare and soon I would wake up from it. But the proof was right there on his phone, staring me in the face.My hands shook as I wiped the tears streaming down my cheeks, willing them to stop, but I couldn’t stop myself. I picked up the phone again and scrolled further through the messages, hoping that maybe I saw wrong the first time.But the more I read the messages the more evident it was that Dan was truly cheating on me. The realization shattered my heart into a thousand pieces and It felt like a dagger was being twisted in my chest. How could he do this?Tears blurred my vision as the realization sank deeper. I had been such a fool. All this time, I had been playing the perfect housewife, cleaning up after him and his ungrateful family, bending over backward to make him happy. And while I was busy sacrificing myself for his approval, he was sneaking around with someon
All through dinner, my stomach churned with anger and disgust. Every time I glanced at Maddie, her perfectly poised demeanor grated on me. She was sitting there, laughing at some lame joke Dan made, acting as though she wasn’t the woman I’d just seen exchanging intimate messages and photos with my husband. It was infuriating. The nerve of her, walking into my home, eating at my table,laughing in her face.And Dan. Oh, Dan. His audacity knew no bounds. At one point, he reached across the table and took my hand, giving it a squeeze like we were some blissfully happy couple. The heat of his palm against my skin made my stomach twist in revulsion. I wanted to rip my hand away, to shove him back and scream at him for this charade. Instead, I forced a tight smile and let him hold it, my fingers stiff in his grasp. My skin crawled, but I couldn’t let it show.“This chicken is delightful, Amber,” Mrs. Thompson said, smiling warmly. “You must share your recipe. I can never get mine to turn out
LiamAmber wasn’t herself today.I noticed it almost immediately after I picked her up from her mum’s. Something was wrong and it was evident in how her laughter didn’t quite reach her eyes and how often she got lost in thought. She was barely paying attention to the game, standing there as though she didn’t even care that she was losing. The competitive side she always had whenever we played, wasn’t there. After I knocked down all the pins on my turn, I glanced back at her, smirking. “Are you letting me win on purpose?”Amber stepped up to the line, grabbed her ball, and gave me a tired smile. “Maybe today’s just your lucky day.” She rolled the ball, and it veered to the side, knocking over only one pin.“That’s not like you,” I said, folding my arms as she turned back to me.She shrugged, brushing it off. “I’m just not feeling it, I guess.”“Something’s bothering you,” I pressed gently. “What is it?”“Nothing.”She said it quickly, too quickly, and I wasn’t buying it. But I also k
AmberLiam wouldn’t leave me alone no matter how hard I tried to push him away. The harder I pushed, the closer he got, and he never failed to make it known that he was going nowhere.I’ve stopped trying now because, deep down, I don’t want him to go. Even though part of me feels like I should be running the other way, I can’t seem to keep him at a distance.He insisted on driving me home after work every day, and I had to fight him off from trying to pick me up in the mornings too. We’re not technically dating, and the last thing I want is my colleagues thinking otherwise.Now we were seated in his car, parked in front of Mom’s house. It’s become a ritual of some sort, Liam drops me off, and we spend at least ten minutes in his car talking about anything and everything.“So what are your plans for the weekend?” He asked, turning to look at me.“It all depends,” I replied, my breath catching slightly at the intense way he looked at me.He had ditched his suit jacket earlier in the day
What the hell just happened?One minute, things were going well, so well I wanted to freeze time and live in that kiss forever. But, of course, the universe had other plans. The shrill ring of my phone shattered the moment like a bucket of ice water.My best friend had the worst timing in the history of mankind. Of all times, he chose that moment to call and for what? To remind me of our stupid plan to have drinks later tonight.And by the time I ended the call, Amber was gone. She bolted like the place was on fire. Why did she run? It was as if she couldn’t wait to get out of here quickly enough. Did I misread the signs?I let out a groan, pushing my fingers through my hair. Maybe I scared her away. Now I felt bad for kissing her, but the truth was I couldn’t help myself. I have wanted to do it since that night I ran into her at the gala.I know her divorce isn’t final yet, it’s the reason I have been keeping my distance even though I so badly want to kiss her every time she was clos
One of the things I hadn’t fully considered about working for Liam was how much the closeness would affect me. The way his presence stirred something in me, something I had been trying to push away whenever I was close to him. Something I wasn’t ready to face.It’s been a week since I took him up on his offer and became his assistant. And while I’d started to get a handle on his schedule thanks to his secretary’s patient guidance, there was one thing I couldn’t control: the magnetic pull I felt every time we were alone.Around him, I felt a strange mix of ease and tension. Liam was a good boss and a good friend too. But there was something about him that set my heart racing; those piercing eyes of his that seemed to see through me, the quiet authority in his voice that seemed to seep through my skin every time he spoke. His presence made me want things I had no business wanting.I’d been fighting it with everything I had. Not only was my divorce far from finalized, but I couldn’t imag
Hearing your parent in the act has to be one of the most awkward and mortifying things on the planet. It had been two days since I moved in with Mom, and every single night, I heard them. Loud. Really loud.Right now, the sound of the bed slamming against the wall and Mom’s exaggerated cries filled the air. For a moment, I debated running down the hall to check if she was okay because, honestly, it sounded more like she was sobbing than enjoying herself.“Oh, Roberto, you’re such a beast!” she cried out, her voice echoing through the walls. I grimaced, feeling the urge to throw up.I grabbed a pillow and pressed it over my head, hoping to muffle the noise, but it didn’t help. Mom’s shrill screams cut right through. “Oh, Roberto, just like that! Harder, harder…”I sat up, almost in tears. How was I supposed to get any sleep when they were at it every night? Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough money to check into a hotel, so I had to endure this nightmare until my lawyer made Dan pay wh
The weekend was a whirlwind of chaos and emotions. I spent most of it packing, shoving my life into suitcases and boxes without much of a plan. I just knew I couldn’t be there when Dan returned. Not another second under the same roof with him.Anna and Cheryl from the charity organization kept calling, their numbers flashing on my screen again and again, their texts piling up. They wanted to know why I hadn’t shown up for the charity organization meeting we’d planned for the weekend. But I couldn’t face them, not now, not until I figured out how to put my fractured life back together. So, I didn’t answer.When I finally made the call to my mom, I could feel the anxiety gnawing at the edges of my resolve. It rang twice before she picked up, her voice cheerful. “Amber, hi, sweetie. How are you?”“Mom…” My voice cracked, and I had to take a deep breath to steady myself. “I… I need to ask you something.”There was a pause on the other end. “What’s going on?”“Can I come stay with you for
The past two weeks had been pure hell. Ever since I confronted Dan about paying back the money he borrowed, he made it his mission to remind me how powerless I was, or how powerless he thought I was.He became more vile, more aggressive, more hateful. He hit me at the slightest provocation, hurled insults like they were second nature, and told me I’d be nothing without him.“Ungrateful,” he spat the other night when I asked if he wanted dinner. “You’d be living in a dump if it weren’t for me. Remember that.”I remembered, all right. I remembered the lies, the manipulation, the way he sweet-talked me into believing he loved me and he was my savior when all he ever did was pull me deeper into the pit. But I didn’t let it show. I couldn’t. Not yet.Because I had a plan.Now, I was standing in an elevator, my heart pounding as it climbed floor after floor toward Liam’s office. Dan was out of town for one of his supposed “business trips,” though I knew better than to believe him. Last nigh
The heat had seeped into my skin, leaving it raw and red by the time I dragged myself out of the shower. My tears had dried up somewhere along the way, leaving a hollow ache in my chest.I didn’t bother with my skincare routine or anything beyond the basics—just blow-dried my hair, and pulled on a loose sweater and leggings. The act of dressing felt mechanical, like every other part of my life lately.Out of habit, I wandered downstairs, the ache in my heart still throbbing but muted now, like background noise. The sink greeted me with the mess I’d left behind last night. I should have ignored it—left the dishes there to prove a point, or maybe just to let them fester like my marriage had. But instead, I rolled up my sleeves and started scrubbing, the rhythm of it grounding me in some twisted way.By the time I started making coffee, the front door creaked open. I froze, gripping the counter as I heard the unmistakable shuffle of Dan’s footsteps. My stomach twisted, half with dread, h
I woke to a pounding in my skull that felt like someone was using a jackhammer inside my head. Groaning, I shifted beneath the softest blanket I’d ever felt, my body nestled in the warmth of a bed that wasn’t mine. Panic jolted through me as I blinked against the dull light filtering into the room.Where the hell am I?The room was unfamiliar, painted in a soothing shade of gray that seemed at odds with the black curtains drawn tightly over a massive floor-to-ceiling window. A sleek, modern nightstand sat beside the bed, its surface polished to a mirror shine. On it, a digital clock glowed faintly, the red numbers reading five minutes after six. It’s morning.I sat up slowly, instantly regretting the motion as the world tilted and my head throbbed harder. Pressing a hand to my forehead, I tried to piece together the fractured memories of last night.The bar. Liam. Champagne.Oh, God.I groaned aloud, burying my face in my hands as flashes of my drunken antics came back to me. I’d aske