As Liam stepped out of his house, the first person he saw was Lana.
She was walking toward him, her long, dark brown wavy hair flowing effortlessly behind her, her piercing green eyes locked onto his with a softness that almost made him forget everything that had happened last night.
For a brief mont, Liam found himself smiling at her, but then the mories of last night ca crashing back into his mind.
The smile on his face faded instantly.
Lana, however, didn’t seem to notice.
She walked up to him with a slight smile and said, "Thank you for yesterday."
Liam blinked.
That was it? Just thank you?
No apology? No ’sorry for almost getting you killed’?
What the hell?
His arms folded across his chest as his expression darkened slightly. He wasn’t expecting her to beg for forgiveness, but damn—he almost died in her house last night, and all he got was a simple ’thank you’?
Lana imdiately noticed the shift in his mood.
Her green eyes searched his face, confusion flickering across her delicate features.
"What’s wrong?" she asked, her voice genuinely concerned.
Liam exhaled sharply, shaking his head before looking at her with a deadpan expression.
"What do you think happened when I went to your house yesterday?" he asked, his voice low and asured.
Lana hesitated, unsure of where he was going with this.
Liam didn’t give her a chance to answer.
"You think your mother threw a nice welco party?" he continued, his tone laced with sarcasm.
"No."
Lana’s fingers twitched slightly, an uneasy feeling settling in her chest.
She scratched her head awkwardly, trying to piece things together.
"I—I don’t know what happened," she admitted hesitantly. "All I know is that my father was sleeping soundly when I got back, which is... rare."
Liam’s jaw clenched.
"What happened?" Lana finally asked, her voice shaky, as if she was trying to avoid the truth.
Liam let out a humorless chuckle.
"What happened is that I almost died."
Lana’s eyes widened.
"Your crazy mom almost killed ," he said bluntly, refusing to sugarcoat anything.
Lana’s shoulders slumped powerlessly, as if she wasn’t too surprised to hear that.
Of course, she knew her mother was unstable, but... hearing it out loud like this, from soone else’s perspective, only made her feel worse.
Her throat tightened as her eyes grew misty, and before she could stop it, a single tear slipped down her cheek.
She quickly wiped it away, but Liam had already seen it.
He sighed.
Damn it. He wasn’t trying to make her cry.
She was already dealing with too much, caught between two toxic parents, trying to hold herself together while keeping up the illusion that she was fine.
Liam knew that wasn’t easy.
His expression softened slightly as he turned and walked toward the bench on his porch.
Without saying anything, he sat down and then patted the empty space beside him, gesturing for Lana to join him.
Lana hesitated at first, but then she stepped forward and gracefully sat down beside him.
As she did, her perfu drifted to his nose, a soft, sweet, yet slightly seductive fragrance that made him nod in silent approval.
Good stuff.
Liam leaned back against the bench, gazing at the sky for a mont before speaking.
"Lana," he said, glancing at her.
She turned to face him, her green eyes still slightly glassy from earlier.
"You make a lot of money from your modeling career, right?" he asked.
Lana blinked, unsure where he was going with this.
"Yeah, I do," she admitted.
Liam sighed and shook his head.
"Then why don’t you just move out?" he asked, his voice laced with frustration. "Why are you still living with them? You could easily afford your own place. You wouldn’t have to deal with all this bullshit. You could focus on your career, maybe even start a happy life away from all this drama."
Lana’s lips pressed into a thin line.
If only it were that simple.
If only she could just pack her bags and leave.
But... it wasn’t that easy.
She shook her head, her expression unreadable.
"Sadly... it’s not that simple, Liam."
And just like that, the conversation stalled.
Liam could see it in her eyes—she wanted to escape, but sothing was holding her back.
He wasn’t sure what it was, but one thing was clear...
Lana was trapped.
Lana took a deep breath, her fingers tightening into small fists on her lap as she prepared to speak.
"I had a sister once," she finally said, her voice quiet, almost as if she was afraid to say it out loud.
Liam’s eyebrows lifted slightly, taken aback by the unexpected revelation.
A sister?
She had never ntioned that before.
Lana stared straight ahead, her green eyes distant, lost in mories as she continued.
"When we were little, she and I were inseparable."
A small, sad smile played on her lips.
"She was my best friend."
Liam remained silent, letting her talk. He could tell this wasn’t sothing she spoke about often—if at all.
"And my father..." Lana’s voice softened, a trace of nostalgia slipping in. "Back then, he was the best dad in the world. He would play with us, tell us stories, take us on little adventures. He loved us. Really, really loved us."
Her expression darkened slightly.
"But my mom..."
Lana let out a humorless chuckle as she shook her head.
"She was never really there."
Liam watched as she absentmindedly traced patterns on her knee, her thoughts pulling her deeper into the past.
"She was always traveling—always had sowhere else to be, always had another excuse to leave. She used her fighting career as a reason to stay away from us."
Liam frowned.
The woman clearly had no fear, no hesitation, and after what happened last night, Liam wouldn’t be surprised if she had so serious combat experience.
Lana took another breath before continuing.
"But my dad..." She let out a small, bitter laugh. "He never once complained. Not even once."
Liam folded his arms, thinking about it.
It actually made sense.
If Lana’s mom was the one paying for most of the family’s expenses, then... there wasn’t really anything stopping her from doing whatever the hell she wanted.
She had the power, the money, the freedom.
And her dad? He was just stuck.
"Damn," Liam muttered under his breath.
Lana gave a small nod.
"Yeah."
But then, as she prepared to continue, sothing shifted in her expression.
Her breath hitched slightly, and her hands trembled.
This next part... this was the hardest part to talk about.
Liam noticed it imdiately.
Without even thinking, he reached over and gently grabbed her hand, giving it a small, reassuring squeeze.
Lana’s eyes widened slightly, surprised by the sudden warmth.
But then, as Liam’s thumb lightly brushed over her skin, she felt sothing she hadn’t felt in years.
Comfort.
The lump in her throat loosened just enough for her to speak again.
"There was this one weekend," she began, her voice shaky, fragile.
Liam held onto her hand, silently letting her know that she could take her ti.
Lana swallowed hard before continuing.
"My mom ca ho out of nowhere. She showed up completely unannounced and said she wanted to co with us on our weekend trip."
Liam’s eyebrows furrowed.
That sounded... weird.
From what Lana just said, her mother never cared about family trips or spending ti with them.
So why the sudden interest?
"My dad told her no," Lana continued, her lips pressing into a thin line. "He rejected her."
Liam nodded slightly. That was expected.
But then, Lana let out a tired sigh.
"But my mom being my mom..." she shook her head, "she refused to listen. She was adamant. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. And eventually... she joined us on the trip."
Liam could already feel that this story wasn’t going to end well.
Lana’s grip on his hand tightened slightly, as if bracing herself for what she was about to say next.
"The trip was supposed to be fun," she whispered. "But then... everything changed."
She paused, inhaling deeply.
"That night, at the hotel, I realized my mom was missing."
Liam stiffened.
"And so was my little sister."
A cold chill ran down his spine.
"I asked my dad where they were," Lana continued, her voice growing weaker. "And he told to go look for them. So I did."
Liam didn’t say a word.
He just... listened.
"When I found my mom..."
Lana swallowed, her throat aching.
"She was drinking."
Liam clenched his jaw.
He had a bad feeling about this.
Lana blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from forming.
"She was drunk. And... in her mont of drunkenness... my little sister did sothing to make her angry."
Liam’s fingers curled slightly around hers.
"She said horrible things to her. Words that no mother should ever say to her child."
Lana took a shaky breath, her entire body trembling.
"And my sister... she ran."
Liam’s heart sank.
"I chased after her," Lana whispered. "I ran as fast as I could. I kept calling her na, but she wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t listen to ."
Her lips quivered.
"And then... she turned around."
Liam’s breathing slowed.
Lana’s voice was barely audible now.
"She told to stay back."
A single tear slipped down her cheek.
"She was standing by the road."
Liam’s chest tightened.
Lana’s body shook.
"And then... a car hit her."
Liam’s eyes widened.
Lana sniffled.
"It didn’t stop. It didn’t even slow down."
Her voice broke.
"And just like that... she was gone."
Liam’s mouth was slightly open, but no words ca out.
He didn’t know what to say.
He didn’t even know if there was anything to say.
Lana had lost her sister.
And on top of all the shit she had to deal with from her parents...
She had to live with that.
The silence between them stretched.
Lana’s head was slightly lowered, her hair covering her face, but Liam could see the way her shoulders trembled.
Without thinking, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
Lana didn’t resist.
For the first ti in a long ti... she just let herself be held.
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