Chapter b58 /b

Before I can dwell on it, Florence is there, waiting at the dock, arms crossed, lips pressed into a thin line. Took you long enough,” she says, her sharp gaze flicking to the paparazzi still lingering behind us. You okay?

I nod, even though I’m not sure if I am. My heart is still pounding, my skin too warm where Liam’s holding me.

Liam doesn’t let go. “We need to board. Now.”

Florence sighs. “They’ve already started letting people on. Zane and his guests boarded first. She hands us our passes, eyes narrowing slightly. “Try not to kill each other before we leave port, yeah?”

Liam doesn’t bother responding. He just grabs the tickets and pulls me toward the gangway like we’re running out of time.ollius./li/ol

The sight of Florence makes my stomach twist. It reminds me of Tessa. And that reminds me of the silence between

We haven’t spoken since I told her about Zane’s visit.

Not for myck of trying. No, this silence was her choice. A deliberate effort to stay out of the house when she knew

I’d be there. On days I stayed in, she made sure to be anywhere but home.

She was furious. Furious that I let Zane in. That I let him humiliate me, hurt me.

And maybe the worst part–the part that sits, heavy and unspoken in my chest–is that my first instinct was to lie to her about it. To act like I was fine. Like it hadn’t happened at all.

I only told her the truth when I realised I couldn’t keep it in anymore.

But by then, it was toote.

The cruise ship is massive–less like a boat, more like a floating pce. It’s so polished and grand that, for the first

time, I wonder how much Zane and Ba spent to make it theirs for thirty days.

I expect to feel nervous, to panic now that I’m so close to seeing him again. But all I feel is disgust.

I remember the way his nails dragged against my skin. The way he shoved me so hard I hit the floor, how the knife

nearby sliced my palm.

My skin heats with anger.

The way he spoke to me like I was nothing. Like I didn’t deserve to stand beside Liam.

Like I wasn’t good enough for him so I couldn’t possibly be good enough for anyone else.

But here I am. And Liam is the one holding my hand, steady and sure.

Fake or not, I’m the one at his side. The one who’s here with him.

Zane can fume all he wants. But his obsession with Liam got him nowhere, and at the end of the cruiseb, /bbit’s /bBa who’s going to be waiting for him at the altar, not the hockey yer he adores so much.

b1/3 /b

The thought makes me smile.

We step onto the deck. A waiter in a white uniform offers us champagne. I shake my head, Liam fakes 4 ss bust doesn’t drink, his eyes take a sweep around, scanning through the crowd.

The hostility in his eyes bleeds some of the tension out of my shoulders and I hold onto his hand tighter. He finally looks at me, there’s a soft look in his eyes. Still okay?

“As okay as I can be.”

“Good enough.”

We really arete.

There are about thirty guests on board already–some celebrities, a few guys from Zane’s team, and familiar faces from

our past.

Over half of them know about Zane and me.

Maybe they even know exactly how little he thinks of me.

Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.

Our arrival doesn’t go unnoticed. A few guests make their way over to greet Liam, and by extension, me. I do my best to be polite, but my mind is elsewhere.

Liam must sense it because he effortlessly takes over the conversations, shing that signature smile of his.

“It’s really great to see you, Calloway,” says Stone, a yer for the Chicago Blizzards and one of Zane’s closest friends. He grins ear–to–ear at Liam, barely sparing me a nceb. /b

I try not to let the tant rudeness get to me.

“I’m a huge fan,” Stone adds.

Liam doesn’t return the smile. Instead, he narrows his eyes slightly, clicking his tongue. “Of course you are.”

Stone’s grin falters for half a second before he masks it, but not before throwing me a quick re.

I almostugh. What did I do?

“You’ve probably already seen Zane and Ba?” Stone continues, trying to recover. “Zane’s gonna be bso /bstarstruck

when he sees-”

“Of course he will be,” Liam smoothly cuts him off. He lets go of my hand, sliding his arm around my waist instead, pulling me in close. Then, loud enough for Stone to hear, he leans in and murmurs, “Should we go greet the future newlyweds, love?”

I tilt my head, pretending to think about itb, /bbiting back a smile at the dumbstruck look on Stone’s face. “Do we have

to?”

Liam chuckles, the sound low and warm. “If you don’t want to? Of course not.”

b2/3 /b

Upst Then, withus hesitation, passato ng stud

Text finds my desks.

a

iI /ican feel Stor’s

wing lot w, bet I don’t o

All I can focus on is the way Liam hodds

iBike /iI’m the only person shut muttar,

It’s fake, Emilia,

iFake /i

Fake.

Fake.

Somehow, it feels more like I’m trying to convince myself that it’s the truth.

Cam’s words ring in my head over and over: “Pro tip: he’s great as pretending Absolutely top–tier boyfriend material He’ll even text you good bmorning /blike he means it!

I barely have time to worry about it when bin /bmy peripheral vision, someone familiar catches my eye.

So familiar I barely have to look to know.

It’s the groom.

I ster a fake bsmile /bbon /bbmy /bface.

bChapter /bComments