Chapter 2 - THE BOY WHO CALLED HER A STRANGER
Z
Emily woke to an empty bed and the sound of voices in the sitting room.
For several seconds she stared at the white ceiling, confused by the unfamiliar room.
Then she saw the diamond ring.
Everything returned at once.
The wedding.
The contract.
Liam.
Last night.
Her cheeks warmed.
Whatever Emily had expected from her wedding night, it had not been patience.
Liam had never once assumed that one yes meant every yes afterward. Whenever she hesitated, he had stopped. Whenever she became nervous, he had waited.
That frightened her almost more than cruelty would have.
Cruelty would have made leaving easy.
Kindness complicated everything.
She slipped into a hotel robe and opened the bedroom door.
Liam stood beside the dining table wearing charcoal trousers and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled to his forearms.
He was speaking quietly into his phone.
“No.”
A pause.
“I understand that.”
Another pause.
Then his expression hardened.
“He is my son, Catherine. Not a scheduling problem.”
Emily stopped.
Son?
Liam turned and saw her.
Something flashed across his face.
Regret.
“I’ll call you later.”
He ended the call.
Emily looked at him.
“You have a son?”
Liam closed his eyes briefly.
“Yes.”
“You never told me.”
“You never asked.”
Her mouth fell open.
“That is possibly the worst answer you could have given.”
“I know.”
“How old is he?”
“Sixteen.”
Sixteen.
Emily actually laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“I’m seven years older than your son.”
“I’m aware.”
“Was he at the wedding?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Liam looked toward the ocean.
“Because he refused to come.”
The answer hurt in a strange way.
Emily did not even know this boy, yet she suddenly imagined a teenager somewhere learning his father had married a twenty-three-year-old stranger without him present.
“You should have told me.”
“Yes.”
The immediate agreement stole some of her anger.
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because Noah hates the idea of this marriage. Because his mother has spent two months telling him I replaced his family with a woman barely older than he is. Because you already looked terrified every time you saw me, and I decided one crisis at a time was enough.”
Emily stared at him.
“You decided.”
“Yes.”
“For both of us.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
There it was.
The thing she had feared.
Not violence.
Control.
Quiet, reasonable, efficient control.
The kind that believed it knew best.
Emily walked to the table.
Breakfast had been delivered.
Fruit. Toast. Coffee. Eggs.
Her favorite tea sat beside her plate.
She frowned.
“How did you know what tea I drink?”
“I asked your father.”
“Of course you did.”
His eyes narrowed.
“That sounded accusatory.”
“It was.”
A knock interrupted them.
Liam glanced toward the door.
His expression changed.
He already knew.
When he opened it, a tall teenage boy stood outside with a backpack hanging from one shoulder.
He had Liam’s dark hair and gray eyes.
But where Liam’s face was controlled, Noah’s was openly furious.
Behind him stood a chauffeur looking deeply uncomfortable.
“Sir, I tried—”
“It’s fine, Robert.”
Noah walked inside.
Then he saw Emily.
His entire body went rigid.
She suddenly understood why Liam had looked worried.
“Hi,” Emily said.
Noah stared at her.
“You’re kidding.”
Liam’s voice dropped.
“Noah.”
“What? She looks like she should be in my sister’s sorority.”
“I don’t have a sister,” he added bitterly, looking at Emily. “Just in case Dad forgot to mention that too.”
Emily almost admired the accuracy of the attack.
“Noah, enough.”
“No. You married her yesterday without me there. Mom showed me the pictures.”
Liam became still.
“Your mother showed you?”
“She said you didn’t care whether I came.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Then why didn’t you wait?”
Silence.
For the first time since Emily had met Liam, she saw him without an answer.
Noah laughed bitterly.
“Exactly.”
He turned toward the door.
Emily spoke before thinking.
“Wait.”
Both Whitmore men looked at her.
She swallowed.
“Noah, your father should have told me more about you.”
Liam’s eyes sharpened.
She continued anyway.
“And he should have handled this differently.”
“Emily.”
“No. You admitted that.”
Noah looked almost surprised.
Emily folded her arms.
“But I didn’t marry your father to replace anybody.”
“You married him for money.”
The sentence hit exactly where it was intended.
Liam stepped forward.
“Noah.”
Emily lifted a hand.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“He’s sixteen.”
“He knows better.”
Noah looked at her defiantly.
Emily met his eyes.
“My father’s company was failing. Four hundred people could have lost their jobs. Your father offered a deal. I accepted it.”
“So I’m right.”
“Partly.”
Noah frowned.
“I married him for reasons involving money. That doesn’t mean I married him because I wanted diamonds.”
She removed the ring from her finger.
Liam’s expression changed.
Emily placed it on the table.
“If this disappears tomorrow, I’m still married to him.”
Noah looked at the ring.
Then at her.
For the first time, the hostility weakened.
Only slightly.
Liam picked up the ring.
He held it out to Emily.
“You don’t have to prove anything.”
“I know.”
“Then put it back on because you want to, not because somebody is watching.”
Noah stared at his father.
Emily stared too.
Slowly, she took the ring.
She slid it onto her finger.
Because she wanted to.
And something about that choice mattered.
Noah looked away.
“My flight to Mom’s isn’t until tonight.”
Liam nodded cautiously.
“You can stay with us.”
“No.”
The refusal came too quickly.
Then Noah glanced at Emily.
“Can I at least get breakfast?”
Emily looked at the untouched plates.
“Apparently your father ordered enough food to feed a board meeting.”
Noah almost smiled.
Almost.
They sat.
It was awkward.
Painfully awkward.
But it was real.
Twenty minutes later Noah was arguing with Liam about college applications while eating three pancakes.
Emily listened quietly.
There was affection underneath the anger.
History underneath the silence.
And then Noah said something that changed the room.
“Mom says you married Emily because the Halston project board was going to remove you.”
Liam’s fork stopped.
Emily looked at him.
“What?”
Noah’s eyes moved between them.
“You didn’t tell her that either?”
Emily slowly set down her coffee.
“Liam.”
His expression became unreadable.
“The development partnership is more complicated than I explained.”
“How complicated?”
He looked at Noah.
Noah looked suddenly guilty.
Emily’s stomach tightened.
“Liam.”
He exhaled.
“If the Halston project fails, Whitmore Development could lose nearly six hundred million dollars.”
Emily stared at him.
Six hundred million.
“And our marriage helps prevent that?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Liam was silent too long.
Finally he said, “Because one of the conditions involves controlling ownership.”
Emily felt cold.
“What does my family have to do with your ownership?”
May you like
Liam’s eyes held hers.
“More than your father told you.”
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