Chapter 71

Liam

The day had dragged mercilessly. Endless meetings, numbers thrown at me, strategies debated that barely held my attention. I tried to bury myself in the work, thinking it might keep me from her.

But it didn’t.

Alaria lived in the back of my mind like a constant ache, and every word, every distraction, felt hollow beside it. “You checking your phone endlessly is not going to make her call you, Liam.”

“You don’t need to keep reminding me, Kai.” I said, rolling my eyes as the two of us were in the car. “I am just glad that the day is over.”

“Why? Aiming to go back to her ignoring you all day while you go back to burying yourself in more work just to forget that?” He asked, and I frowned. He shrugged, and I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“At this point, I don’t even know why I am talking to you about this.”

“Mostly because, maybe, I am the one person who is going to listen to this and enjoy it without making it too obvious.” He said,