Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Izzy’s hands trembled as she slipped the last sheet back into the folder and closed it. The weight of it settled in her lap, but the real weight sat somewhere deeper–lodged in her chest.
She sat there for what felt like hours, unmoving, staring at the now–quiet study. The lamp cast a soft glow over the desk, the floor, her bare feet–but none of it registered.
She didn’t remember standing. Didn’t remember leaving the room. Only that, at some point, she was back in the bedroom, the folder still clutched in her arms like it might vanish if she let go.
She stared at Liam as he lay sound asleep, his breathing steady, the blanket pulled halfway over his chest. Peaceful. Unaware.
She didn’t say a word. Instead, she took a seat on the single armchair near the bed and stared at him, the folder resting against her knees.
She didn’t want to assume the worst. Didn’t want to believe Liam could hide something like this.
But what she’d read… it changed everything.
Her eyes dropped to the file again. Inside were reports–details not just about her grandfather’s death, but also her parents. The crash that had always been labeled an accident. The one she had learned to grieve without question.
Only now… it didn’t look like an accident at all.
In the past, she had asked Lawyer Alcaraz to look deeper into her parents‘ deaths, but the investigation yielded nothing new. She had suspicions, but these are useless in front of facts. It was ruled a car accident just outside of Florence. End of story.
But Liam’s files said otherwise. They included private investigator reports that pointed to possible tampering with the car’s brake system.
Even her grandfather’s death had been accepted as a sudden cardiac arrest.
There had never been any indication that it could be something more–until now.
But why was Liam hiding this information from her? What else was he hiding behind the scenes?
It made her wonder… and think of the worse.
Izzy woke with a dull throb behind her eyes. It took her a second to register where she was. Her fingers brushed against the sheets, soft and cool. She frowned. She didn’t remember getting into bed.
She sat up slowly, pushing the covers off her legs. She had fallen asleep on the armchair–she was sure of it. But now she was in bed.
Her eyes swept the room. The folder–Liam’s folder–was no longer in her lap. It sat neatly on the bedside table. Closed. Undisturbed. Liam, however, was nowhere in sight.
She threw on a robe, tied it quickly, and grabbed her phone from the nightstand. Without thinking, she dialed his number and rushed out of the bedroom.
The line rang once, then twice.
She was halfway down the hall when she heard the familiar ringtone echoing faintly–from the kitchen.
She let out a breath, ended the call, and turned toward the sound. She didn’t know why, but she honestly thought that he left
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Chapter 190
when he saw her holding the folder. What was she thinking? Liam isn’t that childish!
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She found Liam standing by the counter, pouring coffee. Plates of breakfast were already on the table–toast, eggs, roasted tomatoes, and a small bowl of hangover soup.
He turned toward her as she entered. “You’re up. Coffee or tea?”
Izzy paused at the threshold. She hadn’t expected that. She thought he’d be anxious. She thought he’d bring it up first. But instead, he was asking about drinks like it was just another day,
She stepped in slowly. “You moved me?”
“You looked uncomfortable,” Liam replied, setting her cup down on the counter. “Didn’t want you waking up with a sore neck.”
Izzy’s eyes landed briefly on the coffee, then drifted back to him. “You saw the folder.”
“I did.”
“And then made breakfast?”
“You needed sleep. I figured food would help.”
She didn’t respond right away. The casual rhythm of it–the normalcy–only made her more uneasy.
“Eat,” he said as he casually took a bite of the toast before him.
Izzy stood still for another moment before pulling the chair back and sitting across from him. She picked up the spoon and took a bite of the tomatoes. It was still warm. Her stomach welcomed it, and suddenly she realized just how hungry she was.
He was right. She needed it.
She didn’t speak. Neither did he.
For a few minutes, the only sounds in the kitchen were the soft clink of utensils and the low hum of the refrigerator. She reached for the toast and took a bite, chewing slowly, her eyes focused on the plate instead of him.
“Thanks for the soup,” Liam said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
The words pulled her straight back to the night before. The moment she found him nearly slumped against Mondo. The way he’d barely made it to bed. The weight of his body. His silence. And of course, the kiss in front of everyone. The public declaration- his declaration.
Izzy placed her spoon down gently. “Was it because of your father?”
Liam didn’t answer right away. His hand stilled over the rim of his coffee cup. He looked at her.
Not just looked–he stared. And she felt it. Felt him searching her face like he already knew the thoughts circling in her head.
Izzy didn’t look away. But her hands curled slightly under the table. The air felt heavier now, as if something was finally being acknowledged but neither of them wanted to be the first to say it out loud. But what was she supposed to say?
She hated Liam’s father and how he still had this power over Liam.
“It was,” he answered after what felt like forever. “We had some… very needed conversation.”
“Was it still because he didn’t know that you married me?” she asked.
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Chapter 190
“Partly.”
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“You should have just informed him.” She couldn’t help but wonder if he did it to punish his own father, or perhaps because he thought the marriage wouldn’t last. Or was it because he wanted to protect her from his father? Who needed enemies if they have a father like Olivier Horvath?
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“He doesn’t deserve it,” Liam answered as he at his coffee, but didn’t reach for it again.
Seeing this, Izzy slowly extended her hand across the table and placed it over his. Her fingers rested lightly against his knuckles.
He turned his gaze toward her.
“I would appreciate it,” she said. “If you’d let me know what you’re sheltering me from. Or who.”
Liam didn’t speak. His hand didn’t move. But his eyes stayed
on hers.
For the first time since she walked into the kitchen, the silence between them changed. It wasn’t uncertain. It wasn’t casual.
It was heavy.
He looked at their hands. Then back at her.
“You’re not angry,” Liam suddenly muttered.
“Angry?” She blinked, as if the word had just reached her. Maybe she should have been. After all, betrayal was the logical response. Fury, even. But the truth was–she’d felt too much to feel just one thing. Too much shock. Too much weight.
Anger would’ve been simple.
She had once believed that goodness on the surface meant goodness at the core. That a kind smile or a gentle hand reflected a kind soul. That mistake had cost her.
Never again.
She wasn’t the same girl who took things at face value. Not anymore. This time, she’d tear through every lie, every carefully crafted truth, until she uncovered what was real. No more blind trust. No more assumptions.
She was no longer the girl who assumed in silence–she was the woman who asked, challenged, and demanded answers like someone who finally knew her worth. She smiled. “Just… confused,” she added. “And I needed answers.”
AD
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