“About any of it,” he says. “I can’t imagine you’d be this upset if he’d told you, so I’m guessing he didn’t.”
I take a sip of my drink. “Well, I’m all ears.”
“I know it doesn’t feel like it because his anger overrides everything else, but he loves you so fucking much,” he says. “He spent three years looking for you and didn’t stop until he found you. He fucking gave up hockey to work for our dad.For you.”
Surely, I didn’t hear him correctly. My heart is pounding so hard, I’m sure he hears it. “I thought he gave it up for the money, since he wasn’t getting paid what he’d been promised.”
“Dad owns a billion-dollar security company with programs that can help us find anyone in the world.” He shoots me a pointed look. “Lach wasn’t just going to ask Dad for help, for obvious reasons. But when Dad went tohimwith an offer, he took it. Up until that point, he’d tried everything to find you and failed at every turn. The only reason he quit hockey was because he knew it was the only way he’d find you.”
He watches me process this. When I don’t speak, he adds, “Marriage is a clause in his contract. Since he’s the oldest and has to be ‘the more responsible one,’ he has to be twenty-fiveand married. It’s total archaic bullshit, but that’s the way it is. He can’t get his inheritance without it.”
Holy shit.I think I say that aloud, but I can’t hear anything through the loud ringing in my ears. I’d been trying to piece everything together, but I just. . .I didn’t consider. . .oh my God. Why wouldn’t he just tell me this? He had to know that I’d agree to help him in a heartbeat if he had. I see it now. The reason he’s dead-set on going back to Fairview isn’t just revenge. It’s to get rid of anything that stands in the way of us being together, and since he knows that’s the only thing holding me back, he’s. . .Holy. Fucking. Shit. He gave up hockey for me. For me. My chest hurts so damn much right now, I don’t even know how I’m managing to breathe. I know how difficult it was for me to give up soccer, and I didn’t even do it at a pro level. He’s too damn good to give it up. He can’t. I don’t even bother hiding my tears. I try to swipe them away as they come, but they won’t stop.
“He can’t do that. He can’t give up hockey for me,” I whisper.
“Lyla.” Liam sets down his glass and gives me a sympathetic smile. “My brother would give up his inheritance, hockey, kidneys, and testicles if it meant he’d have you. I wish that was hyperbole, but it’s the truth.”
I bite my lip hard. That’s why he’s been so angry with me. Because he gave up his dream and when he found me, he thought I was living mine. Oh my God. I press my hand to the ache in my stomach.Why would he do this?Somehow, I manage to set my glass down. Each time I go over it, I feel worse. He gave up the thing he’s loved since he was a kid. For me. To find me. He made amends with his absent father to find me. My heart is somewhere in the pit of my stomach. Soon, I’ll have a crevice in its place. I wipe my face again.
“I hate you so much right now,” I whisper, looking at the floor.
“I know and I’m sorry. You needed to know, though. The man you love is still in there,” Liam says. “I know he is.”
I nod, swallowing past the knot in my throat. “Where’s the bathroom?”
He points me in that direction, and I practically sprint to it. The bathroom is as lavish as the rest of the estate. There’s a fancy-looking chaise which is ridiculous, and mirrors everywhere. I look at my reflection. This is all my fault. If I’d told Lachlan everything back then, maybe he could have gone to the police with me, and they would have believed him. Even as I think it, I know it’s bullshit. Even if all of us had made it to the police, it wouldn’t have mattered. Fairview takes care of its own, and that extends to the police department, the courts, the freaking university.Fuck.
If I thought I was upset before, it has nothing on what I am now. This fucker ruined my life, fine, but to ruin Lachlan’s? I don’t accept it. God, I’m so angry at myself. If I’d let Marissa and Prescott fill me in on his life, I would have figured it out much sooner and maybe, I could have even helped him get out of that mess. For him, I would have lawyered up and gone back to Fairview. For him, I would have let them mock me and call me all sorts of names. He should have told me. As soon as he saw me that night when I signed that contract, he should have told me. I know why he kept it from me. Even if he hadn’t been angry and tried to guilt me into this, he knew there’s no way in hell I’d let him give that up for me. He has to know that, right? There’s a knock on the door when I’m trying to fix my makeup, but I can’t seem to stop the damn tears.
“I’m almost done,” I say, dabbing my face again.
I look at myself again and take deep breaths. I can do this.I need to do this.I toss the hand towel in the bin that says “used” and open the door with my polite smile. I’m ready to excuse myself when I see a very pissed-off Lachlan Duke standing at the door. He studies me as he steps closer, and I’m forced to take a step back.
“Did something happen?” I ask.
“What did he say?” he asks, his voice low and menacing.
“Wh-what? Who?” I take another step back, trying to process what he’s asking, but I can’t think straight when he looks at me like this. My eyes widen when he shuts the door behind him. “Lach.”
“What. Did. He. Say. To. You?” he seethes, holding me so I don’t fall, as he marches me backwards until I hit the mirrored wall.
He has to be asking about Liam, but how would he have seen us? We were in completely different rooms. We were the only ones in that damn little gallery. He couldn’t have seen me crying, but he must have, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him this upset. His breathing is uneven as he sets his hands on the mirror and cages me in. My heart skips as I look at him. I slip my hands under his jacket and slide them over his dress shirt, pressing them to his chest, one over his wildly beating heart.
“Lach,” I whisper, keeping a hand there as I reach up and brush his hair away from his forehead with the other. His eyes soften for the tiniest moment, so I ask, “Are you talking about Liam?”
“He upset you.” His jaw clenches harder, if possible. “He made you cry. What the fuck did he say?”
I stare at him for a moment, thinking about this entire, fucked up situation, and maybe it’s because my emotions are all over the freaking place, but I start to full-out laugh.
“You’rethispissed off becauseyour brothersaid something to upset me?” I search his eyes, still laughing. “Even though you’ve been trying to hurt me from the moment you found me?”
“Lyla.” He groans loudly, pressing his forehead against mine. “I apologized for that. You know I’m sorry.” He pulls away and looks at me again. This time his voice is calm when he asks, “What did he say?”
“He told me whatyoushould have told me the second you saw me,” I say. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“He had no right to tell you that.” His eyes narrow. “I’m going to fucking ki—”
I grab and pull the lapels of his jacket, pressing my lips to his before he finishes the sentence. He’s so shocked that it takes him a second to react. When he does, he snaps, grabbing my hair in a fist and pulling me against him like he wants to somehow mold our bodies together. He makes a sound in the back of his throat when I lick the seam of his lips, and wrap my arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. His hips surge forward. I moan and bite his lip at the feel of him on my stomach. I need more. I think I say that, or maybe he reads my thoughts.
