Second (Betrothed 6)

Just like when he cheated on me.

Maybe Liam wasn’t the person he used to be. Or maybe he’d always been this way…but I was too stupid to notice.

I went home and grabbed a bag to pack my things. My first impulse was to go to Damien’s place, but that was the last place I should go right now. I would just go back to the Tuscan Rose, where Liam wouldn’t follow me.

I shoved my clothes into the bag and left my ring on the vanity—exactly where I’d left it the first time I’d walked out on him. I was in the middle of the hallway when the front door opened.

Liam shut it behind himself, wearing his black sweatpants and a gray t-shirt. He was too big of an obstacle to get around, so I was stuck. He stood near the entry table and stared at me, as if daring me to try to get past him. His eyes moved to the bag in my hand. “I’m not letting you leave.”

“You’re gonna fight me to the death, then?” I snapped.

He walked closer to me, his heavy footfalls echoing against the hardwood floor. His blue eyes were on me, looking at me like an opponent in the ring. He was ready to fight, ready to do whatever he could to get me to stay. “I want to talk.” He stopped in front of me, giving me a few feet of space.

“I’m done talking to you, Liam. It doesn’t matter anyway, because you turn around and do whatever the fuck you want—”

“Listen.” He held up his hand to silence me. “I listened to what you said and had no intention of getting back in the ring. But one of the fighters got under my skin…and got the best of me.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, the strap of the bag hanging off my elbow. “Just the way that woman got under your skin?”

He inhaled a deep breath as the shame filled his eyes.

“The way that woman got the best of you?”

“It’s not the same thing, and you know it,” he said quietly, forcing himself to keep his voice down. “I’m not sneaking around with another woman—”

“This is worse.”

His expression fell.

“Because this could kill you, Liam. You hurt me so much when you cheated on me, but at least you weren’t in danger. You were going to put your life on the line without even telling me. What if you’d died? I would have had no warning. The last thing I would have known was you lied to me, broke my trust, and got killed for it. And I’m just supposed to live with that?”

The shame grew.

“I don’t trust you…”

His eyes dropped to the floor. “Baby, please—”

“Don’t ‘baby, please’ me.” I pushed my hand into his chest so I could get around him.

He wouldn’t budge. He stuck his hand against the wall so I couldn’t escape his mass. “I told you I’m not letting you leave.”

“Then I’ll call the cops.”

“They won’t do anything.”

“Then I’ll call Damien.” I quickly realized what I’d said and tried to cover it. “Hades…Sofia. You want me to do that?”

He kept his hand up. “I want to talk about this with you. Because I love you… you know how fucking much I love you.” His eyes burned into mine with sincerity, with passion. “I can’t explain myself in a way you’ll understand. But I’m a man. And when a man talks shit to me, I can’t just look the other way and let it go. Maybe that makes me a stupid brute, but that’s who I am. I didn’t go there with any premeditation. It just happened…and I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.” He stared into my eyes and hoped to see forgiveness.

“Liam, I made my position very clear—”

“I know.” He bowed his head. “It won’t happen again. I promise.”

“You promised last time…”

“Well, I’m making you a new promise now…not to let my anger get the best of me.”

It surprised me how easily he could wear me down. “What was your plan? To win that fight and never tell me about it?”

He shrugged. “I honestly didn’t think that far. But yeah, I guess. I wasn’t going to start doing it regularly. It was just that one time. I wasn’t sneaking around behind your back with this huge lie.”

“Still not right, Liam. It doesn’t matter if it’s one fight or a hundred…”

“I know.” He slowly lowered his hand, letting me pass if I wanted to. “I’m sorry, and it won’t happen again.”

I wanted to believe him, and I felt stupid for actually starting to.

He watched me with intense focus. “Baby, please…”

I sighed and bowed my head.

He reached for the strap on my elbow and slowly pulled it free, taking the bag away from me and dropping it on the floor behind him. When he got what he wanted, he moved closer into me and cupped my face, making me lift my gaze to meet his. “Don’t leave me. I know you aren’t in love with me again yet, but I’m so in love with you…and I can’t lose you. I know I should be building our trust, making you feel safe with me, and I keep fucking it up left and right.” He rested his head against mine and closed his eyes. “Please.”