Page 2 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO
I hug my arms around myself, shivering. I need to tell Liam what they said. He deserves to know.
But more than anything, I need him to tell me that none of it is true. That we are stronger than this and that their words don’t matter. I need him to hug me, to kiss me, to tell me we are okay.
With a deep breath, I step off the curb and start walking. The rain has slowed to a drizzle, but the night still feels heavy, like the world itself is pressing down on me. Each step feels harder than the last, my wet sneakers squelching against the pavement.
By the time I reach The Rustic Roost, I am drenched and shivering so hard it’s hard to think straight. The neon signflickers above the door, casting a sickly green glow onto the wet pavement. I hesitate, staring at the light spilling out from the windows.
What if he doesn’t believe me?The thought grips me like a vice, but I shake it off.He will. He has to! Inside, I can hear laughter and the faint clink of glasses.
I push open the door, my breath catching as warmth, noise, and music playing softly in the background envelops me. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but then I see him. Liam.
He is at a table near the back with his friends - Matt, Logan, and Ethan. His head is on the table, a drink in his hand, while the others talk around him. Empty glasses are scattered everywhere, which is already quite odd. I take a shaky step forward, my heart pounding in my chest.
Liam,” I whisper under my breath.
I am just about to call out to him when he lifts his head. His voice cuts through the noise, sharp and bitter.
“I hate her.”
I freeze.
Logan frowns, leaning closer. “Come on, man, don’t say that. Talk to her before jumping to conclusions.”
Liam shakes his head, his words slurring slightly. “No. I hate her. I love her, but I hate her more. Right now, I hate her so much I can’t even think straight.”
Who is he talking about? My heart sinks, a horrible suspicion creeping in.
Then he says my name.
“Hazel.” He spits the word as if it burns. “Hazel, I hate you.”
The air leaves my lungs; my hand flies to my mouth as a sharp gasp escapes. I step back, hiding in the shadow of a nearby booth, my heart pounding so loud that I am sure they’ll hear it.
Logan sighs, his voice cautious. “Have you even talked to her? Maybe you are wrong about this.”
“Wrong?” Liam laughs bitterly. “What’s the point of talking to a cheater and a gold digger?”
The room tilts. My hand grips the edge of a chair for support, my legs threatening to give out.
Cheater? Gold digger? What is he talking about?
Matt frowns. “You really think she’d do that to you?”
“I know she did,” Liam snaps. “I have proof. Pictures of her with that jerk Orlando. And that is not even the only guy - there’s Colin. And some other guy I don’t even know! She was hugging him like…, like he was everything to her. How dare she? How dare she play me like this?”
His words slice through me, sharp and unforgiving. I want to scream that it is not true, that I do not know what he’s talking about. But my voice is gone.
“No way,” Ethan says quietly, but he doesn’t sound convinced. “That girl loves you more than she loves herself. We know that. Hell, the whole town knows it.”
Logan reaches for his drink, but Liam yanks it away. “And you know what broke the camel’s back? She is taking money from my mother to leave me. Money, Matt. My mother paid her off, and she took it.”
No. No.
My knees buckle again, and I grab the edge of the booth to steady myself. The cheque. The piece of paper that now weighs a ton in my pocket. His mother had shoved it into my hand, her eyes cold and calculating. “Take it and leave him,” she had vehemently stated.
I cannot believe they took pictures of that. Well, now, I am quickly realizing that anything is possible with them.
A sob escapes me before I can stop it. Ethan looks up, his eyes locking onto mine. His face pales, and his mouth opens like he is about to say something, but I shake my head quickly, silently begging him not to.
