Liam helped her settle onto the bed, his eyes scanning her face with concern. "Are you feeling better now?" he asked softly. "Do you need anything? Water? I can peel so oranges for you."
Zara smiled at his attentiveness, warmth spreading through her chest. "Thank you, Liam—for taking out, for everything. I don’t need anything. I just want to rest."
He nodded. "Alright. Get so sleep. And if you need anything, call . You know I’m always here for you."
"I will," Zara replied.
Liam lingered for a brief mont before turning to leave. The instant he rounded the corner, Nathaniel stord toward him, grabbing his collar and slamming him against the wall.
"What the hell?" Liam snapped, startled by the sudden attack. "Let go of ." He struggled to shove Nathaniel away but barely made him budge. A frown creased his forehead. "What’s your problem?"
"Your nerve," Nathaniel snarled. "Flirting with my wife—and then you dare ask what’s wrong with ?" He pressed a firm hand against Liam’s chest. "Consider this a warning. Stay away from her. Don’t try to get close. Or I won’t care about our friendship or our years of business partnership."
Liam scoffed and knocked his hand aside. "Give a break, Nathaniel. Your controlling attitude is suffocating. And you know what? It’s exactly why Zara is drifting away from you. If you truly want her back, learn to control that temper, or you’ll lose her for good."
But Nathaniel was far too enraged to absorb a word. In his mind, Liam was no longer a friend—only an intruder, a threat standing between him and his wife, trying to steal her away.
"I know exactly how to behave. I don’t need your advice," Nathaniel snapped. "Just stay away from her."
"No." Liam was just as unyielding. He lifted his chin, eting Nathaniel’s glare head-on. "I won’t."
His open defiance only stoked Nathaniel’s rage.
"She is my friend," Liam continued firmly. "She needs . I promised I’d be there for her, and I’m not breaking that promise just because you say so."
"You—" Nathaniel drew back his fist, ready to strike. It stopped re inches from Liam’s face. Every instinct urged him to smash that defiant expression, yet sothing deep within restrained him. Deep down in his heart, gratitude lingered. Liam had helped him as a true friend. He had never turned away when Nathaniel had needed him the most.
He had also done so much for Zara. No matter how angry he was, Nathaniel couldn’t deny that. He lowered his fist, but he gripped his collar. The resentnt still burned, impossible to suppress.
"You call yourself her friend," Nathaniel scoffed coldly. "But I know what’s in your heart. You still have feelings for her. And now you are exploiting the rift between us to get close to her. I can see exactly what you are trying to do."
Liam t his gaze with icy calm. The truth was, he still loved Zara. He wished he could marry her, wipe away every painful mory, and give her a life filled only with happiness. He wanted to marry her, make her his. Yet he had never voiced those feelings, because he knew her heart did not belong to him.
Zara’s love for Nathaniel was etched too deeply into her soul. She would choose loneliness over offering another man a place in her life. She was just angry with Nathaniel for keeping her in the dark. But that wound would heal eventually. She would soften, forgive him, and get back to him.
Liam had never intended to co between them, and he never would.
He chuckled, shaking his head. "This jealousy, this possessiveness...You should know by now—I’m not the reason you are losing her. It’s you, Nathaniel. Because you don’t understand what real love is."
"Oh, is that so?" Nathaniel sneered, resentnt flaring hot in his chest. "I don’t know what love ans? And soone like you, a playboy who treats relationships like a ga, who flirts with every woman he ets, thinks he has the right to teach how to love my wife? How laughable."
Liam’s expression hardened. "If you truly loved her, you wouldn’t have hurt her," he shot back, his patience wearing thin. "You would have cared about nothing except her happiness. I could have confessed my feelings to her long ago. I had the ans to take her far away, sowhere you’d never be able to find her. But I didn’t. Do you know why? Because her happiness matters more to than my own."
He tapped his chest. "My love isn’t selfish. It hurts that I could never make her mine. But when I see her smiling, living well, that pain fades. All I’ve ever wanted is for her to be happy." His gaze sharpened. "But you—"
He jabbed a finger into Nathaniel’s chest. "You are selfish. You treat her like sothing you own. The mont you sensed you were losing control, you panicked. That isn’t love. That’s control."
"Shut up," Nathaniel roared, shoving him back once more.
"The truth hurts," Liam went on, unfazed by the outburst. "But you need to face it. If you love her, stay calm. She is emotionally unstable right now. And the child in her womb is still vulnerable. Don’t do sothing you’ll regret later."
Liam exhaled slowly, forcing himself to steady his tone. "I know you are hurting. You want to fix everything with her imdiately. I understand that. But trust , brother, don’t rush it. Don’t force yourself on her. She isn’t in good condition. If you push her too hard, she could lose the baby again."
At that, Nathaniel’s chest tightened, the air draining from his lungs.
"She needs ti," Liam said, his voice softening. "Let her recover. She’ll co back to you. And if she doesn’t, respect her choice and allow her to live her life freely."
"Impossible..." Nathaniel snapped. The very thought of losing Zara was unbearable. "You want to step aside so you can have your chance? Keep dreaming. As long as I’m alive, you won’t have one. She is my wife—mine. And I trust myself and my love for her. I will never lose her."
With that, he turned and walked away.
Liam remained rooted to the spot, watching him disappear down the corridor. After a long mont, he shook his head slowly. "Don’t make the wrong move. Or you’ll lose her."
Nathaniel pushed into the room. But the mont he saw Zara asleep, his steps slowed. The tension drained from his body, the anger ebbing away. He approached the bed carefully, not wanting to disturb her. But it was too late.
Zara’s eyes fluttered open and t his. Her expression hardened instantly. She sat upright.
"Why are you here?" she asked coldly.
The detachnt in her voice pierced his chest. The warmth he once saw in her eyes was gone. He rembered her gentleness, her care, and it hurt to realize how unwelco his presence had beco.
"I ca to see you. I want to stay with you, to be by your side." The desperation was unmistakable in his gaze. He stepped even closer. "Let stay."
"I don’t need you here." She turned her face away. "Leave. I need to rest."
"Zara, please..." He sat beside her, reaching for her hand. "Don’t shut out. Let stay. I swear I won’t bother you."
She pulled her hand away at once. "Your presence is what disturbs . How am I supposed to rest when you’re here? Being near you only drags up all the pain I’m trying to forget."
Nathaniel refused to give in. Ignoring her words, he pleaded softly, "Don’t do this. I can’t be away from you. I want to be with you—with our baby. Please... you know how deeply I love you."
"Do you?" Zara turned to him, unyielding. "Then why did you keep in the dark if you loved ? How could you make sign those divorce papers? Even if it was all an act, you still put my na on them. You chose to lie to , to push away, rather than tell the truth."
She tilted her head slightly. "Tell —if I had done the sa to you, would you have forgiven ?"
Nathaniel found himself unable to speak. He had never considered that possibility before. But as her words sank in, he realized he wouldn’t have endured it either. The realization deepened the ache in his chest. Guilt pressed heavier as he grasped the magnitude of his mistake.
So mistakes were too devastating to undo. He lowered his head, consud by regret. If only he could turn back ti and rewrite everything...But that would never happen.
He knew his mistake was grave, yet giving up was not an option. He would do whatever it took to set things right.
The resolve hardened within him.
"Then tell what I should do," he pleaded desperately. "How can I earn your forgiveness? I’ll do anything. Just tell how to make this better."
Zara t his gaze, forcing her heart to turn cold. "Stay away from ," she said flatly.
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