Chapter 14
Chapter 14:
Liam swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He looked like he was about to vomit. He couldn’t admit he knew about the bomb without admitting he had left her there. He was trapped in his own cowardice.
“How?” he rasped. “How did you get out p>
“I got lucky,” Skye lied smoothly, her eyes boring into his. “A maintenance hatch in the floor. I managed to cut the ropes on a sharp piece of metal just in time. A passing truck driver saw me crawling out of the drainage pipe on the road. He gave me a ride p>
It was a flimsy lie. A maintenance hatch? Cutting ropes alone in seconds? But Liam was too overwhelmed by guilt and shock to question the logistics. He needed to believe it, because the alternative was facing what he had done.
“Oh God,” Liam breathed, wiping a trembling hand across his face. “Skye, I… I panicked. The gunman… he said p>
“Save your breath, Liam,” Skye cut him off.
She looked at Seraphina, who was peering out from behind Liam’s shoulder, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“Liam! Oh, Liam, it was awful!” Seraphina suddenly wailed, realizing the danger was over and switching instantly to victim mode. She threw herself into his arms right there in the foyer. “That man… he had a gun! I was so scared p>
Liam wrapped his arms around her automatically, but his eyes never left Skye. He looked at her with a mixture of horror and confusion, as if he were holding his mistress while staring at a ghost.
In the past, Skye would have rushed down there. She would have explained. She would have begged him to listen. Her heart would have been breaking in her chest, a physical ache of rejection.
Now, she felt nothing. It was like watching a bad soap opera on a muted television.
She didn’t say a word. She simply turned her back on them and walked to her room.
Once inside, she locked the door. She moved to her desk and opened her laptop. The screen glowed blue in the dim room. The Sea City University application portal was open.
𝗙і𝗻𝘥 𝘆o𝘂𝘳 𝘧a𝗏o𝗋𝘪𝘁e 𝗴𝖾ոrе оn 𝘣𝖾𝘭𝘯o𝗏e𝘭ѕ.с𝘰𝗺
There was a notification: Special Late Entry Examination Period—Closing in 1 Hour.
She didn’t hesitate. Her finger hovered over the trackpad for a fraction of a second—a heartbeat of farewell to the obedient housewife she used to be.
Click.
Submitted.
She looked at her reflection in the dark monitor. The woman staring back wasn’t a victim.
She was a strategist.
“Let them play house,” she whispered to the empty room. “I’m going to buy the neighborhood p>
The dining room of Kensington Manor had been transformed into a mausoleum of romance. Hundreds of imported white roses were crammed into crystal vases, their scent heavy and cloying, suffocating the air. Silver candelabras flickered, casting long, dancing shadows against the silk wallpaper. It was Beatrice’s doing, of course. A forced attempt at reconciliation.
Liam sat at the head of the long mahogany table. He was agitated, his leg bouncing beneath the tablecloth, creating a subtle vibration that rattled the silverware. He couldn’t stop looking at Skye. Every time she moved her fork, he flinched. He was still trying to reconcile the image of the burning warehouse in his rearview mirror with the woman eating soup in front of him.