Page 60 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO
“They’re good,” I say, lowering the camera. “I got a lot of great ones. All I have to do now is edit them.”
The silence between us stretches, broken only by the waves.
“Did you see the tree at the waterfall?” He asks suddenly.
I blink at him, caught off guard. I glance at him, trying to read his expression, but it gives nothing away. “Yeah. I saw it.”
More silence. The waves fill the space, but the tension between us simmers, heavy and unspoken.
“Can I ask you something?” I finally say, turning to look at him. “Why do you believe I hurt you? Is it because I left? Because leaving was the best decision I could have made for myself back then.”
His jaw tightens, and for a second, I think he is going to walk away. But then he looks at me, his eyes dark and unreadable. “That is not it. It is one of the reasons, but not the main one.”
“Then what?” My voice rises, and I do not even try to hide the frustration bubbling up inside me. “What’s the main reason?”
He exhales sharply, his expression hardening. “You hurt me by cheating, Hazel. I gave you everything I had to give, and you threw it away for someone else.”
My chest tightens, disbelief washing over me like a wave. “Cheating?” I shake my head, my voice trembling. “You thoughtI cheated? Wow…, you really believed what you wanted to, didn’t you? I never cheated.”
“You don’t have to lie about it,” he says coldly, his tone cutting me like a knife. “It is in the past. Denying it now just makes you look pathetic.”
I take a shaky breath, fighting back the tears threatening to spill. Anger surges through me, hot and fierce. “If telling the truth makes me pathetic, then fine. So be it. But I did not cheat, Liam. I never did.”
He opens his mouth like he is about to say something, but then he stops. Shakes his head. Turns and walks away, leaving me standing there, fists clenched at my sides.
I watch him go, frustration and disbelief swirling inside me. I remember hearing him say something like this five years ago, and it was absurd then, just as it is now.
Standing there, with the ocean lapping at my feet, I make a silent vow. I am going to prove I didn’t cheat. Not for him, not for anyone else. For me. For my peace of mind.
Chapter sixteen
Liam
The house is quiet, but my mind is anything but. I drop my keys on the counter and slump onto the couch, the day playing over and over in my head. Especially our last conversation and her denial…
"Cheating? You thought I cheated? Wow. You really believed what you wanted, huh? I never cheated, Liam."
She had looked at me like I had slapped her. That expression is burned into my mind now. My fists clench as I relive the moment. The way her voice cracked, the fire in her eyes as she stood her ground, looking me dead in the eyes as she said that.
But then, it is possible to lie while looking someone dead in the eyes, right?
And yet, for a split second, some small part of me - some stupid, traitorous part - wanted to believe her. God help me, I wanted to. For a second, I wanted to believe that this felt like the Hazel I knew, that the one who made me believe in forever was standing there again, telling me the truth.
But how could I? There was lots of evidence to back it up, and then she hit the nail in the coffin when she left.
I sit up, running a hand through my hair, and let out a heavy sigh. This is why I did not want her back in my life. Hazel McKee has always been chaos, a storm I could not resist.
I lean my elbows on my knees, staring at the floor, and my mind drifts to the first time I saw her.
***Flashback (16 years old) ***
It was a summer afternoon, the sun shined overhead, and the waves crashed lazily against the shore. Logan was mid-rant about his favorite hockey player, his voice rising above the chatter of the beachgoers around us.
“I’m telling you, Gretsky’s got nothing on Orr,” he said, throwing a handful of sand at me.
“Yeah, okay, and pigs can fly,” I shot back, shielding my face.
“You just don’t get it.” Logan huffed. “I am just saying, there is no way Gretsky isn’t the GOAT on the ice. Have you seen him skate, dodge, and pass? And the way he scores…, it is epic.”
