Chapter 6
Noah finally leaves my driveway with a look of defeat. A sense of guilt starts to swell inside my chest.
He was your best friend, Isabel. Your best fucking friend.
Liam wraps his arms around me and gives me a gentle squeeze, “Rough day?” looking at me with so much care in his eyes, as his lips brush against mine.
“The worst” burying my face in his chest as the tears begin to flow again.
Ugh. Why won’t they stop?
We stand there in my front yard, and he just holds me while I sob, his arms a steady anchor in the storm inside me. Every tear that falls feels like a release of six weeks’ worth of anger, heartbreak, and confusion.
I was sad..so incredibly sad. Sad for the conversation I had been dreading, sad that my friendship with Noah was fractured beyond repair, and sad that Oliver’s sudden reappearance had thrown my head into chaos.
My body trembles against him, and even as relief starts to creep in, the sadness doesn’t fully fade. It lingers in my chest, heavy and stubborn, a reminder of all the heartbreak I’ve had to carry and all the pieces I’m finally beginning to put back together.
“Okay, let’s go inside” I wipe my tears and try to get a grip on my emotions.
“Okay, I got dinner and something for you. By the way, you look absolutely stunning today” he says with a huge smile on his face.
“You didn’t have to get me anything”.
“Well, by the sound of it, you needed some cheering up ” he winks as he pulls out the most beautiful bouquet of tiger lilies I have ever seen.
“Oh my gosh, they’re perfect” inhaling the scent of these beautiful flowers.
“Your favorite, right?”
“You remembered?”
He does know me. This man never fails to impress me.
We walk toward the house in silence, but I can feel his eyes on me the entire time. I can’t help but smile. Even with puffy, red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks, he still looks at me like I’m something worth admiring.
Inside, I show him around the house, narrating absentmindedly while he listens like it all matters.
We sit at the dining room table and eat together, the kind of easy, unforced meal that feels strangely domestic.
We talk about our families, our life goals, dream careers, the things we love, the things we can’t stand.
Nothing heavy. Nothing complicated. Just us, getting to know each other in the most honest way.
It’s exactly what I needed after today.
When we’re finished, I load the dishes into the dishwasher and turn back to him, relief washing over me in a way I wasn’t expecting. This-this calm, this safety-this is what it feels like to fall for someone who is actually good for you.
I’ve only known him for a few weeks, yet somehow it feels like years. Like he slipped into my life quietly and rearranged everything without asking. I’m crazy about this man, and now that he’s here, I can’t imagine my life without him in it.
He catches me staring at him, lost in my own thoughts, and doesn’t wait for an explanation.
He slips up behind me, his hands immediately gripping my waist like I could somehow slip away if he didn’t hold me tight enough.
He leans close, his voice low and firm in my ear: “I love you. And I am so glad you’re mine. ”
Time stops. Everything else disappears. The kitchen, the night, the world outside-it all fades. I could stay in this moment forever, wrapped in him.
Without warning, he lifts me onto the counter, his hands holding me like he won’t let me fall.
My legs wrap around him instinctively, and he crushes his lips to mine with an intensity that leaves no doubt: he wants me, all of me, and no one else will touch me.
Every movement, every possessive press of his body, sends shivers through me.
Even as I melt into him, there’s no mistaking it, this isn’t just a kiss. It’s a declaration. I am his, completely, and he’s showing me, feeling it, demanding it in every touch.
The kiss deepens, every touch of his lips sending fire through me, heating me from the inside out.
I can feel him pressing closer, claiming every inch of me, and it’s intoxicating.
My hands dig into his shoulders as if anchoring myself to him, afraid I might float away from the intensity of this moment.
Just then, my phone buzzes on the counter.
I groan, a mix of frustration and disappointment, shattering the bubble of the perfect moment.
Liam pulls back slightly, his lips trailing a hot path down my neck, and I glance at the screen, still wrapped in his possessive grip.
Even interrupted, I can’t help but feel that every second with him is his, and his alone.
Mom is FaceTiming me. Ugh.
“Be prepared to meet my mom, and my grandma” I whisper in his ear.
I open it, with Liam's arms still wrapped around my waist and my huge smile.
“Hi mom”
“Oh, who is this handsome man in my kitchen?” with a shocked expression on her face. I kind of never really told her the extent of Liam and me. He was just somebody I was spending time with, well, until last night that is.
“This is Liam, Mom. My boyfriend” as a smile starts to form at the corners of my lips.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Smith” Liam adds, very charming.
“Boyfriend?” as she begins to grin, “ Well isn’t that nice, please, call me Sophie,” my mom adds with a wink.
“Mom, what did you need?” eager to get back to my makeout sesh.
“I was just checking in, honey. How was Liv’s party last night?”
“It was… a typical Jones party,” I mutter, feeling my face slowly tighten with annoyance.
“Noah?” Her voice catches slightly, but I can tell she’s trying to stay casual.
“Oh… he was there. He even gave me a ride to the ceremony this morning.”
There’s a pause on the other end. I know she senses the tension, the storm that followed that night, even if she doesn’t know the full details.
“We’ll talk more tomorrow when we get home,” she says softly, almost like she’s reading me like she knows I don’t want to dredge it up right now.
After everything I went through seeing him with Sydney, and the heartbreak that followed, it’s clear she just wants to protect me, even without knowing everything.
“Sounds good. Love you lots” I say before hanging up.
“Love you most” and the call ends.
I put my phone down and brush my lips against Liam's.
“Are you ready to talk to me about it?” Liam whispers in my ear.
I groaned out loud, knowing I promised I would tell him about my day, but not wanting to end our moment, “I mean, I guess”.
“Don’t worry, we can continue after. There's plenty more of that, later” whispering as his lips brush my neck, it sends chills through my entire body.
“Let me get dressed into something more comfortable and I’m all yours” hopping off the counter.
I go up to my room, change into shorts and an oversized graphic tee, throw my hair into a messy bun and head back downstairs. My heart is thumping the entire time, not knowing what Liam’s reaction is going to be to my hectic car rides.
I sat him down and told him everything that had happened today-from the surprise visit to the drive to and from the ceremony.
I told him about Sydney, how I found out, and the ridiculous excuse Noah had given me.
Tears slipped down my cheeks as I spoke, and he held me close, pressing me against him like he was physically keeping me from anyone else.
That was when he promised me he would never cheat, that I would be the only woman he would ever need. He promised.
“So he just showed up… unannounced… at your house? And you answered the door in only a robe? Do you even realize how that sounds?” His voice was low and dangerous, the kind of anger that made my stomach clench.
I sat a little straighter, trying to stay calm.
“Yeah, when we left this morning, I told him I had no interest in speaking to him until he realized what a complete asshole he was last night. Apparently, it only took him less than an hour to figure it out, because he came marching to my place. And for the record, I was never naked in front of him. He never saw anything.”
Liam’s hands gripped my waist tighter, almost possessively, and he pulled me against him so there was no space between us. His eyes darkened. “Nobody touches you except me. Nobody. And if anyone ever tries again, I swear, Isabel, I will make sure they regret it. You’re mine. You hear me?”
I nodded, my heart pounding as relief and desire coursed through me. The heat of his presence pressed into me, leaving no doubt I belonged entirely to him.
“Does it not strike you as strange that he suddenly couldn’t remember anything from an hour earlier?” Liam says, his voice tight, clipped. “And then he’s in your house, while you’re half-dressed?”
“I was not naked,” I corrected quickly, the knots reforming in my stomach. “Not in front of him.”
Liam exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “That’s not the point, Isabel.” His jaw flexes. “You were alone with him. Vulnerable. In a situation he had no right to be in. That’s not okay-especially not when you have a boyfriend.”
The word boyfriend lands heavy between us.
“I didn’t think about it like that,” I admit quietly. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
His eyes soften just a fraction, but the edge is still there. “Good,” he says firmly. “Because I don’t like anyone putting you in a position where I can’t protect you. And I don’t like sharing what’s mine.”
“You’re right,” he says evenly. Then, almost as an afterthought, “Or you won’t have a boyfriend anymore.”
And just like that, he reaches for the remote. “Come on. Let’s watch a movie.”
He changes the subject so smoothly it’s like the words never left his mouth, like he didn’t just put the future of our relationship on the table and walk away from it. Twenty-four hours in, and he’d already made it clear: this wasn’t a suggestion. It was a boundary.
I sink into the couch beside him, the room suddenly too quiet, my heart still racing while the opening credits roll.
“I would love to, but not here. Upstairs” I get up and lead the way, tugging his hand behind me.