Liam’s P.O.V.
The buttery scent of popcorn filled the small kitchen as I emptied the freshly popped kernels into a bowl. The rhythmic hum of the microwave had faded, replaced by the distant murmur of the television from the living room. Mai had stayed behind, flipping through channels, probably looking for sothing ridiculous for us to watch.
I smiled to myself. Movie nights had beco our thing. Sothing normal. Sothing safe.
But when I stepped back into the living room, my smile froze.
Mai was sitting rigidly on the couch, her silver eyes locked onto the television. The remote was clenched tightly in her hand, her knuckles white from the pressure. Her entire body was stiff, like a predator sensing danger.
And then, in the flickering light of the TV screen, I saw it.
My face.
Her face.
Missing Persons.
A reward. A huge one.
My breath caught in my throat as my eyes darted to the na flashing across the screen.
Lucian Blackwood.
The man offering the reward.
That was the na of a well known multi-billionaire. One had to be living under a rock if you didn’t know him.
I barely had ti to process before she whipped around, her fingers fumbling as she changed the channel. The news vanished in an instant, replaced by so mindless sitcom laugh track. But the damage was done.
She saw standing there.
"Hey," I said carefully, forcing a casual tone. "What’d you pick?"
Mai blinked rapidly, her silver eyes speaking volus. "Uh... sothing dumb."
I raised an eyebrow, "That narrows it down." She was lying.
She elbowed . "Shut up and eat your popcorn."
The remote was still clutched in her hand, her fingers twitching slightly. I could see it—her pulse hamring in her throat, the way her breathing had quickened just a little too much.
But why?
Why wouldn’t she tell ?
I forced a grin and plopped down beside her, setting the bowl of popcorn between us. "Well, pick sothing already. You take forever."
Her tense shoulders loosened just a fraction, and she smirked. "You’re awfully demanding for soone who didn’t even make the popcorn right."
I scoffed. "Excuse ? It’s perfect."
Mai picked up a single kernel, inspected it like a food critic, then popped it in her mouth with exaggerated thoughtfulness.
"Hmm." She nodded slowly. "I guess it’s edible."
I rolled my eyes, but my mind was miles away.
The reward. The billionaire. Lucian Blackwood.
Who was he to us? Why was he looking for us? And why was Mai so desperate to hide it from ?
I wanted to ask. Every ti I looked at her, the questions clawed at my throat, demanding to be spoken. But I held back.
If she didn’t want to know, she had a reason. And if that reason had anything to do with why she had been stabbed—why she still flinched when shadows moved too quickly in the corners of her vision—then I couldn’t risk pushing too hard.
So I did the only thing I could.
I pretended.
For an entire month, I acted like nothing had happened.
I let her tease , let her drag to the grocery store for ridiculous snack runs at midnight. I bickered with her over what movie to watch, knowing full well she’d pick sothing dumb just to annoy . I even let her steal my hoodies, even though they hung off her like a damn cloak and she had her own perfectly good clothes given to her by kind Becky.
But when she wasn’t looking—when I finally had a mont to myself—I searched.
Lucian Blackwood.
The na was everywhere.
Billionaire. CEO. Ruthless businessman.
There were articles, interviews, news reports. He owned companies, chains of them, stretching across multiple industries. Real estate, manufacturing, shipping. The deeper I dug, the bigger his shadow beca.
But who was he to us?
That answer was harder to find.
Every ti I got close, Mai was there.
Not that she knew what I was doing—at least, I didn’t think she did. But she was always there, her presence an unshakable force in my life.
I’d sit down with my phone, trying to find more information, and suddenly she’d flop onto the couch beside , draping herself over my lap like a damn cat.
"What are you doing?" she’d ask, her eyes watching too closely.
"Nothing," I’d lie, flipping my phone over before she could see the search page.
She’d hum, unconvinced, but then she’d distract with so inane conversation about how we needed to buy more marshmallows because she liked eating them straight from the bag, or how she’d overheard an old man at the coffee shop calling his wife ’sugar muffin’ and now she wanted a cute nickna too.
And just like that, my focus would shatter.
It was frustrating. But also... comforting?
Because for all her interruptions, Mai made feel safe.
And that was dangerous.
I didn’t understand her. Not completely. But I knew one thing for sure.
Mai wanted safe.
I could see it in the way she always made sure I walked on the inside of the sidewalk, in how her body tensed whenever strangers got too close. In how she never let go anywhere alone.
There was no faking sothing like that.
And sowhere along the way, between the late-night cuddles and talks in my bedroom and the quiet monts where her head rested against my chest...
I had fallen for Mai.
Hard.
It happened one evening in the woods. Sothing unexpected. Sothing I hadn’t planned for.
The air was crisp, carrying the scent of damp earth and wild flowers. The sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving behind a world painted in silver and shadow. Above us, the leaves whispered secrets to the wind, rustling softly in the night.
We were in the forest. Mai and I sat on the fallen trunk of an old tree, the rough bark pressing against my palms. She was leaning against , her warmth bleeding into my side, her breath fanning against my shoulder. It was a quiet kind of intimacy, the kind that didn’t need words.
"I’ve always liked it out here," she murmured, her voice quiet.
"Yeah?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to look at her.
She nodded. "It’s quiet. Peaceful."
I hesitated, my gaze tracing the way the moonlight caught in her hair, turning it almost gold. She looked ethereal, like sothing that didn’t quite belong to this world.
Maybe that was why I was afraid of losing her.
"Do you ever think about leaving?" I asked before I could stop myself.
She tensed—just for a second. Then she let out a quiet laugh, but there was sothing guarded in it. "Where would I go?"
I swallowed. "I don’t know. Sowhere safe? Sowhere with your family?"
She shifted then, turning her face toward , her eyes locking onto mine. "I already have that."
The words hit harder than they should have. Sothing in my chest clenched, a sharp, unexpected ache spreading through .
I already have that.
She was talking about . About us.
And suddenly, everything else—the mystery, the danger, the secrets—faded into the background.
All that mattered was her.
Before I could stop myself, before I could even think, I moved.
Slowly, hesitantly, I reached up and cupped her face, my thumb brushing lightly against her cheek. Her breath hitched, her eyes widening, but she didn’t pull away.
My heart was pounding.
"I—"
I didn’t get to finish.
She kissed first.
Soft. Tentative. A question, not an answer.
And I answered.
I pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, feeling the way she lted against . Her fingers tangled in my hair, and the world shrank down to this—just this. Just her.
Not Lucian Blackwood.
Not the missing persons report.
Not the storm brewing in the distance.
Just us.
When we finally pulled apart, her breathing was unsteady, her gaze searching mine.
I was terrified.
Because if I lost this—if I lost her—I wasn’t sure who I’d be anymore.
And maybe, deep down, I already knew.
But the illusion of safety shattered that night.
The knock at the door ca early the next morning.
Sharp. Insistent. The kind that wasn’t just asking to be answered—it was demanding.
Mai got to the door first. Becky and I had barely made it down the stairs when she swung it open.
The second she saw who was standing there, all the color drained from her face.
Pale. Frozen. Like she’d just been struck by lightning.
"Mai Blackwood?"
The man at the door held up a badge. His expression was flat, but his presence alone sent a chill through the air.
"Liam Rivers?" he continued, his gaze flicking to .
I stepped forward instinctively, pulse hamring against my ribs.
Then ca the words that cracked the ground beneath us.
"We’ve found your family."
There was silence.
The kind that felt heavy, suffocating, like the mont right before a storm tears through the sky.
Mai didn’t move. Didn’t blink.
She just gripped the edge of the door like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
I didn’t understand.
But I knew.
Everything was about to change.
Forever.
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