CHAPTER 269: DINNER WITH LIAM

Zara grinned. It seemed like Liam was her lucky charm. He had come and resolved all her issues in a snap of fingers.

She had been thinking about what to do with the unmoved finished products. But now, she has a way out. "I have some finished products. If you think they are fit to your client’s demands, you can take them."

"That’s fantastic. I don’t need to check them. I have full faith in you and your work. I am taking them – all of them."

Zara blinked, puzzled, her mouth agape. "Are you sure?"

"Two hundred percent. I’ll send my staff to collect the dresses." He stood up to leave. "Uh, are you free tonight?" he asked suddenly, turning back to her.

"Huh?" Zara was still thinking about what to answer when he invited her for dinner.

"How about you have dinner with me? We can sign the partnership deal and talk about the business."

Zara had planned to go find Nathaniel and demand an explanation. But turning Liam down didn’t seem good. After all, he was helping her when she needed him the most. Besides, she wasn’t sure whether Nathaniel would be ready to talk to her. But Liam would listen to her. Maybe she could discuss the issues with him clearly. He deserved to know what kind of woman Riya was.

Zara smiled. "Yes, let’s meet at dinner."

Liam’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction. "I’ll come pick you up."

With that, he left.

Zara had a wide grin on her face; the weight of worry and fear of losing the company lifted from her chest. "This man is something. He simply stormed in and solved all my problems. I am not dreaming, am I?"

Bree entered. "Oh, my God, Zara...I still can’t believe Shay Walsh came here. I was shaking all the time at my desk – so eager to know what he said to you."

Zara’s face lit up with joy. "He wants to work with us."

"What?" Bree’s voice shot up.

Zara nodded frantically. "And he is taking our finished products – all of them."

"Are you kidding me?" Bree could hardly believe it.

"Yes, he is sending his staff."

Bree still struggled to make sense of what she had learned. She couldn’t stop wondering why Shay would be so generous to Zara.

"Let’s go and check the dresses," Zara added, rising from her chair.

Just as she approached the door, Bree reached out and held her arm. "Have you paused to consider why he is helping you so much?" she asked skeptically. "He is Shay Walsh, a well-known designer. People lined up to work with him. Why would he choose you?"

Zara had not really considered it. Now that Bree had pointed it out, she couldn’t help but wonder why Liam was so good to her. Was it because of Nathaniel?

"I think he likes you," Bree said, her smile returning. "Have you noticed it? He has been kind to you since the beginning. Remember, he came just to congratulate you at that event. And now, when everyone refused to work with us, he appeared as our savior. I’m telling you – he has feelings for you."

"No, no...you are thinking too much. He is kind to me because..."

"Maybe he has been following you for a long time," Bree said before Zara could finish her sentence. "Maybe from school."

Zara rolled her eyes. "Don’t run your mind in all directions. We still have work to do." She strode away.

"I’m serious," Bree insisted, tailing her. "He might have feelings for you since school. But you were into Nathaniel, never looked at another man. You might not have noticed him back then."

Zara didn’t listen to her. Instead, she started checking the dresses.

Bree clapped, basking in her own imagination. "He is handsome and kind – far better than Nathaniel. Now that you are finally getting a divorce, you should consider Shay."

Zara shrugged, sighing deeply. No matter how much her relationship with Nathaniel was messed up, she could never truly let go of him. She couldn’t think about another man, except Nathaniel.

"I am not interested in him," she said. "He is just a friend, nothing else. So please, don’t think otherwise."

"But why can’t you give him a chance?" Bree pressed. "You are still young and beautiful. You can’t waste your life on Nathaniel."

At the mention of Nathaniel, Zara’s expression changed. She longed to see him, talk to him, and demand an explanation. But she was stuck here with her own issues. She shrugged, her expression solemn.

"Let’s finish this. They will be here soon."

"Fine." Bree didn’t press further, sensing Zara wasn’t interested in this conversation.

~~~~~~~~~

Later that day...

Zara and Liam arrived at the restaurant. In the wine-red off-shoulder gown, Zara looked dashing. Liam couldn’t take his eyes off her. His face lit up as he grinned from ear to ear, pulling a chair.

"Thank you," she said, sitting down.

He took his seat across from her. "You look gorgeous." He couldn’t help but compliment her. "This dress suits you."

Zara felt a bit awkward under his lingering gaze, but she couldn’t stop praising him either. "All thanks to you. This dress is beautiful. I’m honored I can wear one of your designed dresses."

Liam smiled. He had designed that dress keeping Zara in his mind and had been thinking when he could see her wear it. Finally, that day had come.

He had imagined a lot about this day. He had planned to confess to her, tell her that he had been in love with her for a long time. But his throat tightened, and he couldn’t express his feelings.

What he had with her was beautiful. He was afraid she would never talk to him again if he told her about his feelings for her. He didn’t want to lose her. If that meant to hide his love for her forever, he would do it. He would remain by her side as a trusted friend whom she could rely on.

"Ahem, uh..." He was nervous. "Let’s order first..." He raised a hand and called a waiter.

When the waiter came, Liam placed the order. What he didn’t notice was Riya watching them from the corner. Her mouth twisted in rage. She held the fork so tightly that it seemed like she would break it.

"Shameless bitch," she muttered. "Let me see how you can enjoy this meal."

She took her phone and called Nathaniel. "Hey, Nathaniel. Are you free?"

"No, I’m not," Nathaniel muttered coldly. "Put the damn phone down."

"Don’t talk to me in that tone. You know your mother’s life is in my hands," she reminded him. "Come and have dinner with me. Maybe I can think about bringing the antidote from Zachary."

Nathaniel knew it was only her trick to spend time with him. He didn’t have much hope that Riya would help him. But the time was slipping away, and there was still no update from Ian. If he could make Riya bring the antidote, all the problems would be resolved.

"Fine, I’m coming."

The line went dead.

A menacing smile appeared on her lips. "It’s going to be fun now. Let me see how you will handle this."

Unaware of her presence, Liam and Zara were busy in their conversation.

"This is the contract," Liam pushed a file toward her. "Take your time to review it. If you feel the need to change something, you can reach out to me."

"I’ll check and let you know."

"Cool. One more thing..." He remembered something else. "About Nicole – she terminated the contract with you suddenly. Did you talk to her and ask the reason?"

"She is not picking up my phone," she replied. "But I know the reason."

"And what is it?"

"It’s Nathaniel. He told her to cancel the contract with me and hire Riya as the new face of her brand." She smiled bitterly. "Turned out Nathaniel could do anything to please Riya – even destroy my career."

Liam fell silent, his expression troubled. His tightly clenched fists displayed his anger. But he maintained his composure. "Have you checked the terms of the contract properly? Is there any clause that states about compensation if either party terminates the contract before the time?"

Zara nodded slowly. "Yes, the contract mentioned the compensation. I wanted to discuss it with her. But she is avoiding my calls. I thought of talking to a lawyer."

"My lawyer will help you with this," he said. "She can’t ignore you forever. She has to pay the compensation price."

Zara was moved that he was helping her so much, but she felt uneasy, Bree’s words echoing in her mind. "You are helping me so much. Aren’t you afraid your action may anger both Nathaniel and Riya? Maybe Nathaniel won’t like his brother-in-law helping his ex-wife. And Riya – she will be furious."

Liam was eager to tell her that he didn’t like Riya and that he would end things with her soon. But Zara spoke before him.

"You helped me already. I can’t take any more help from you. Let me handle this matter on my own."

"I do what I want," he said firmly. "I don’t allow others to dictate to me. My relationship with Nathaniel or Riya can’t force me to do things that I don’t want to do. So don’t think of them. I’m helping you because I want to."

"Is that so?" A sharp voice drew their attention. They both looked up to see Riya and Nathaniel.

"You didn’t help me when I was struggling in my career," Riya continued sharply. "You turned cold to me. But for her, you are doing everything you could. Why, Liam? Why are you so generous to her?"