Anya’s eyes finally lit up.
Not because of the mansion.
Not because of the people around.
But because Liam was walking toward her.
There was sothing about the way he moved through the hall that made everything else feel slightly distant. Controlled steps. Calm face. That sa unreadable focus that made it hard for anyone to guess what he was thinking.
She stood up almost imdiately.
Without even realizing how fast she moved.
Then she started walking toward him.
Liam noticed her approach and slowed slightly, stopping just enough for her to reach him.
He looked at her for a mont, then spoke in his usual calm tone.
"I’m sure you have questions."
Anya blinked.
Liam continued, not giving the room too much attention.
"I’ll give you answers later," he said simply. "But for now, stick with ."
There was no softness in the instruction.
No hesitation.
Just direction.
Anya nodded imdiately.
"Okay."
No argunt.
No doubt.
Just acceptance.
She stepped closer to him right away, almost instinctively.
So close that there was barely any space between them as they started walking together.
Liam didn’t react to the distance.
But he did notice sothing subtle.
Her perfu.
Soft.
Clean.
Strange contrast to everything else happening around them.
He glanced down at her briefly, then spoke.
"By the way...," he said casually, "what were you doing in that club?"
His tone wasn’t accusing.
Just curious.
Observing.
Anya went quiet for a second.
Her eyes lowered slightly as she walked beside him.
Then she let out a slow breath.
"I wasn’t there because I wanted to be," she said quietly.
Liam’s gaze shifted slightly toward her.
She continued, voice softer now.
"You saved from the deepest part of hell."
That made Liam pause for half a second.
Not physically.
But ntally.
His eyes flicked toward her properly now.
"Deepest part of hell?" he repeated.
There was a slight edge of confusion in his tone.
He didn’t understand what she ant.
Anya nodded slowly.
Then she started speaking.
"When I was little," she said, "I had a dical condition."
Her voice stayed steady, but there was sothing buried under it. Sothing heavy.
"I needed surgery."
She paused briefly.
"My father didn’t have money."
Liam listened without interrupting.
Anya kept her eyes forward now, not looking at anyone directly.
"So he went to them."
Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"To who."
Anya answered without hesitation.
"The Shadow Lounge."
That na made sothing shift in Liam’s expression.
Just slightly.
He repeated it under his breath.
"Shadow Lounge..."
Then he looked at her properly.
"So they’ve been around for a long ti," he said. "The shadow people."
Anya nodded imdiately.
"Yes."
"They go way, way back."
They kept walking.
The sound of their footsteps mixed with distant movent from the mansion around them, but their conversation felt isolated now, like it had its own space.
Anya continued.
"After my surgery," she said, "they started pressuring my father to pay the debt he owed."
Liam finished it for her almost instantly.
"But your father couldn’t pay it back."
Anya nodded again.
"At first, he tried," she said. "He really did. But it was too much."
Liam’s tone stayed calm, but sharper now.
"And they increased it."
Anya glanced at him briefly.
"Yes."
"They said he had to pay double."
Liam’s brows pulled together slightly.
"That’s illegal."
The words ca out flat.
Certain.
Like a fact.
Anya shook her head slowly.
"Except it wasn’t."
She stayed close to him as they walked, almost like being near him was the only thing keeping her steady.
"They gave him a contract," she said. "When I was still in the hospital."
Liam looked at her again.
Her voice dropped slightly.
"He was too distressed to read it properly... so he signed it anyway."
A brief silence followed that.
Even Liam didn’t speak imdiately.
Anya continued anyway.
"It stated that if he didn’t pay by the given ti," she said, "they would double it."
Liam exhaled slowly through his nose.
A controlled release.
Then he spoke.
"And if my guess is right," he said, "your father still didn’t finish paying."
Anya stopped walking.
Just for a second.
Her eyes dropped to the ground.
The hallway around them kept moving.
People passing.
Voices in the distance.
But she didn’t move with them.
When she spoke again, her voice was quieter.
"My father is dead."
That line didn’t co with emotion at first.
Just fact.
Then she continued.
"They killed him."
A pause.
"And made it look like suicide."
The air around her felt tighter now.
Like the words were heavier than she expected them to be.
"Since then," she said, "I’ve been pressured to pay the debt."
Her fingers curled slightly at her sides.
"All my life... I was never free."
Her voice broke just a little at the end, but she tried to hold it together.
Then she added softly,
"Until you gave the money to pay."
That was when it finally cracked.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quietly.
Her shoulders trembled slightly as she looked down, trying to hide it, trying to keep control.
But it was already slipping.
Liam didn’t say anything imdiately.
He just looked at her.
For once, not analyzing a situation.
Not planning.
Just looking.
Then he stepped closer.
And suddenly she felt it.
Warmth.
Real, solid warmth closing in around her.
Liam pulled her into his chest.
No hesitation.
No warning.
Anya froze for half a second as her body pressed against him.
Then the tension broke completely.
Her breath hitched.
And she started crying.
Quietly.
No loud sobbing.
Just silent shaking breaths as everything she had held in for years finally ca out.
Liam didn’t move away.
He wrapped one arm around her firmly, steadying her.
His other hand ca up and gently rubbed her back in slow, controlled motions.
His chin rested lightly on top of her head.
Grounding her.
Holding her in place.
Not letting her fall apart alone.
And for the first ti in a long ti...
Anya didn’t feel like she was carrying it by herself.
Liam looked down at Anya as she slowly lifted her head from his chest, her eyes still slightly wet but calr now, breathing uneven and soft as she tried to steady herself. For a mont neither of them moved. Just that quiet space between them where everything felt suspended like the world had slowed down just enough for her to feel safe inside it.
She looked up at his face properly now.
Really looked.
And that was when it hit her again how unreal he looked up close. Not in a loud obvious way but in a quiet almost unfair way that made it hard to focus on anything else. His eyes were steady on her, calm but sharp at the sa ti like he was always thinking five steps ahead even when he wasn’t trying. His expression didn’t carry softness easily but there was sothing there right now that made it feel different. Not distant. Just controlled.
Liam looked into her eyes at the sa ti and for a second neither of them spoke.
It wasn’t long.
Just enough to feel it.
Anya’s lips parted slightly as she tried to say sothing but nothing ca out. She didn’t even know what she wanted to say. She was too aware of how close they were standing. Too aware of his hand still resting lightly on her back. Too aware of his presence in a way that made her forget the noise of the mansion around them.
Up close she was really really gorgeous.
Not the kind of beauty that tried to get attention but the kind that just existed and made people notice whether they wanted to or not. Liam had seen a lot of won, a lot of faces, but there were only a few that actually stood out in his mind without effort and right now, she was one of them. The only one he could even compare her to was Lana and even that comparison wasn’t simple because they were different kinds of beauty entirely.
Her lips separated slightly as she breathed and for a second Liam’s attention dropped there without him fully realizing it. It was subtle but it happened. The distance between them had reduced again without either of them noticing. So close now that he could sll her breath mixed with her perfu, soft and warm and distracting in a way that didn’t match the situation at all.
He tried to look away but his focus didn’t move easily. It was rare for him to feel anything like that. Even rarer for it to catch him off guard like this. Sothing about the mont made it hard to break eye contact and even harder to step back first.
Anya moved slightly closer again without thinking, like her body was following sothing her mind hadn’t agreed to yet. The space between them vanished almost completely and for a brief second Liam thought she was going to kiss him. Not because she said anything but because the mont felt like it was leaning in that direction on its own.
But instead of his lips, her lips shifted slightly and pressed gently against his cheek.
Soft.
Brief.
Intentional.
Then she stayed there for a second just enough for him to feel it fully before pulling back slightly.
"Thank you," she whispered near his ear as she withdrew, her voice low and sincere.
Liam didn’t say anything imdiately. He just stayed still for a mont, then his hand moved lightly again on her back in a small reassuring motion before he finally let her go.
They separated slowly.
Not abruptly.
Just enough distance returning between them to bring everything back into focus.
Anya lifted her hand and quickly wiped her face again, clearing the last of her tears while trying to steady her breathing properly. She exhaled once, then twice, and forced herself to regain control. Her expression shifted back to sothing more composed even if her eyes were still a little soft.
Then she looked at him again, calr now.
"Where are we headed to?" she asked quietly.
Liam turned his head slightly and looked forward down the corridor.
"To et soone," he said simply.
User Comments
0 comments from readers