Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Chloe
I didn't remember how I got out of that church. All I knew was I had to run from this place that ripped my heart in two.
My hand stayed pressed against my stomach as I left, like if I let go, this little thing inside me would shatter right along with everything else.
The damp air hit my face. I stood at the church entrance and gulped it down—cold as knives sliding down my throat. That pain finally cleared my head a little.
I'd been living in a dream. A beautiful dream that gave me everything I wanted, but kept me terrified it would vanish any second. And now midnight had struck. Cinderella had to wake up.
I couldn't go back to that villa. Not now. I couldn't pretend I didn't know what I knew.
At least I still had most of my money from the strip club. I didn't know where I'd go, but anywhere had to be better than here.
I let out a bitter laugh and started down the church steps.
"Chloe."
I turned toward the voice. Liam stood there.
He waited at the bottom of the steps in a faded brown jacket, hair messed up from the rain that had just stopped. One hand in his pocket, the other holding a closed umbrella. He stood among the stretch limos and eager reporters, looking completely out of place.
"Liam."
The moment our eyes met, his expression went serious. I didn't know what I looked like, but judging by his reaction, probably like death.
Then he ran toward me.
"What happened? Christ, Chloe, you look like hell."
I opened my mouth, but the tears came first. I'd hit my breaking point. One simple question, and I completely fell apart.
I threw myself into Liam's arms, buried my face in his shoulder, and the tears just wouldn't stop. My whole body shook. My shoulders jerked. I couldn't even breathe.
Liam held me tight, one hand against my back, the other cradling my head. His shirt got soaked fast, but he didn't complain.
I didn't know how long I cried. People kept going in and out of the church, throwing us curious looks, whispering. I didn't hear any of it. My world had shrunk down to the space inside Liam's jacket.
Why? Why was this world so goddamn unfair to me?
God took away my family. Why did my only love have to be a complete lie, too?
I cried until my eyes ran dry, until the violent sobs finally stopped.
"Sorry. I got your shirt wet." I finally lifted my head from his shoulder, my voice raw and unrecognizable.
"It's an honor to serve my princess." Liam tried to sound light.
He pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed them over. I took them and wiped my face. When I looked down, the tissues were black. My eyeliner had completely melted. No wonder Liam's face had changed.
"Sorry you had to see me like this, but Liam—why are you even here?" When I calmed down, I realized how close we were standing. I stepped back awkwardly, putting distance between us.
"After you disappeared from the club," Liam smiled, his gentle gaze never leaving my face, "I kept looking for you. I had a pretty good idea who took you, but there was nothing I could do about it."
My nose started burning again.
"But I was still worried," Liam's voice dropped. "Especially when I heard about the boss getting married."
"Liam..."
"I didn't know if you'd be here, but I had a feeling. That you'd come. So I came too."
My brain stuttered. "So you just... waited here for me the whole time?"
"You don't have to feel pressured. This was my choice." Liam shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world.
I stared at Liam's face, overwhelmed.
How could someone like this exist? After I rejected him, he still worried about me. Because of some hunch he wasn't even sure about, he waited at this place all morning. Just in case I showed up.
"Chloe." Liam reached up and wiped away a tear sliding down my cheek. "You don't have to tell me what happened. I already saw. The second you walked through those doors, I saw everything."
I bit my lip. I couldn't tell if it hurt more to remember it or to have someone witness my breakdown.
"Come with me." Liam held out his hand. "This time, come with me. I don't know what's between you and him, and I don't need to. But I know one thing—you can't stay with him anymore. Whatever he gave you, it's not worth turning you into this."
I stared at that outstretched hand, and for the first time, I wavered. Whether to escape this failed relationship or just because I hurt so much I needed comfort—right now, it felt so tempting.
But before I could say anything, a hand grabbed my arm from behind, yanking me back hard enough that I stumbled. My back slammed into a solid chest. A familiar cologne flooded my nose.
Enzo.
His fingers locked around my upper arm like a vise. He pulled me away from Liam.
I cried out in pain, struggling to break free.
"Let go of me," I screamed at Enzo through my tears. "Why aren't you inside kissing your bride? Get back to your altar. Don't touch me."
Enzo loosened his grip slightly, his lips moving like he wanted to say something, but Liam beat him to it.
"Let her go! You're hurting her."
Enzo immediately tightened his hold again. He pulled me behind him, then stepped forward, blocking me from Liam with his entire body.
"Little bartender, if I see you near her again, you're dead." Enzo's voice dropped low enough that I barely heard it. I'd never heard him sound like this—powerful, evil, dangerous. He wasn't joking.
But even facing this version of Enzo, Liam didn't back down. He stared right at him, something almost like contempt on his face.
"She's not your property," Liam said. "You don't have the right to treat her like this."
Enzo took another step forward. He towered over Liam by half a head, his shadow falling across him.
"She's my woman." He grabbed Liam's collar, his voice low and icy. "She's carrying my child."
I stood behind Enzo, still trying to wrench my arm free. When I heard those words, my stomach twisted violently.
He'd just put that diamond ring on Valentina's finger. And now he had the audacity to claim me in front of another man.
It was absurd beyond belief.
"Your woman?" Liam didn't crumble under Enzo's presence. He looked straight into his eyes. "Your woman. Then tell me, if she's your woman, if you're that baby's father, what the hell were you doing in there with another woman?"
Enzo froze for a second, then laughed.
"You're telling me what to do? Brooks. If it wasn't for Chloe, your head would have a dozen holes in it already."
Enzo tilted his chin up. I followed his gaze. Two bodyguards in black suits walked over from an SUV. One of them reached inside his jacket.
Liam saw the bodyguards, too. His Adam's apple bobbed. He laughed coldly.
"You're going to kill me? Because I hugged a woman who walked out of your wedding crying?"
"Liam." I pushed past Enzo, my voice shaking. "Stop."
"No." Liam looked at me. Even facing death, there was no fear in his eyes. Only heartbreak.
"Chloe, you don't have to cover for him. You don't have to apologize for him. What he just did in that church—you and I both saw it. He doesn't deserve it."
Enzo's hand clenched tight. I heard his knuckles crack.
"Good." Enzo turned to Liam. "Then today's your death day."
From my time with Enzo, I knew he wasn't exaggerating. He had the power to kill Liam without leaving a trace.
"Enzo." I wiped away my tears and broke free from his grip.
I turned to face Enzo. He was still handsome, but now he made me sick. My tears stopped. Maybe I'd been hurt so badly that once you reach a certain point, you just go cold.
"What gives you the right?" I looked into Enzo's eyes—those black eyes where I once thought I saw love—and spoke each word deliberately. "You're married, Enzo. You stood before God and said I do to another woman. You put that ring on her finger yourself. You and me—we're done."
Enzo pressed his lips together and signaled the bodyguards. The reporters watching us were immediately driven away. News of the mistress causing a scene outside the church on his wedding day probably wouldn't look good.
But I didn't care anymore. My voice rose, endless hurt making me talk faster and faster.
"You hid everything from me. You told me the engagement was off. You told me you wouldn't lie to me. But every word you said was a lie. You just kissed your bride, so what right do you have to care who I hug?"
"Chloe, you don't understand." Enzo's viciousness toward Liam completely vanished. He grabbed my hand frantically, staring at me with pleading eyes. "This is more complicated than you think."
His expression shifted so naturally. What a good actor.
"Listen to me." Enzo took a step toward me.
"No." I stepped back and shook off his hand hard.
"I'm done listening. I've heard enough of your words.
I believed everything you said, Enzo. You said you were busy with work and couldn't reply to messages—I believed it.
You said the engagement was canceled—I believed it.
You told me not to go out—I obeyed. Like an idiot.
I sat in your damn villa waiting for you to come home, looking through baby catalogs and thinking about names for our child. And you?"
Enzo looked like he wanted to say something, but he stayed silent in the end. He didn't give me a single reasonable explanation.
"You know what the most pathetic part is?
" My tears welled up again, but I didn't care anymore.
"I was in that church today, and until the last second, the very last second, I was still waiting for you to say you didn't. I was still waiting for a miracle.
Do you know what that feels like? Do you know what I felt like when you said those words? "
Even though I tried desperately to stay calm, my voice didn't sound like mine anymore. By the end, I was practically screaming through tears.
"I regret it! I regret turning Liam down at my door that night. I regret choosing you. If I could do it over, I would never choose a heartless, lying monster like you."