Chapter 143: A Chance To Heal
For a second, silence hung between them. Then Liam blinked, before bursting into laughter, sharp and mocking. "Married? With me?" He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head like she’d just told the best joke of the year. "Sweetheart, I don’t do contracts that last longer than a night. You think I’m going to put a ring on your finger just to play savior for Daisy?"
Her face paled, but she stayed rooted, clutching her cup tighter.
Liam’s laughter died down, leaving behind a smirk that was colder, heavier. He leaned across the table, close enough for her to catch the dangerous edge in his voice. "No, Aurora. Marriage is off the table. Do you want my help?" His eyes flicked down, then back up with a deliberate slowness that made her pulse stutter. "You know exactly what I want."
Heat rushed to her face, not from embarrassment, but from the suffocating corner he’d pinned her into.
"You are a jerk," she whispered, glaring at him. "Daisy’s falling apart, and all you can think about is—"
"That was what you promised me," Liam cut in smoothly, his smirk curving like a blade. He leaned back, stretching lazily as if her words meant nothing. "Don’t play dumb, Aurora. You made the deal. I kept my end. Now it’s time you pay the price. Next time, maybe don’t bargain with a jerk if you can’t handle the cost."
Her stomach twisted. The deal. The one she’d struck in desperation, clinging to the faint hope that maybe he’d forget, maybe he was only bluffing, maybe deep down he wasn’t as heartless as he acted. But here he was, calm and relentless, ready to collect.
Aurora’s nails tried to dig hers into the cup but it was impossible. "You are being serious, are you?"
Liam leaned forward, the glimmer in his eyes cutting through her defenses like glass. "I love joking but not with something I deeply have interest in."
Her throat tightened, but she forced the words out anyway. "This is about Daisy, not me—"
"Wrong," he interrupted softly, with a cruel little smile. "It’s always been about you."
Aurora froze, her pulse thundering in her ears. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, just sat there staring at him.
Liam pushed back his chair, standing with deliberate ease. "Then I guess we’re done here." He reached into his pocket, fishing for his keys, already turning toward the door.
"Wait..." The word tore out of her before she could stop it. Her throat bobbed, dry, and she forced herself to meet his eyes. "I..." She swallowed hard. "Just... wait."
Liam paused, glancing back over his shoulder. The corner of his mouth curled into a slow, dangerous smile, like a predator sensing victory. He leaned just close enough for his voice to graze her skin.
"If you agree," he murmured, savoring every syllable, "tonight. Hotel Bellagio. Room 1107." His smirk deepened, eyes glinting as he added, "And after that... I’ll drag Theo out of his damn cave, even if I have to break the door down myself."
Aurora’s fingers tightened around her cup, the porcelain threatening to crack under her grip. Her chest rose and fell unevenly, but she didn’t speak.
Liam didn’t need her answer because he already sensed his victory. He saw it written all over her face.
With a satisfied smirk, he slipped his hands into his pockets and walked away, leaving the weight of his demand hanging in the air like smoke.
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Aurora stepped inside the room and looked at Daisy, who was lying on the bed. She didn’t sleep. The moment their eyes met, Daisy gave her a small, weak smile.
"Where have you been?" Daisy slowly dragged herself to sit up, her movements sluggish. "You said you didn’t want to open the shop today..." Her voice was low, fragile.
"Hm... meeting someone," Aurora answered lightly, forcing a calm tone as she walked straight to the dressing table and set down her handbag. She caught Daisy’s reflection in the mirror, pale and thinner than she remembered just days ago.
"Have you eaten? Mom said you couldn’t eat again... why? Do you feel nauseous?"
Daisy shook her head faintly, her fingers knotting the blanket in her lap. "It’s not nausea... I just..." Her voice trailed, breaking. "Every time I try, it feels like the food won’t go down. My chest feels tight."
Aurora’s hand stilled on the zipper of her bag. She turned, studying her best friend’s hollow eyes, the way her shoulders curved inward like she was shrinking into herself. Guilt gnawed at Aurora’s insides.
She crossed the room and sat beside Daisy, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Hey... you’re scaring me, you know that? You need to eat. You need to rest. Or do you want to go to the clinic... maybe a doctor could help?"
Daisy shook her head quickly, almost panicked. "No doctors... I don’t want to go." Her voice cracked as she gripped Aurora’s wrist weakly. "They’ll just tell me things I don’t want to hear. Things I already know."
Aurora’s throat tightened, her chest aching at the desperation in her sister’s eyes. "Daisy..." She wanted to press, to insist, but she bit it back. Forcing her sister into a corner wouldn’t help.
Instead, she squeezed Daisy’s hand gently. "Then tell me what you need. Anything. I’ll do it."
Daisy lowered her gaze, her lashes damp. "Hmm... nothing." She stared at her hands for a while, her fingers twisting together. Then, her voice dropped even softer. "Weird, isn’t it? I couldn’t sleep well these past months... but that day, when I met him again, I slept. I didn’t have any nightmares, and for the first time, it felt... peaceful."
"Are you sure you don’t want to forgive him? I heard he had been locking himself inside his room for a week now, since the day both of you met..."
Daisy’s lips parted, then pressed shut again. Her eyes shimmered as though the thought itself was too heavy to hold. "Forgive him..." she whispered, almost tasting the word. "Aurora, you know it’s not that simple. What he did... what we lost... I can’t just pretend it never happened."
Aurora’s throat tightened. She reached for Daisy’s hand again, rubbing her thumb gently across her knuckles. "I know. I’m not saying you should forget. But maybe... maybe forgiveness doesn’t mean pretending. Maybe it just means letting yourself breathe again."
Daisy closed her eyes, a single tear slipping down her cheek. "When I saw him, it hurt. But at the same time, I felt... safe. Like the nightmares couldn’t reach me as long as he was there."
"Doesn’t that mean he is your safe place?" Aurora rubbed her hand gently.
Daisy opened her eyes slowly, her lashes wet, and looked at Aurora with a mix of confusion and longing. "Safe place..." she repeated, the words trembling on her lips as if they belonged to someone else, not her. "I don’t know if I deserve that anymore. Or if he deserves to be called that after everything."
Aurora’s chest tightened. She wanted to argue, to tell Daisy that everyone deserves at least one place to rest, but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, she just held Daisy’s hand tighter, forcing a shaky smile.
"Maybe it’s not about who deserves what," she whispered. "Maybe it’s just about what your heart wants." Her gaze softened as she locked eyes with Daisy. "I know I didn’t experience what you’ve gone through, but... I know both of you were just victims of someone else’s greed. So... if you think being with him gives you peace, even a little... don’t push it away."
Daisy’s lips trembled, her breath catching as though Aurora had ripped open a truth she’d been too afraid to face. Her eyes glistened, torn between fear and yearning.
Aurora brushed her thumb over Daisy’s knuckles gently. "You don’t have to decide now. But don’t deny yourself the chance to heal... even if it’s through him."