Chapter 8 #2
“There’s my girl” he pulls out my chair and kisses me as I sit.
“Sorry, I got a little chatty with Sydney’s boyfriend. Seems like a nice kid” I say, Liam completely reading through my lie.
We sat side by side at the table, pretending to engage in small talk with the rest of the family, but I could feel Liam’s presence like a weight against me. Every time I tried to focus on Cori or Noah, his hand would brush mine under the table, casual but deliberate.
He leaned in, his voice low, just for me. “Hey, are you okay?”
I forced a small smile, nodding, but didn’t look at him. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” he murmured, the corner of his mouth twitching in that infuriatingly confident way. “I can feel it. Noah upset you, didn’t he?”
I stiffened, glancing at him, but kept my tone steady. “I handled it. Don’t worry about it.”
He shifted closer, lowering his voice even more. “You don’t have to handle everything alone, you know. You don’t have to be strong for me or for them. You can just let me take care of you.”
I felt a heat rise in my chest, part of me wanting to lean into him, to trust him, and part of me yelling at myself not to. “I don’t need you to take care of me,” I whispered, trying to sound firm, even as my hand brushed against his under the table.
He smiled faintly, almost smug, as if he knew exactly what he was doing. “You do. You just don’t know it yet.”
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering, caught between wanting to push him away and wanting to believe him completely. In that moment, with everyone around us oblivious, Liam had me exactly where he wanted, torn, vulnerable, and entirely under his sway.
As we leave she and Bob give me the warmest hug, “Liam, bring her around more, she’s the best”.
A sigh of relief leaves my chest. They like me. No parents like me.
“ I wish Noah’s parents liked me as much as they like you, Isabel. They still love his ex” Sydney says annoyed, “She probably wasn’t that great”. A hot flush rose up my neck to my cheeks, and I had to fight the urge to snap. She doesn’t know. She has no idea. My jaw tightened.
“She probably wasn’t that great,” Sydney said again, tossing the words out carelessly.
I took a slow, steadying breath, gripping my glass so my hands wouldn’t shake. She’s talking about me. She has no idea.
I forced a small, polite smile, nodding like I agreed, even as my teeth clenched. “Yeah… probably not,” I said softly, my voice calm-but inside, my blood was boiling.
I wanted to lean over, to tell her the truth, to watch her choke on her words, but instead, I kept quiet. I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction. Not here. Not now.
“I’m sure they just need some warming up, give them time” I try to sound encouraging.
“Well, it’s been six months, how much longer do they need?”
“Six months huh?” glaring at Noah as a lump forms in my throat.
Noah goes white. Sydney has no idea what she just did.
“Well, Isabel and I have to get going.” Liam shakes his hand and we walk out the door.
As soon as we got in the car, we burst out laughing, “ Did that just happen? Like was that a fucking dream?” trying to contain my laughter.
“No, that happened. Are you okay?” He's concerned about my reaction and honestly so am I.
The laughter faded, replaced by a knot in my stomach.
“Wait… Liam,” I said, my voice quiet now but firm. He looked over at me, still smiling, unaware of the shift. “I need to ask you something.”
He tilted his head, concern flickering in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
I took a deep breath, my hands gripping the edge of my seat. “Why… why didn’t you tell me Noah and Sydney were together? And that you’ve met him before? And that you brought your ex-girlfriend on our first date?”
His smile faltered slightly, and he ran a hand through his hair, a little too casually.
“ I didn’t think it mattered. I just wanted tonight to go smoothly.
I didn’t want to stress you out before meeting my mom.
I didn’t bring her on our date, Bella. She was there…
because she’s part of my life. You were the one who made it about her. ”
I shook my head, frustration and hurt mixing in my chest. “Not telling me matters, Liam! That’s exactly the point. You let me walk into that, blind, pretending everything was fine. You lied to me.”
He leaned closer, his voice soft but deliberate, almost coaxing. “Bella… I didn’t lie. I just… tried to protect your feelings. I didn’t want you to worry.”
I swallowed hard, anger bubbling under the surface. “Protect me? Liam, I can handle myself. I can deal with Noah. I can deal with Sydney. I just… I needed the truth. I needed you to be honest with me.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice, smooth and coaxing.
“Bella, you’re overreacting. Honestly, I didn’t even think you’d find out she was my ex.
I mean… she’s my friend now, and it’s not like I was trying to make you feel small.
You know I love spending time with you. Maybe you’re just sensitive about this kind of thing? ”
I felt heat rise to my face, a mix of frustration and disbelief. “Sensitive? Liam, I’m not sensitive. You knew exactly what that would do to me.”
He gave me that faint, infuriating smile, the one that made my stomach twist. “I think you’re reading too much into it. You wanted to meet my mom, and everything else is just the past. I was trying to make it smooth, not ruin anything for you.”
I stared at him, feeling my chest tighten with anger and betrayal. “Smooth? You call lying by omission and parading my ex who is dating your step sister in front of me smooth?”
He reached for my hand , his thumb brushing lightly over mine.
“Isabel, you’re upset, I get that. But trust me, you’re letting this hurt get bigger than it really is.
I didn’t do anything wrong. I just wanted to share my life with you, and I just…
wanted to make sure you were safe. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. ”
I pulled my hand away sharply, my heart pounding.
“Liam, I don’t need safety. I need honesty.
And right now, I feel like I’ve been treated like I’m too fragile to handle the truth.
You manipulated this entire night. You made me feel like I was crazy for even being hurt.
And I’m not. I’m done letting you make me question my feelings about this. ”
For the first time, Liam looked genuinely unsettled, and I realized I had finally made him see the weight of his silence.
“So, your mom told me some… interesting facts about you. When were you going to tell me you were moving to St. Augustine? That’s kind of a big deal, you know.”
Liam’s expression flickered, then softened in that infuriatingly calculated way.
“Bella… I was going to tell you, I swear. I wanted it to be special, not just dropped on you during a hectic weekend. I was planning to take you to the beach house this weekend, just the two of us. You know, somewhere quiet where it’s only us, so we could really… talk.”
He reached for my hand, curling my fingers around his, and kissed my wrist softly, lingering just long enough to make my stomach flip. “Please come with me. I want you there, with me. You’re the only person I want by my side.”
I hesitated, my chest tightening. The way he said it like I was the one missing out if I didn’t go made me almost forget the part where he hadn’t told me until his mom spilled the secret.
“I… okay. I’ll go,” I said softly, my voice barely above a whisper.
He smiled, that slow, confident smile that always made me feel like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. “Good. You’ll see… everything will feel right when you’re there. Trust me, Bella. You’ll thank me for this.”
And just like that, my anger wavered, replaced by that familiar pull he always had over me like I was already falling for him again, even when I knew I should be more cautious.