Page 2 of Unwanted

"Well, here we are. Welcome home."

Liam got out, looking around shyly.

"Come on, let’s take a quick tour." I gestured for him to follow.

He glanced up at the house. The lot was about 30 feet wide and close to 80 feet long, with the house itself measuring 13 feet wide by 32 feet long. Inside, a cozy living room opened into a kitchen along one wall, while a bathroom sat across the passage, near my bedroom at the far end of the building, which was overlooking the garden. A staircase along the wall led up to the loft, and beneath it, a built-in wardrobe with pull-out drawers kept things tidy. The loft had two sections: one above my bedroom with a beautiful skylight, and another small room on the other side of the house with a side window. A metal walkway connected the two, with the stairs leading down to the main floor. Between the loft sections was an open area, which created a sense of space in the living room below, making the high ceilings and open layout feel even more expansive.

So, even though it was still relatively small, my ‘tiny house’ had three separate rooms and a decent-sized living area connected to the kitchen.

Everything was thoughtfully arranged, and as Liam and I walked inside, I could see the surprise in his eyes. "I didn’t know you could make such a small space feel so well-organized."

"Well, I’ve been alone for years, so I’ve had plenty of time to focus on designing and fine-tuning the place," I replied.

Liam nodded slowly.

"Shall we check out the terrace? The yard isn’t big, but I’ve made the most of it," I suggested.

We stepped outside, and again, I saw surprise in Liam’s eyes when he noticed the jacuzzi built partially into the deck, framed by wooden panels.

"Do you use it often?"

"It depends—mostly on weekends, when it’s sunny."

Liam looked around, his gaze drifting over the ornamental grass clusters and the tall panel fence. "It's really well put together—very meticulously executed."

"Thanks. With a lot of free time, you can build yourself a little dream house."

We headed back inside, and Liam glanced up toward the loft. He seemed unsure, biting his lip. Meanwhile, I went to the fridge and took out the pumpkin soup I’d made for lunch.

"Care to join me for some soup?"

He nodded slowly and sat down at the long table in the living room. I was glad he agreed. The way he looked was worrisome; he was emaciated, very pale, with sunken cheeks. He definitely needed some sustenance.

"No microwave?" he asked.

"I’m not a fan of how food tastes when heated in the microwave. Maybe it’s just me, but I prefer the induction hob."

Liam stared at his hands for a moment while I reheated the soup. He looked broody.

"Is something on your mind? If you have questions, feel free to ask. I want you to feel fully comfortable here."

Liam shrugged and glanced out toward the terrace, sighing deeply. "It doesn’t really matter. I don’t even know why I came here. We’re strangers. You don’t know me. After two days, you might decide you don’t want me around. I’d rather not get too comfortable with this."

This was something that needed to be addressed. "Liam, I know this is an unusual situation. I invited you on impulse, but I still think it was the right call. However, I completely understand if you have doubts, if you don’t feel safe here, or if you’re afraid—"

"No!" he cut me off, his voice unexpectedly sharp. He looked at me with a strange bitterness. "That’s not it. I’m not afraid of you. I wanted to die, remember?"

How could I forget? The image of him standing on that cliff was burned into my mind. It shook me and made me rethink my own decisions, even my plans for the future, and appreciate the life I had even more.

Liam sighed in resignation. "The truth is, I don’t care what happens to me. That’s probably why I came here. You could kill me, rape me, torture me—I wouldn’t care. I hate my life anyway."

Unnerved, I took a deep breath. His face, as he said those awful words, was painfully indifferent, as if the idea of me doing something so horrible didn’t scare him at all. But it was shocking to me.

"Liam! I would never do anything like that! You’re absolutely safe here. I just thought you might feel better being with someone—maybe even someone who’s a stranger, someone who can look at your situation with fresh eyes and not judge you or your choices. Instead of being stuck at home alone with your thoughts, going in circles. But as I said, you’re not a prisoner here. If you want to leave, I won’t stop you. However, I really encourage you to seek help from a therapist. Problems likethis don’t just disappear overnight; they can lead to long-term depression, dangerous behaviors like substance abuse, or even risky sexual behavior." I almost recited this, recalling the list of high-risk concerns for those at risk of suicidal ideation I once read.

Liam laughed bitterly, his face twisting with irony. "I almost did that, you know? I thought about going to a club, letting a few alphas have their way with me, beat me, rape me, and then calling Soren from the hospital. Maybe then he’d show me a little compassion—maybe guilt would make him give me another chance. Yeah, I know how crazy that sounds, but that’s where my head’s been. I didn’t care about anything… I lost the will to live."

A feeling of sadness overwhelmed me, and I took a step toward him, though I didn’t want to touch him. On that cliff, it had seemed appropriate, but here, in the confined space of my home, it felt too intimate. So I sat down next to him, leaving only a narrow space between the two chairs. "Liam, hearing your words shocks me. You must’ve been in such a dark place to have those thoughts. It hurts me to think anyone could feel so broken that he’d want to harm himself—"

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