Page 84 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO
“Lillian, you were the one who told me Hazel was cheating on me. Did you see it happen with your own eyes?”
Lillian stammers. “Well, no, but…”
“Talk straight!” I shout. “Answer the damn question!”
“No,” she admits quietly.
“Then who told you?” I demand.
“Carmen,” she says hesitantly.
Cara snorts. “Carmen? Your best friend Carmen? The same Carmen who has been in love with Liam for ages?”
Lillian’s face flushes red. “Yeah, so? Carmen’s better for him than Hazel ever was.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Wow! Let me ask you something else. Did you Photoshop the pictures of Hazel? The ones of her with those other guys?”
Lillian freezes, glancing at Linda.
“What are you talking about? Pictures do not lie,” Linda says weakly.
“Oh, don’t they?” I take a step closer. “You see, before coming here, I had those pictures analyzed. And guess what? They are fake.”
Their eyes widen.
“Shocked I still have them?” I ask, my tone is icy. “I kept them to confront Hazel back then. Funny how life works, isn’t it? So, I want to know who did it.”
Dad steps in, his voice calm but laced with anger. “Linda, answer him. Did any of you photoshop the pictures?”
Linda does not respond immediately, but under the weight of everyone’s gaze, she crumbles. “Yes,” she whispered, “I did.”
My chest tightens. The weight of their betrayal crashes over me. My knees feel weak. “Why?” I demand, my voice breaking. “Why did you all do this? What did she ever do to you? What did I ever do to deserve this from my own family?”
Mum steps forward, her voice softening. “Liam, we did it for you. We did not want you wasting your life on someone who was not good enough for you.”
I shake my head, backing away like their words are poison. “No, on the contrary, I was not good enough for her. And you just… You did not do it for me. You did it for yourselves. You cost me the woman I loved. You tore us apart for no reason, and you lied to my face for years.”
“You are my family. You are supposed to support me, to be happy for me. Instead, you destroyed the one thing that mattered most to me. You ruined my life.”
Dad glares at my mother and sisters, disgust etched into his features.
“You have done enough damage. I cannot even look at you right now.”
I turn to leave, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.
“Liam, wait,” Mum pleads, reaching out to me.
I stop at the door, my back to them. “Do not contact me. I do not want anything to do with you. Not Mum, not Linda, not Lillian.”
Without another word, I walk out, slamming the door behind me.
Chapter twenty-five
Liam
Istand outside Hazel’s door, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it might crack my ribs. My knuckles hover over the wood before I finally knock. One sharp rap. Two. The door swings open, and there she is - her auburn hair tied up, an oversized sweatshirt hanging loosely over her frame. She looks at me, eyes narrowing.
“You again?” She groans, crossing her arms. “What is it this time?”
