CHAPTER 13
Jul 10, 2025
LIAM’S POV
“Jesus Christ, Liam!” he shouted, and I could hear the commotion from inside the house as people started gathering at the windows to watch our fight. “Are you insane?”
“Stay away from her,” I warned, my voice shaking with barely controlled violence. “I’m serious, Nate. End this charade before you hurt her.”
“Or what?” Nate challenged, wiping blood from his mouth. “You’ll hit me again? News flash, brother – you don’t get to control my life.”
“This isn’t about control,” I said desperately. “It’s about—”
The back door slammed open, and Kate appeared, her face pale with shock and anger. “What the hell is going on out here? People inside are saying you two are fighting over—” She stopped when she saw the blood on Nate’s lip, her eyes going wide. “Oh my God, Liam, did you hit him?”
“Kate, it’s fine,” Nate said quickly, but she was already moving toward him, her face full of concern.
“It’s not fine,” she said firmly, then turned to glare at me. “What is wrong with you? Why would you hit your own brother?”
“Ask him,” I said bitterly. “Ask him why he’s really dating you.”
Kate’s eyes flicked between us, confusion and hurt warring in her expression. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing,” Nate said quickly. “He’s drunk and saying things he doesn’t mean.”
“Am I?” I challenged. “Tell her, Nate. Tell her about Viktor Melnyk and the training weekend. Tell her about all the research you’ve been doing on her father’s methods.”
I watched Kate’s face go pale as the implications of my words sank in. The hurt in her eyes was like a knife to my chest, but I couldn’t stop myself from continuing.
“Tell her how you’ve been using your relationship with her to get access to her father’s expertise,” I pressed. “Tell her the truth about why you asked her out in the first place.”
“Liam, stop,” Nate said, his voice pleading now.
But it was too late. Kate was staring at Nate with dawning horror, pieces clicking into place in her mind.
“Is it true?” she whispered.
The silence stretched between us, heavy and damning. Finally, Nate looked away, unable to meet her eyes.
“Kate,” he said quietly, “it’s not what you think.”
“Isn’t it?” she asked, her voice breaking slightly. “God, I’m such an idiot.”
She turned and ran back into the house, pushing past the crowd of gawkers who had gathered to watch our drama unfold. I started to follow her, but Nate grabbed my arm.
“Let her go,” he said, his voice hollow. “You’ve done enough damage for one night.”
“I’ve done enough?” I shook off his grip, fury reigniting in my chest. “I’m not the one who’s been lying to her for weeks.”
“Neither am I,” Nate said, but his words lacked conviction.
I stared at him for a long moment, then pushed past him into the house. I had to find Kate, had to explain… what? That I’d exposed her fake relationship because I couldn’t stand watching her with my brother? That I’d been eaten alive with jealousy since the moment she’d walked into my life?
I found her by the front door, grabbing her coat with shaking hands. Tears were streaming down her face, and the sight of them made something crack inside my chest.
“Kate,” I said softly.
She looked up at me with such pain in her eyes that I almost took a step back. “Don’t,” she said. “Just… don’t.”
“Let me drive you home,” I said. “You’re upset, and you’ve been drinking—”
“I’m fine,” she said, but her voice was shaking.
“No, you’re not.” I reached for her arm gently. “Come on. Let me take you back to campus.”
For a moment, I thought she was going to refuse. Then her shoulders sagged in defeat, and she nodded.
We drove in silence, the tension in the car thick enough to cut with a knife. I kept glancing over at her, noting the way she was staring out the passenger window with tears still sliding down her cheeks.
When we reached the campus parking lot, I turned off the engine and sat in the darkness, trying to find the right words.
“Kate,” I said finally. “I’m sorry. About tonight, about the way I handled things.”
She turned to look at me, and I could see the hurt and confusion in her dark eyes. “Why do you care so much?” she asked quietly. “Why does it matter to you what Nate and I do?”
The question hung in the air between us, loaded with implications I wasn’t ready to face. But looking at her tear-stained face, seeing the pain I’d caused, I couldn’t hide behind my anger anymore.
“Because,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Because I—”
Before I could finish the thought, before I could second-guess myself, I was reaching for her, pulling her toward me across the center console. She didn’t resist, didn’t pull away, just looked at me with wide, confused eyes as I framed her face with my hands.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” I whispered against her lips, and then I was kissing her, pouring all of my frustration and longing and desperation into the contact between us.
