He asked in a cold, clinical tone, "Are you currently sexually active?" "You were my boyfriend, shouldn't you know?" Staring right at me, he didn't flinch. "Miss Bennett, I feel the need to remind you that we broke up three months ago." 1 I was the one who initiated the breakup. He had been working back-to-back shifts in the operating room for three days and completely missed my birthday. I waited at home until midnight, ate half of my birthday cake all by myself, and subsequently landed myself in the midnight ER with acute gastroenteritis, hooked up to an IV drip until dawn. When the sun came up, I clutched my cramping stomach and went home. I had barely sat down on the couch when the front door opened. Liam walked in, looking pale. He still carried the faint metallic scent of blood mixed with the sharp smell of hospital sanitizer. Looking exhausted, he leaned back against the single sofa chair and closed his eyes, acting as if he hadn't even noticed me sitting right there. I stared at him in disbelief. "Liam Carter, are you seriously going to look right at me and pretend I'm invisible?" He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze cloudy. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm just too tired." The leftover birthday cake was still sitting on the coffee table. He was too exhausted to even say "Happy Birthday." By the time Liam woke up, I had already packed all my things. Two suitcases stood side-by-side by the entryway. I lifted my chin and formally announced, "Let's break up." Having caught up on sleep, he was back to his usual aloof, detached self. Listening to my declaration, he didn't argue. He just leaned against the wall and said flatly, "You don't know how to drive. Want me to take your things back to your place?" "No need." He didn't show a single ounce of wanting to win me back. My chest tightened with hurt. "I already called an Uber." "Text me the license plate number, then," Liam said, his lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw tight. "Be safe on the road." In this entire relationship, those were his final words to me. I met Liam on a blind date. Three years out of college, staring down the barrel of my 25th birthday, my mom couldn't take it anymore and started setting me up. I met six guys in a row. None of them went anywhere. Liam was number seven. The matchmaker said he came from a good family, was incredibly handsome, highly educated, worked as a doctor, had a limitless future, and wasn't even thirty yet. Before meeting him, I vented to my best friend, Zoe. "If a guy with stats that good is reduced to going on blind dates, he’s either lying about his resume or he has a massive, glaring flaw." As it turned out, his stats were real. And the flaw was real, too. He was just too busy. Liam was an OB-GYN. He graduated from a top-tier medical school and spent almost every waking second at the hospital. His personality was excessively cold. He had no idea how to sweet-talk girls, which was exactly why he had stayed single for so long. Even on our blind date, before we could finish our meal, he got a phone call, paid the bill early, and gave me a polite, professional goodbye. He was tall and gorgeous—definitely my type—but based on his completely unbothered demeanor throughout dinner, I figured he wasn't interested. The next day, the matchmaker called my mom. She said Liam thought I was great and wanted to see where things went. And just like that, we dated for six months. Liam really was incredibly busy. During the few dates we actually managed to have, he would take calls, deal with work emergencies, and cut our time short more times than I could count. To see him more, I moved into his place. He handed me his credit card and told me to use it however I wanted. I had his phone passcode. He always had painkillers ready before my period cramps hit, and he always bought me expensive gifts for holidays. But that wasn't what I needed. "You're just being spoiled," Zoe told me. "He literally handed his entire livelihood over to you. What more do you want? Remember that ex who called you a gold-digger because you asked him to cover a dinner bill?" After the breakup, my mom was furious and tried to drag me back to reconcile with Liam. I cried right in front of her. "I'm not going! When he gets busy, he forgets my birthday. I send him a dozen texts and he replies with one word. I can't take this kind of neglect!" My mom sighed and finally stopped forcing it. When I got home, I opened iMessage and saw a text from Liam: Did you get home safe? I typed back a rigid Yeah, mimicking how he used to reply to me. I'm sorry. I saw the cake you left for me. Happy birthday. Just that one sentence almost made me burst into tears again. I forced them back and typed: Thanks. Okay. And that was the end of the conversation. I didn't block Liam, and he didn't delete my number. We stayed silently buried in each other's contact lists. Liam never posted on social media. I posted to my Instagram Stories ten times a day—random, trivial details of my life. I knew absolutely nothing about his life post-breakup. He, on the other hand, probably knew exactly what I ate for all three meals a day. 2 Once my mom realized Liam and I were truly over, she introduced me to the son of a college friend. His name was Ethan Miller. "Ethan is a little younger than you, but he's very mature and grounded," she promised. When I actually met him, I realized my mom was totally full of it. Ethan had just graduated college. For our first date, he took me to an arcade. While a crowd of teenage girls cheered him on, he was going absolutely wild on the Dance Dance Revolution machine. What a childish boy. I stood on the sidelines, feeling a wave of annoyance, and suddenly missed Liam even more. Ethan won me a mountain of plushies from the claw machines, took me to dinner, and drove me home. Bored out of my mind later that night, I lined the plushies up one by one, snapped a photo, and posted it on my Story. When I got out of the shower, I noticed Liam had actually 'liked' the post. It was the first time he had engaged with any of my posts since we broke up. Suddenly energized, I zoomed in on the photo and studied it for a good ten minutes. Finally, in the bottom corner of the frame, I spotted Ethan's hand resting on the steering wheel. Long fingers, prominent knuckles—definitely a man's hand. I immediately texted Zoe: I think Liam still has feelings for me. She sent back a string of question marks. Chloe Bennett, you broke up three months ago. Get a grip. I am gripping reality. He cares. Truthfully, Ethan was a nice guy, but I knew myself well. Put nicely, I was high-maintenance. Put bluntly, I had princess syndrome. In my twenty-six years of life, the only people who could tolerate my temper were my mom, Zoe, and Liam. Even when I insisted on eating messy, spicy takeout in his pristine bed and accidentally spilled it everywhere, he hadn't gotten mad. He calmly cleaned up my mess and ordered me a fresh bowl. I booked an appointment online and went to Liam's hospital clinic the next morning. When I told him I wanted a birth control implant for my arm, his brow furrowed slightly before returning to his usual flat expression. "Are you currently sexually active?" I stared right into his gorgeous eyes above his surgical mask. "You were my boyfriend, shouldn't you know?" After a beat of silence, Liam said coldly, "Miss Bennett, I feel the need to remind you that we broke up three months ago." He had never used such a distant, icy tone with me. My nose stung, and I almost dropped a tear. "I'm not... not right now. I'll figure that out after the implant." I had actually heard the implant helped with severe period cramps, which is why I wanted it. But clearly, Liam got the wrong idea. As he wrote up my lab orders, he said with a stony face, "For your health, I recommend using barrier methods even after the implant." Based on past experience, I was almost positive he was mad. I took the slip Liam gave me, walked a lap around the hallway, and circled back. I found him facing away from the door, his head slightly bowed as he spoke to a young girl in a hospital gown. "I reviewed your labs. All your numbers are normal. You can be discharged today." His voice was so gentle—a complete 180 from how he had just spoken to me. The girl said softly, "Then, Dr. Carter, can I still come visit you after I'm discharged?" Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him, completely failing to hide her massive crush. I froze in place. My chest filled with a sour, aching pain. My mind went blank; I didn't even hear what Liam said in response. By the time I snapped out of it, the girl was gone. Liam stood a few steps away, looking at me with cool indifference. "Come here." I walked back into the exam room. He glanced at the unpaid billing slip in my hand and said flatly, "The blood draw doesn't hurt. Get the bloodwork done, and then I can schedule the procedure." I was terrified of pain. He knew that. I suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist. "I don't need it. I actually just came to see you today." He leaned against the desk in his white coat. The mask hid half his face, leaving only those sharp, cool eyes staring back at me. "See me for what?" There was zero emotion in his voice, like he really didn't want me there. I sniffled and said out of sheer spite, "Oh, I came to drop off my invitation. I want you at my wedding." 3 The air froze. Liam closed his eyes, then opened them again. He pulled his mask down, his voice chillingly cold. "Hand it over, then." Obviously, there was no invitation. I grabbed my purse, blindly rummaged around inside it for a second, and muttered, "Forgot it at home." The corner of his mouth twitched in the faintest smirk, and he turned to walk away. Without thinking, I tugged at the hem of his coat. "Who was that girl you were just talking to?" "My patient." Liam stopped and looked back at me. "Miss Bennett, I'm on the clock. If you aren't here for medical care, please leave." His eyes were like a perfectly still, freezing lake. It seemed nothing could ruffle him. The only time I had ever seen him lose his composure was two months into our relationship. It was our first kiss. I initiated it. When we pulled apart, he was trying to catch his breath. The look in his eyes was like shattered starlight. Under the warm yellow glow of the streetlamp, he pulled me by the waist, pressed his face against my ear, and whispered my name. "Chloe." I had never met anyone like him. Just hearing him say my name made my heart race and my knees weak. Now that we were broken up, would there come a day when he looked at another girl like that? Just imagining it made me want to cry. My voice trembled. "Are you going to date her?" "Who?" "Your patient." He didn't answer. My heart plummeted. I turned around and forced myself to walk toward the exit. But Liam chased after me and grabbed my arm. Seeing my blurry, tear-filled eyes, he sighed. "No." "Liam, do you think I'm annoying?" "No." He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "It's my lunch break. I'll drive you home." My heart leaped, and I quickly agreed. Sitting in Liam's car, I was surrounded by his familiar, clean scent. He didn't smoke. The car smelled crisp and pure, just like him. I scrambled for a topic. "Have you been busy these last few months?" "The usual," he said, turning to give me a quick glance. His tone was perfectly neutral. "Though it seems you've been living it up." "I have not!" I rushed to defend myself. "My cramps have been worse than ever lately. It's been awful." He let out a heavy sigh, sounding almost helpless. "I told you before, no ice or cold drinks the week before and during your period. And what did you do? You've been drinking iced boba every other day. Of course you're in pain." He knew I was drinking iced boba? Did that mean he had zoomed in on every single one of my Stories, right down to the labels on my cups? I perked up immediately, putting on my best pitiful pout. "Well, you weren't around to supervise me." The moment those words left my mouth, the air in the car thickened. Looking at the tight line of Liam's jaw, reality finally caught up with me. We were broken up. But I still loved him. Liam pulled up to the entrance of my apartment complex. "We're here. Get out." I tried to invite him in. "Want to come up for a bit? My mom isn't home. I got new bedsheets, they're really pretty." Liam kept one hand on the steering wheel, turned to look at me, and said, word by word, "If you're getting married, why are you coming back to mess with my head?" "Chloe Bennett, I am not your toy." He had taken my spiteful lie seriously. Seeing the ice in his eyes, I finally realized I might have... taken the joke too far. "...I'm not getting married. I made that up," I mumbled, tugging at his sleeve. "I came to the hospital because I just wanted to see you." He pressed his lips together. "Who did you go to the arcade with the other day?" "My cousin," I lied smoothly. Liam's hand twitched slightly. Then he unlocked the doors. "Let's go." I blinked. "Go where?" "I still have thirty minutes before my shift. Didn't you want me to walk you to your door?" My dreary mood instantly lit up. I gave a loud, cheerful "Okay!" and hopped out of the car. I tentatively reached out to loop my arm through his. He didn't reject me. Instead, he grabbed my wrist and angled his body slightly, just like he used to, so I could hold onto him comfortably. He had taken off his white coat, revealing a soft white cotton shirt underneath. Pressing against his arm felt warm and reassuring, sending a rush of heat straight to my heart. Just as I was about to say something, a familiar voice rang out. "Hey, Chloe." I looked up. It was Ethan. He jogged over carrying a bag of sodas. Before he could say another word, I loudly cut him off. "Hey, Cousin! What are you doing here today?" Ethan stared at me. I stared back, widening my eyes and silently begging him to play along. He raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk spreading across his face. "Came to see my favorite older cousin, obviously." He extended a hand toward Liam. "Hi. I'm Chloe's cousin." Liam's mouth set into a hard line. He briefly shook Ethan's hand and pulled back immediately. He looked at me, his voice devoid of warmth. "Since your cousin is here, I'm heading back to work." I clutched my phone, waving at him reluctantly. "Okay. Text me back later, then." Liam gave a curt "Okay" and walked away. I stared after him until his silhouette disappeared past the gates. Then, Ethan's voice drifted into my ear. "Hate to see him go, huh, Cuz?" I spun around. Ethan was smiling down at me, his youthful face entirely too close. He was objectively good-looking, but I wasn't into him. "Thanks for playing along," I said. "But I'm going to make it clear to my mom—I'm not interested in your type." Ethan blinked, probably not expecting me to be so brutally honest. He looked down at me and laughed. "Well, that's a shame. Because I think I'm very interested in your type." I patted him on the head. "Good boy." Ethan: "?" "Stop trying so hard to be a player at your age. It's cringey." With that, I swung my purse over my shoulder and marched away. 4 I met Zoe for dinner and immediately made my announcement: "I'm going to win Liam back." "Why?" "Because I love him." She looked at me like I was an idiot. "If you love him, why did you dump him?" "Because he was so busy he forgot my birthday, he didn't text me back, and he flaked on our dates a million times..." My voice trailed off into a depressed whisper. "But it's been three months, and I miss him so much." "So, if you win him back, are those problems magically going to disappear? Is he suddenly going to be free for your birthdays, never miss a date, and text you back instantly?" I couldn't argue with that. Zoe and I were best friends, but we were polar opposites. I was dramatic, high-maintenance, and impulsive. She was calm, perceptive, and cut right to the core of everything. "Liam is a doctor. He's busy, and he's probably going to be busy for the rest of his life." "You, on the other hand, don't even have a 9-to-5. You finish a few illustration commissions a month, and the rest of your time is completely free. Chloe, you need a guy who can be by your side 24/7. And he is never going to be that guy." I knew the logic. I didn't want things to be this way, but... it was Liam. Feeling thoroughly miserable, I waited until Zoe went to the restroom and pulled out my phone. I texted him: Are you on the night shift tonight? A few minutes later, he replied: No. I racked my brain for an excuse. I just remembered I left something at your place. Can I come by tonight to grab it? Sure. I comforted myself with the small victory. Sure was a whole word better than his usual Okay. That was progress. After dinner, I said goodbye to Zoe, went home, changed into a sleek slip dress, and did my makeup. I sprayed on some expensive perfume, making sure I looked like absolute bait, put on my heels, and took an Uber to his place. When I got to his door, I realized he wasn't home. He wasn't answering my texts. His phone went straight to voicemail. I stood outside his door like an idiot for half an hour. The longer I waited, the more my feelings hurt, until I was fighting back tears and walking back downstairs. As I passed the courtyard fountain, I noticed a familiar car parked nearby. Before I could process it, two people stepped out. Liam stood there, his back straight, just like always. The night shadows softened his sharp, untouchable vibe, giving him this devastatingly quiet allure. And standing right in front of him, looking up at him while she talked... Wasn't that his patient? Mia? Was the reason he ignored my calls because she was here? Had he lied to me when he said he wasn't going to date her? I stood frozen, my mind completely blank, biting my lip so hard it hurt. By the time I snapped out of it, they were already walking down the path on the other side of the courtyard. It must have been too dark; Liam hadn't seen me. I wanted to run after them and demand answers, but I realized I didn't even have the right to. The more I thought about it, the more wronged I felt. I pulled out my phone, found the nearest cocktail lounge, and called a ride. At the bar, I took a perfectly angled selfie, heavily filtered it, posted it to my Story, and made sure to tag the location. Honestly, at twenty-six, this was my first time at a place like this by myself. I was secretly terrified. But thinking about Liam lying to me made me so mad I pushed through. I ordered a craft beer I was too scared to drink and stood by the bar, listening to the live band. After a while, a familiar voice popped up behind me. "Well, look who it is. Chloe Bennett. Fancy seeing you here." It was Ethan. Again. He walked over with a drink, sat next to me, and smiled. I looked at him slowly. "You know..." "Yeah?" "When my mom set us up, she told me you were a sweet, innocent kid." I glanced at his nearly empty glass. "You're a really good actor." He threw his hands up. "I swear on my life, Chloe, this is my first time at a place like this." I scoffed. But then I realized something. "Why did you stop calling me 'Cousin'?" "You're the one who told me not to call you anything weird," Ethan said, looking wounded. "I've never been called 'cringey' in my entire life until I met you." I almost laughed, but then I thought of Liam and the smile died on my lips. I checked my phone. Radio silence. No texts. No likes on my Story. I looked at Ethan. "Since you're so obedient, do me one more favor?" He leaned in like an oversized golden retriever, his eyes bright. "What is it?" "Take a selfie with me." I needed to post one more. I leaned in close to Ethan, opened the camera app, and spent way too long finding the perfect angle. Just as my finger hovered over the shutter button, a shadow fell over us, blocking out the already dim lighting. My eyes trailed downward. I saw a pair of pale, long-fingered hands. Moving up, I saw a loose white t-shirt, a defined collarbone with a tiny mole, a sharp jawline, and finally—a familiar, frost-covered face. Liam stared down at me. His mouth twitched into a terrifying half-smile. "Chloe Bennett. You have exactly ten seconds to leave this place with me." I wanted so badly to act tough and say, You have no right to tell me what to do. But my survival instincts kicked in. He was absolutely furious. I obediently left my untouched beer on the bar and scurried after him. Ethan called my name from behind us. To commit to the bit, I turned around and said sagely: "Cousin, you're an adult now, and I can't control you, but be mindful of your reputation. Go home early." He stared at me in absolute shock. I could read his lips mouthing: Wow. Betrayed. 5 Sitting in Liam's passenger seat, I discreetly took a deep breath through my nose. No strange perfume. But I still decided to strike first. "Why did you lie to me?" Liam's voice was ice. "When have I ever lied to you?" He sounded so mean, my eyes instantly welled up. "You lied! You said she was just your patient and you weren't going to date her, but you brought her to your apartment!" Liam froze. He frowned. "You were outside my building earlier?" Ha! Look how fast he panicked. He was definitely guilty. I glared at him, tears threatening to spill. "Yes! I called and texted and you ignored me. I waited downstairs and saw you bring her home—if you moved on, why didn't you just tell me? Did you really think I'd stalk you?" "Wouldn't you?" "..." I choked on my words. Realizing that I had dumped him and was now the one tracking him down, I definitely looked like a stalker. I closed my eyes and decided to just be completely unreasonable. "If you knew I was going to be crazy about it, why did you fall for someone else?! Aren't you afraid I'll crash your wedding?" "I didn't fall for anyone else, and I didn't bring anyone home." Liam's fingers tapped rhythmically against the steering wheel. "Mia blocked my car at the gate. Her clothes were torn and she was bleeding. I told her to wait downstairs while I went up to get a jacket and a first-aid kit, and then we waited for her parents to pick her up." "As for my phone... I forgot to charge it." He paused. "I assumed you'd just wait inside the apartment." My tears stopped falling, but I still sniffled out a complaint. "You weren't home. How was I supposed to wait?" Liam rubbed his temples. A flash of pure exhaustion crossed his eyes. "I never deleted your fingerprint from the door lock. You could have just walked in." I froze. A weird, swollen ache bloomed in my chest, expanding until it turned into a heat that rushed straight to my ears. Flustered, I looked away and scanned the console. Next to the gearshift was a half-empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter. When did he start smoking? While I was distracted, Liam spoke again. "Since you saw me, why didn't you just come ask me? Chloe, just because you thought I lied to you, you decided to go to a bar with another guy to get back at me?" "T-that was my cousin..." The rest of my sentence was slaughtered by his sharp, freezing glare. Liam leaned in, inch by inch, locking his eyes onto mine. A mocking smile touched his lips. "Is he? Is he really your cousin, Chloe?" My throat closed up. I couldn't speak. "When the matchmaker set us up, I read your file. It explicitly said you had a small, simple family tree. We dated for six months. I met your mother multiple times. Do you honestly think I don't know whether or not you have a cousin?" My heart cracked at the sheer hurt in his eyes. A sharp pang radiated through my chest, making my fingertips go numb. "Then... why did you..." "Why didn't I call you out?" He let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Because I was avoiding reality. I was holding onto this fantasy that if I pretended not to know you were lying, you'd keep clinging to me like you used to, and maybe..." He didn't finish. He closed his eyes and turned his head away. His long lashes cast a shadow over his cheekbones. His jaw was clenched tight. I had never seen him look so fragile, so lost. My heart ached with guilt, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by him. A moment later, I found my voice. I whispered: "I admit it, Ethan isn't my cousin. I lied because I was scared you'd be mad. My mom set us up after we broke up, but I don't like him. I told him straight to his face I wasn't interested." I reached into my purse for my phone. "If you don't believe me, I'll call him right now and make him confess." "Don't." Liam pressed his lips together. His gaze drifted down to my slip dress and the dramatic makeup I had put on to look pathetic. His voice was hoarse. "Then why did you dress like this to go to a bar with him?" "I went by myself. Running into him was a total accident," I said pitifully. "And I didn't dress like this for him. I dressed like this to seduce you." The air in the car stopped moving. A second later, Liam's hand wrapped around the back of my neck. As if he had finally lost his mind, he pulled me in and kissed me hard. It was a deeply aggressive kiss. His breath was hot, his eyelashes brushing against my skin. His warm fingers tangled in my hair, the temperature rising rapidly. ...God help me. "Chloe." He pulled back slightly, refusing to put too much distance between us. His other hand tilted my chin up as he studied my face. A moment later, he crashed his lips into mine again. That impenetrable wall of calm detachment was entirely shattered. He looked like a god who had finally fallen to earth, tortured by human desire. By the time he stopped, my legs were jello. Through a haze, I looked up at him and heard him ask: "Chloe, do you want to get back together?" I gripped his shirt with whatever strength I had left. Hearing those words, I nodded without a second of hesitation. "Yes."
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