Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
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 to him with 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-five and 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.