Liam Thorne and I once had a brief, whirlwind romance. We met when I was studying abroad, and I thought he was just another ordinary international student. He was handsome, with a great body, and on a whim, I decided to pursue him. After six months of a shameless, passionate affair, I discovered he was from a wealthy, powerful family. Not only that, he was notoriously commitment-phobic, a well-known bachelor in his social circle. So, I hid the truth about my pregnancy and broke up with him. After making me confirm my decision three times, he lowered his eyes and nodded. “Fine. From now on, we’re strangers.” But we couldn’t stay strangers. Four years later, we met again. He was the celebrated heir to the Thorne fortune. And I… was his cousin’s fiancée. 1 I met Liam Thorne while I was studying in Melbourne. He was on a trip to the Great Ocean Road with his friends, and I was just sitting on the beach, bored out of my mind, when I saw him. My eyes were instantly glued to him. Liam was ridiculously good-looking. The line of his jaw was clean and sharp, and the curve of his long eyelashes was utterly captivating. The sea breeze lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing a glimpse of his waistline that was so tantalizing I couldn’t look away. This, I thought, must be love at first sight. On a sudden impulse, I jogged up to him and blocked his path. “Interested in making a new friend?” Liam turned, a slight arch to his eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “What for?” he asked. There’s a certain boldness that comes with being a stranger in a strange land. I answered him directly. “To see if we can become something more.” His friends started catcalling and whistling. A faint blush crept up Liam’s neck, and he cleared his throat. He hesitated for a moment when I held out my phone with my contact QR code, but then he scanned it. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s start with getting to know each other.” 2 Liam was not an easy guy to win over. After adding me as a contact, he completely ghosted me. Even when I came up with the most cringe-worthy excuses to message him, all I got in return was a “read” receipt. It slowly dawned on me that he wasn’t interested. He had only added me that day to save me from public embarrassment. So, I gave up. The next time I saw him was at a university mixer. He was standing off to the side, looking cool and aloof in a crisp white shirt. I spotted him right away, but since we weren't really friends, I didn't go over to say hi. Throughout the entire event, I trailed after my senior, a guy from my department. But I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me. The feeling intensified when my senior accidentally spilled a drink on my dress and started frantically trying to wipe it off. That’s when I found the source of the stare. It was Liam. His lips were pressed into a thin line, his eyes fixed on me, his expression unreadable but definitely not pleased. On my way to the restroom, a hand shot out and pulled me into an alcove. Liam leaned in, his narrow, intense eyes boring into mine. “Didn’t you say you wanted to be more than friends?” he asked, his voice low and laced with an unmistakable annoyance. “Why are you acting like you don’t know me today?” Even angry, his face was unfairly beautiful. The way his Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke was… distracting. I tilted my head, looking at him with genuine curiosity. “Liam, are you jealous?” He froze for a second, a flicker of something in his eyes. He didn't deny it. I couldn’t help but laugh. “But you need a reason to be jealous. On what grounds are you feeling jealous right now?” The color drained from his face. He stared at me, his grip on my wrist tightening. I stood on my tiptoes, our noses almost touching, and whispered, “Alright, I’ll give you one more chance. Liam, are you interested in being my boyfriend?” “I’ll give you three seconds to think about it.” “Three… two…” I didn't even get to "one." Staring at his lips, so close to mine, I gave in to another impulse and kissed him. It was supposed to be a light peck, but I don't know which one of us lost control first. Suddenly, his arms were around me, pressing me against the wall, his hand cradling the back of my head as our lips and tongues tangled in a fierce, desperate dance. His answer was a muffled sound against my mouth, lost in our ragged breaths. "Serena," he murmured. "Let's be together." 3 My feelings for Liam were, I think, purely physical. Every time I saw him, I had an irresistible urge to get closer, to touch him, to want more. But Liam was different. He was all self-control and restraint. Even when we traveled together, he would book two separate rooms. If it weren't for the way he responded when we kissed, I might have thought he had a problem. The day we finally crossed that line was his birthday. I had booked a suite with an ocean view. We were cuddled up on the couch, watching a movie. Halfway through, I slipped off my cardigan, revealing the bunny costume I was wearing underneath. I took his hand and placed it on the fluffy, round tail. I felt his breath catch in his throat. But he didn't pull away. He just watched me, his eyes dark. Emboldened, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and nibbled on his Adam's apple. Then, I lifted his shirt and traced the lines of his abs with my fingers. His body was even better than I had imagined. A well-defined chest, hard abs, and those lean, muscular lines that drove me crazy. But his self-control was insane. Even then, with his chest heaving and his skin burning hot, he didn't move. I looked up at him, the bunny ears on my headband flopping. "If you're not into this, I'll just go." I bit his lower abdomen playfully, then slowly stood up and walked toward the door. Just as my hand touched the doorknob, he finally broke. In two long strides, he was behind me, his strong arms wrapping around me, his teeth grazing my shoulder. "Serena," he whispered, his voice hoarse, "you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? Teasing me, then threatening to leave. How can you be so cruel?" That night, Liam finally shed his mask of restraint, and we were tangled together until dawn. We were together like that for six months. We traveled to the pink lakes of Western Australia, Hyde Park in Sydney, and Bruny Island in Tasmania, our bodies trembling in each other's arms in hotel rooms across the country. I thought he was perfect. But when I happily posted a photo of us on my social media, a single comment made my world come to a screeching halt. "Damn, Serena, you're good. You actually managed to snag Liam Thorne, the heir to the Thorne fortune." 4 Being a student abroad can temporarily mask the vast differences in social class. Sure, Liam wore expensive watches and designer clothes, but I just thought he was from a well-off family. I never imagined his family wasn't just rich, but powerful. The kind of dynasty I'd only read about in novels. And as if that wasn't enough, he was famously anti-marriage. The day I found this out, I was holding a pregnancy test. It showed two lines. About a month earlier, things had gotten a little too heated, and a condom had broken. I took the morning-after pill right away, but somehow, I still ended up pregnant. I didn't know if the rumors about him were true, so that night, I decided to test the waters. "Liam," I said, "I passed a bridal shop today. The dress in the window was beautiful. Speaking of wedding dresses, when do you think you'll get married?" He clearly didn't like the topic. His brow furrowed. "I don't plan on getting married." "What about kids? You don't want kids either?" His frown deepened. "No." Logically, I should have dropped it right there. But I couldn't. I had to try one more time. "What if someone got pregnant with your child? What would you do?" After a brief hesitation, he told me, "I wouldn't let anyone get pregnant with my child. And if it happened, they'd get an abortion." He clearly wanted to change the subject. He pulled me into his arms, his lips brushing against mine, his eyes darkening with a familiar desire. I knew the signs. We were always in sync in bed, but this time, as he lifted me into his arms, I stopped him. "Not tonight." It wasn't that I couldn't. It was that I didn't want to. I'd been to the doctor. They told me I had a condition that made it extremely difficult to conceive. If I terminated this pregnancy, I would likely never be able to have a child of my own. I had grown up without much family. My parents had passed away when I was young, and I had always longed for a child of my own. Liam was handsome, emotionally stable, and intelligent. He was the perfect father for my child. After a lot of thought, I decided to keep the baby. But my relationship with Liam… if I wanted this child, we would have to break up. I would raise the baby on my own, so it wouldn't interfere with his life. The day I broke up with him was the day before we were scheduled to fly back home. Liam was packing, planning our itinerary for when we arrived. "It's so humid in the city in the summer. We can relax at the hotel in the afternoons and go out in the evenings. I'll take you to the night markets, we can walk through the old town, see the Bell and Drum Towers, and then find a bar with some live music…" I cut him off. The words I'd been holding back for weeks finally came out. "Liam, let's break up." He froze, his hands stilling. "What did you say?" "I bought a ticket to a different city for tomorrow. I'm not going with you. And… we're breaking up." 5 A guy like Liam had probably never been dumped before. He was insistent, demanding a reason. There were so many. I was pregnant with his child, and he didn't want children. I was dating with marriage in mind, and he didn't want to get married. Our families were from two different worlds. We were never going to work. But I couldn't tell him any of that. Under his relentless questioning, I finally blurted out, "What if I told you I'm just… bored of you? Is that a good enough reason?" "Bored?" I nodded. "Yeah, bored. You were like a perfect, sweet piece of fruit at first. But I've had too much. Now, you're just… too sweet. It's sickening." His eyes darkened with anger. His hands gripped my shoulders. "Serena," he said through gritted teeth, "say that again." I looked at him, forcing a nonchalant expression. "What? After all this time, you're telling me you're not bored of me yet?" He stared at me for a long, long time, as if trying to see into my soul. As the sky began to lighten with the first hints of dawn, he asked me one more time, "Are you serious?" "I'm serious." He didn't say anything else. He just watched me as I packed my bag and grabbed my suitcase. As I reached the door, he let out a short, bitter laugh. "Serena, do you even have a heart? You were the one who said you liked me, and now you're the one who's bored. Was I just a toy to you?" He looked down, his eyes red-rimmed, his knuckles white. He looked like he was about to shatter into a million pieces. For a moment, my heart softened. But before I could say anything, he spoke again, his voice cold and deliberate. "Serena, I wish I had never met you. From now on, if we see each other, we're strangers." He never once asked me to stay. I bit my lip and nodded. "Okay." Then I walked out the door and got on the plane back to my hometown. Our breakup was clean. We deleted each other's contact information. Back in our home country, we were on opposite ends of the continent, separated by thousands of miles. I never heard a single thing about Liam Thorne again. He had completely vanished from my life. Eight months later, I gave birth to Noah. Noah was an easy baby. He rarely cried and was fiercely independent. He had my face shape, but his features, especially his eyes, were all Liam. I raised him quietly, on my own. In my mind, Liam would never know he had a son. But I was wrong. When Noah was three, they met. 6 I had a good friend in my city, a guy I'd known for a few years. He was from the capital, incredibly wealthy, and gay. His family had been pressuring him to get married and have kids. His parents had given him an ultimatum: bring home a girlfriend this year, or be cut off. In a moment of desperation, he came to me. He begged me to pretend to be his girlfriend, and for Noah to pretend to be his son. That way, he could solve both problems at once. "All handsome guys look alike," he'd argued. "If you look closely, your son kind of looks like me, especially around the eyes. If I say he's mine, people will probably buy it. We'll say I moved here for you, and we've been so in love that we even had a kid together. And that you didn't want to deal with in-laws, so I respected your wishes and kept you a secret all this time." The real reason my friend, Alex, was in my city was to find a boyfriend, which had absolutely nothing to do with me. I wanted no part in his scheme. But then he offered me two hundred thousand dollars to play the part. And I, pathetically, agreed. I had been idealistic in college, but the real world had taught me how hard it was to make a living, especially with a child to support. I couldn't say no to that kind of money. So, with a silent apology to Alex's parents, Noah and I flew to the capital. Alex told me all I had to do was meet his parents, have one meal with them, and stay in the city for a week. The demands weren't outrageous, so I agreed. On the plane, I thought of him. I was scared I would run into him. But then I told myself I was being paranoid. The city was huge. What were the chances of us meeting again? Life wasn't a movie. Noah sat beside me, listening intently as I explained the plan. "Don't worry, Mommy," he said, nodding seriously. "I remember." I'd told him we were helping Uncle Alex with a play. He was a smart kid, and I wasn't worried about him slipping up. When we arrived, Alex informed me that his parents were throwing a welcome party and had invited a few relatives and friends. I had imagined a quiet dinner in a private room. I had not imagined that the Thorne family had so many relatives they needed to rent out a grand ballroom. I froze the moment I walked in. The room was dripping with gold and crystal chandeliers. It was a scene straight out of a movie. "I forgot to mention," Alex whispered, "my family is a little rich. But don't worry, my parents are just sweet, clueless rich people. Just act your part, and you'll be fine." It was too late to back out. I had to see this through. The moment Noah and I entered, we were surrounded. Everyone was talking at once, especially Alex's parents, who bombarded me with questions. Thankfully, Alex and I had rehearsed, so I managed to answer everything. Later, Alex's parents were cooing over Noah. "The moment I saw this child, I knew he had Thorne blood," his mother gushed. "Look at those eyes! He looks just like Alex." Noah, the little actor, charmed them completely, calling them "Grandma" and "Grandpa" until they were beaming. I was just starting to relax, thinking we had pulled it off, when Alex sent me a text. His cousin, the heir to the family fortune, had decided to grace the party with his presence. He was a big deal, and Alex urged me to go and say hello. So, I powdered my nose and headed back to the ballroom. When I got there, his cousin had already arrived. He was standing with his back to me, talking to Alex, dressed in a perfectly tailored dark suit. I recognized him instantly. It was Liam. I never, in a million years, would have guessed that Alex's cousin was Liam. The moment I saw him, my mind went blank. Before I could school my expression, Noah spotted me and waved excitedly. "Mommy! Mommy's back!" Liam turned at the sound of his voice, and his eyes landed on me. Our gazes met, and for a moment, the world stood still. Alex rushed to my side. "Cousin, this is my girlfriend, Serena," he announced proudly. "She's a little shy, that's why she never wanted to come to the city. I had to beg her to come." He nudged me. "Serena, what are you doing? Say hi to my cousin."
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