My stomach twisted with disgust as Beatrice and Seraphina Sterling barged into my room. Just days ago, these won had treated like dirt beneath their shoes. Now they stood in my doorway with painted-on smiles, as if our history could be erased on a whim.
"Roman, would you excuse us?" I kept my voice even despite the anger bubbling inside .
Roman nodded quickly, clearly sensing the tension. "Of course. We'll continue our discussion later." He slipped past Beatrice and Seraphina, throwing a sympathetic glance before disappearing down the hallway.
Beatrice wasted no ti making herself comfortable, settling into a plush armchair without invitation. Her eyes darted around the room, taking inventory of every luxury item.
"My, my, Liam. What a lovely place you have here." Her voice dripped with false sweetness. "The Sterling family's education has certainly paid off. I always knew you had potential."
The audacity of her claim made my blood boil. "Sterling family's education?" I repeated coldly. "Is that what you call three years of humiliation and abuse?"
Beatrice's smile faltered for only a mont. "Water under the bridge, dear boy. Families have disagreents all the ti."
"Disagreents?" I laughed bitterly. "You made sleep in a servant's quarters. You called worthless to my face every day."
Seraphina stepped forward, her eyes fixed on with an intensity that made my skin crawl. The tight dress she wore left little to the imagination—a calculated choice I found pathetically transparent.
"Liam, we've co to make ands," she said softly, her voice a practiced purr. "Mother, perhaps I should pour Liam so water? He seems... tense."
Before I could object, Seraphina glided to the side table where a pitcher of water sat. She deliberately bent forward as she poured, giving a clear view down her dress. When she turned to hand the glass, her foot caught on the carpet—an obvious fake stumble designed to land her in my arms.
I stepped aside, letting her stumble forward. Water splashed across the floor as she caught herself against the wall.
"Careful," I said coldly. "The floor's expensive."
Seraphina's cheeks flushed with embarrassnt and anger. "I was just trying to be helpful."
"I didn't ask for your help," I replied. "In fact, I don't recall inviting either of you here at all."
Beatrice cleared her throat, her smile strained now. "Liam, perhaps we should speak privately. Just you and ."
I crossed my arms. "Whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of your daughter. After all, she is my ex-wife."
"Fine." Beatrice stood and moved closer, lowering her voice despite her daughter's presence. "We've heard about your... connection with the Ashworth family. Quite impressive."
"And?" I prompted, already knowing where this was heading.
"And we should put the past behind us. The Sterling family could be valuable allies to you now." Her eyes glead with calculation. "Seraphina has been quite distraught since your departure. She realizes she made a terrible mistake."
I glanced at Seraphina, who quickly arranged her features into a mask of remorse. It was almost laughable how transparent their act was.
Beatrice leaned even closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You know, if you wanted to get back at Gideon Blackwood, taking his woman back would be the perfect revenge. Seraphina is willing to... accommodate you in any way you desire."
The crudeness of her suggestion made bile rise in my throat. This woman was literally offering her daughter's body as a bargaining chip.
"Are you seriously pimping out your own daughter?" I asked, making no effort to hide my disgust.
Seraphina gasped dramatically. "Liam! That's a horrible thing to say!"
I turned to her, my patience evaporating. "And what would you call it? You cheated on with Gideon Blackwood. You laughed while he had his n beat half to death. Now you're here batting your eyelashes because you think I have money and influence?"
I stepped closer to her, watching her shrink back. "Let be perfectly clear. I wouldn't touch you again if you were the last woman on earth. You disgust ."
Seraphina's face twisted with rage. "How dare you! I was willing to give you another chance!"
"Another chance?" I laughed. "I'm the one who dodged a bullet. Look at you—so desperate for money and status that you'd spread your legs on your mother's command."
"You ungrateful bastard!" Beatrice hissed, dropping all pretense of civility. "After everything we did for you!"
"What exactly did you do for ?" I demanded. "Feed scraps? Make work like a dog? Treat like I wasn't even human?"
"We gave you a roof over your head!" Beatrice shot back. "You were nothing but a freeloader, living off our family's generosity!"
"Generosity?" The word tasted bitter on my tongue. "I worked eighteen hours a day for your family. I cleaned your toilets. I fixed your cars. I did everything you asked without complaint, and in return, you treated like garbage."
My voice had risen despite my attempts to stay calm. Years of suppressed anger were finally finding release.
"Get out," I said, pointing to the door. "Both of you. Get out of my house."
Seraphina's eyes narrowed. "This isn't your house. It belongs to the Ashworths. You're still just a freeloader, only you've moved up to a better family to leech off of!" Chapter source: My Virtual Library Empire (*).
"At least I earned my place here through hard work and loyalty," I retorted. "Not by spreading my legs for the highest bidder."
Her hand whipped toward my face, but I caught her wrist mid-air. Three years ago, I would have stood there and taken the slap. Not anymore.
"Don't ever try to touch again," I warned, releasing her wrist with enough force to make her stumble back.
"You think you're so important now?" Seraphina sneered, rubbing her wrist. "Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you have the Ashworth family backing you! Have you forgotten how Roman Volkov beat you up last ti? Don't make call Gideon Blackwood to have Roman co and beat you up again!"
The threat hung in the air between us. For a brief mont, the mory of that beating—the pain, the humiliation, the helplessness—flashed through my mind. But things were different now. I was different.
"Try it," I said, my voice dangerously soft. "See what happens."
Beatrice grabbed her daughter's arm. "Co, Seraphina. We're wasting our ti here." She shot a poisonous look. "You'll regret this, Liam Knight. The Sterling family doesn't forget insults."
"Neither do I," I replied, watching them coldly as they stord toward the door. "And I've got three years' worth to rember."
After they left, I stood motionless in the center of the room, my heart pounding against my ribs. The encounter had shaken more than I wanted to admit. Not because I feared them—that ti had passed—but because their presence had dragged back to a place I'd been desperate to leave behind.
Seraphina's threat echoed in my mind. Would she really send Roman and Gideon after again? The rational part of knew I had the Ashworths' protection now, but the part that rembered the beating—the part still healing from those scars—wasn't so easily convinced.
I touched the jade pendant beneath my shirt, drawing comfort from its warmth. Whatever ca next, I wouldn't face it as the sa broken man they once knew. I had power now—power they couldn't begin to understand.
Let them try their worst. This ti, I would be ready.
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