Chapter 2 Liam

• Paetyn’s POV
• My heart rate hasn’t slowed down since the incident in the parking lot. Even as I drive further away, leaving the man standing under the streetlamp in my rearview, my heart continues to pound painfully against my rib cage, pulsating in my ears.
• Who was that man? And why did it feel as though his eyes were piercing through my soul from behind that mask?
• The car rolls to a stop in the driveway, and for the first time in twenty minutes, I exhale sharply. My lungs burn from holding onto a breath I hadn’t managed to release, and I gasp for fresh air to fill my lungs. I close my eyes and drop my hands from the steering wheel. Images of the masked man flash in my mind, sending a cold shiver racing across my skin and down my spine.
• Forget about it, Pae, I tell myself. Dwelling on the details of the incident isn’t going to change the fact that it happened. All I can do is be thankful that the man didn’t get close to me and that I’m home safe.
• Now that my breathing has calmed down slightly, I grab my handbag and get out of the car. The night air is crisp against the exposed skin of my cheeks. However, I’m grateful for the chill because they were on fire the moment I got in the car and sped away.
• As I approach the front door, the flickering lights from within the window indicate Liam is home. It’s odd because I’m usually home before him considering he spends a lot of late nights in the office as of late.
• When I enter the house, I make sure to lock the door behind me as quickly as I can. The thought of that man somehow tracking me down and coming up from behind me only to snatch me away before I can alert Liam is not something I want to risk.
• “Liam, I’m home,” I call out, my voice echoing across the foyer.
• “In here,” he responds from the living room to my right. “I’m just watching TV.”
• I kick off my shoes beside Liam’s haphazardly discarded leather loafers and walk over to the doorway to the living room. The house Liam bought before we got together has too many rooms for me to count, let alone clean in one day. When he invited me over after our first date, I was shocked to learn the house had three living areas, six bedrooms, and eight bathrooms. The kitchen was larger than the apartment I was living in at the time, and it even had a media room with recliners, a bar, and a popcorn and candy station. It was as if I had just walked into a movie theater and not a room in a normal house.
• The home is beautiful, to say the least. It’s far beyond anything I ever saw myself living in, especially in a city like New York. But it’s far too big for two people. A house of this size would make sense for a large family, but Liam and I are nowhere near having kids right now. He does, however, enjoy showing off such an extravagant house to his friends and campaign sponsors whenever they’re invited over for dinner. Liam loves being the center of attention, and I must admit, he does shine under the spotlight. He was born for it.
• Liam is sitting on the leather couch with his arm lying across the back of it and his ankle resting on his knee. When he notices my presence by the doorway, his gray eyes pull away from whatever is playing on the television to meet mine. He smiles, although it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It wouldn’t be the first time.
• “You’re home early,” I comment as I walk across the room toward him. When I reach him, I bend down to plant a kiss on his chaste lips. The stale scent of women’s perfume clings to the collar of his shirt. It’s faint but noticeable. It’s a scent I have grown used to smelling whenever my fiance returns home most evenings.
• I’ve had my suspicions about what Liam might be up to while he’s supposed to be at work. No matter how many times I ask him about the perfume, he reassures me that it’s nothing. His explanation is the scent likely transfers to his clothing from the women he works with at the office. While it could have some truth to it, I’m skeptical.
• I don’t want to believe my fiance—who proposed to me six months ago—is cheating on me, but I’m also not blind to the evidence staring me directly in the face. A couple of weeks ago, a woman whose name I didn’t know found me on social media. She messaged me with details of a night she spent with Liam. It was a weekend he had been “out of town” for work. While the message came as a shock, I already knew deep in my heart that Liam was hiding something from me.
• But despite all the evidence stacked against him, I can’t find it in myself to confront him about what I was told. Why? Well, part of me is afraid of his reaction. Liam has a bit of a temper, which I’ve seen many times since we’ve been dating. It’s not something I want to be on the receiving end of, and I know that if I were to accuse him of cheating on me, he wouldn’t be able to hold back his temper.
• But that’s not the only reason. Keeping my mouth shut is my only option, especially if I want to keep the continued financial support he offers for my mother’s medical bills. My paychecks as a fairly new psychologist aren’t terrible, but it’s certainly not enough to support such extensive bills since my mother has no insurance. Liam comes from a wealthy family who has more money than they know what to do with. His father is an established politician, and his mother is the CEO of Aster Pharmaceutical. Not only do they provide their son with an abundance of money and a recognizable name to help him win elections, but they would do anything for him. And I mean anything.
• If I want to continue living a comfortable life, it’s in my best interest to keep my mouth shut and pick my battles. I need to think about my mother to ensure she gets the best possible care for her condition. Without Liam in my life, it would be rather hard to give her that comfort.
• “I managed to get away early,” he says, watching me as I take a step back. The skin between his brows creases as his eyes roam over my face. It’s almost as if he’s searching for something. Can he see the fear from earlier lingering on my features? “Is everything okay, Pae?”
• Not wanting him to learn that I’m still shaken up over what happened earlier and the scent of the perfume on his collar makes me nauseous, I force a smile. “I’m fine. Just tired from work is all.”
• Liam nods slowly and runs a hand through his dirty blond hair. “You work hard, Pae. Pour yourself a glass of wine and relax a little, okay?”
• “Yeah, okay.” I throw my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the kitchen. “I’m going to cook pasta for dinner. Do you want a glass of wine while you wait?”
• He grins and leans forward to wrap his hand around the back of my thigh. His fingers skim the curve of my ass before he grabs a handful of the skin and squeezes hard. “You know me so well, darling.”
• ***