Liam’s POV
It had been a week since my desperate escape from the hospital...seven days of hiding in my own ho like a wounded animal, fearful of the predator that had once been my wife.
Dr. Jason had been nothing short of a godsend. After I’d called him that first night, he’d arrived within the hour, dical bag in hand, face professionally neutral despite the obvious questions my appearance must have raised.
He’d treated my wounds without judgnt, replacing the hospital’s hasty bandages with proper dressings, prescribing painkillers that actually worked, and checking in daily to ensure infection hadn’t set in where my IV had been ripped out.
"You’re healing remarkably well, he’d said this morning during his visit, examining the bruising around my ribs."
I’d wanted to tell him that it wasn’t my body I was worried about. It was my mind that felt irreparably damaged, fractured by the realization that the woman I’d married...the woman I’d betrayed and humiliated, was capable of such cold, calculated violence. But I’d kept those thoughts to myself. Dr. Jason was here to treat my physical wounds, not the psychological ones that ran far deeper.
I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. My ribs protested at even the slightest movent, a constant reminder of the beating I’d endured. The television droned on, so mindless reality show that I wasn’t really watching. It was just noise to fill the suffocating silence of the house.
The front door opened, and I tensed instinctively, relaxing only when Thomas appeared in the entryway. My driver had beco sothing of a lifeline over the past week, running errands, bringing groceries, and checking in regularly to ensure I had everything I needed.
Unlike the rest of my so-called friends who had disappeared the mont things got difficult, Thomas had remained steadfastly loyal.
"Sir," he greeted with a nod, setting a paper bag on the kitchen counter. "I’ve brought your prescriptions and so fresh fruits."
"Thank you, Thomas," I said, genuinely grateful despite the formal nature of our relationship. "I don’t know what I’d do without you these days."
Thomas paused, his usually impassive face showing a flicker of emotion. He seed to be weighing his words carefully.
"Is sothing on your mind?" I prompted.
He hesitated, then straightened his shoulders as if coming to a decision. "Permission to speak freely, Mr. Ashton?"
The formality of the request surprised . In all the years Thomas had worked for , he’d never for once bodly asked permission to speak his mind. I nodded, curiosity montarily overriding my generally dismissive attitude toward the opinions of those I employed.
"I think you should reconsider your approach to this divorce situation, sir," he said, his voice steady but respectful. "This... vendetta against Mrs. Ashton is causing you nothing but harm."
I stiffened. "Thomas..."
"Please, sir," he held up a hand, "Allow to finish."
Sothing in his tone...a quiet authority I’d never noticed before...made fall silent.
"Mrs. Ashton was a good wife to you," he continued. "In the years I’ve worked for you, I’ve observed how she supported you, accommodated your schedule, stood by you at countless events. I’ve also witnessed how you’ve treated her in return."
My face burned with a mixture of anger and sha. "You don’t know anything about my marriage, Thomas."
"I know enough," he replied evenly. "I know that family is the most important thing in the life of a responsible man. No man is an island, Mr. Ashton. We all need people we can count on—people who will be there regardless of our success or failure."
I let out a bitter laugh. "And what would you know about that?"
"More than you might think," Thomas said, his expression unchanging despite my rudeness. "Before I ca to work for you, I lost my wife and daughter in a car accident. I was driving."
The revelation hit like a physical blow. In five years, I’d never once asked Thomas about his personal life.
"I was distracted, arguing with my wife about sothing so trivial I can’t even rember it now," he continued. "One mont of inattention cost everything. I would give anything—anything—to have that mont back."
He took a deep breath, composing himself. "All I’m saying, sir, is that it’s never too late to make ands. Family sticks together through everything. Maybe instead of trying to punish Mrs. Ashton, you should consider what role you played in bringing things to this point."
His words hung in the air between us, uncomfortable in their truth. For a mont, I actually considered the possibility...reaching out to Diane, attempting so kind of reconciliation. But then the mory of her voice in that hospital bathroom returned: "I need to finish him off before they co back." She was beyond reconciliation now. We both were.
"I appreciate your concern, Thomas," I said stiffly, "but my situation is complicated in ways you couldn’t possibly understand."
He nodded, accepting the dismissal with characteristic dignity. "I’ll be back tomorrow morning, sir. Is there anything else you need before I go?"
"No, that’s all. Thank you."
After he left, his words continued to echo in my mind, unwelco intrusions forcing to confront truths I’d spent years avoiding. Had I ever truly loved Diane? Had I appreciated what I had when I had it? The questions were uncomfortable, pushing toward self-reflection I wasn’t ready to face.
I pushed it all aside, focusing instead on the transformation in Diane. How had she beco so cold, so calculating? The woman who’d once flinched at killing spiders was now capable of torturing without hesitation. It was as if I’d never known her at all...or maybe I’d never bothered to really see her beneath the perfect wife façade I’d wanted her to maintain.
The sound of the front door opening again yanked from my thoughts. I hadn’t heard the security buzzer, which ant whoever had entered had the code. My heart rate accelerated, panic clawing at the edges of my consciousness. Had Diane co to finish what she’d started?
"Hello?" I called out, my voice embarrassingly unsteady. "Who’s there?"
A familiar figure appeared in the doorway to the living room, and relief washed over . "Noah," I breathed. "You scared the hell out of ."
Noah stood there, briefcase in one hand, phone in the other, regarding with none of the warmth that had characterized our friendship for over a decade. His expression was detached, clinical almost, as he took in my bruised face and bandaged hand.
"Liam," he greeted coolly.
Despite the chilly reception, a surge of gratitude rose within . Noah had co to see . After everything, my oldest friend had still shown up.
"I didn’t know you were coming," I said, attempting to sit up straighter despite the pain in my ribs. "Would have cleaned the place up a bit."
Noah didn’t smile at the weak joke. "I’m not here for a social call. I left so files in the guest room last ti I stayed. I need them for a eting tomorrow."
The rejection stung more than I wanted to admit. "Oh," I managed. "Right."
An awkward silence stretched between us, filled with all the things we weren’t saying. There had been a ti when Noah and I could communicate volus with just a look, when we’d finish each other’s sentences and know instinctively what the other was thinking. Now, we were like strangers inhabiting the sa space, connected only by the fraying threads of a friendship I’d taken for granted.
"How are you?" I finally asked, gesturing vaguely at my injuries. "As you can see, it’s been a rough week."
Noah’s expression hardened. "I heard you fled the hospital. Dramatic as always."
"Dramatic?" I repeated incredulously. "Noah, she was going to kill . I heard her planning it on the phone."
He raised an eyebrow, skepticism etched in every line of his face. "Because Diane is suddenly a murderer? Do you even hear yourself, Liam?"
"You weren’t there," I snapped. "You didn’t hear what I heard."
"No, I wasn’t," Noah agreed. "I was on a business trip, rember? Doing the job you should have been doing if you weren’t so busy destroying your marriage and dragging everyone down with you."
The accusation hit its mark with painful accuracy.
"Can I go get those files now?" he added, not waiting for a response to his previous statent.
"Sure," I muttered. "You know where the guest room is."
Noah nodded curtly, setting his briefcase and phone down on the coffee table.
"And can I get your charger? My phone’s been acting up since last night—refuses to power up."
I gestured behind the couch.
As soon as he successfully plugged in his phone, he headed toward the stairs. As he disappeared from view, I leaned back against the couch, a hollow ache spreading through my chest...one that had nothing to do with my physical injuries.
When had things gone so wrong? Noah had been my brother in all but blood since our college days. We’d survived the lean years, celebrated each milestone and achievent side by side. Now he could barely stand to be in the sa room with .
A buzzing sound drew my attention to the coffee table where Noah had left his phone charging. I glanced toward the stairs, but there was no sign of him returning yet. The phone chid again, insistently.
"Noah!" I called out. "Your phone’s ringing!"
No response. He must have been deep in the guest room closet, searching for whatever file he’d left behind. The phone fell silent for a mont, then lit up again with what I assud was a ssage notification.
"Noah!" I tried again, louder this ti, ignoring the stab of pain in my ribs. Still nothing.
With a sigh, I pushed myself off the couch, intending to take the phone upstairs to him. I’d nearly reached it when the screen lit up again, and a preview of the ssage appeared.
"Noah, I know it’s late and I understand if you don’t want to talk to . But I miss you. I miss your laugh, your terrible jokes that sohow still make smile, the way you always know what to say to make feel better. I’m sorry for not being honest with you from the start. You deserved better than that. I hope soday you can forgive ." - Diane
I reached for the phone with trembling hands, needing to see the rest of the ssage, to know the full extent of their betrayal. But before my fingers could touch the screen, I noticed the contact photo, Noah and Diane, their faces pressed close together, smiling. The kind of casual intimacy that cos with comfort and familiarity.
The room seed to tilt beneath as blood rushed to my head. My legs gave way, and I found myself on the floor, staring at that phone as if it contained the secrets of the universe. A universe where my wife and my best friend were...what? Lovers? Conspirators? Both?
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