Page 179 of Toxic

I cupped his face and locked eyes with him, my gaze intense.

"He really would’ve killed you! You would have been dead now if not for me!"

He twisted his face into an ironic grimace, and I dropped my hands.

"So, I guess, thanks for saving my life, Soren, but if you think that evens the score, think again."

"Why the hell are you doing this, Liam?!"

His face remained hard to read.

A strange silence crept over us, only our breaths breaking the stillness, ragged and shaky. My mind went to the child I wascarrying, and the realization slowly sank in. Today, I was close to losing it again, and the thought made me tremble.

"You don’t understand, Liam…" I whispered. "If I lose Skye, I’ll lose this baby too."

But Liam’s face didn’t change, not even a flicker. He just shrugged.

"You’re going to lose it anyway, Soren. So I don’t even know why we’re having this conversation."

"No, no! You have no idea what you’ve just done!" I snorted angrily, realizing that time was ticking, and I had already lost a lot of it talking to Liam.

Reeling, I ran to the door, but of course, it was too late. Skye was already gone. With trembling hands, I dialed his number, but he didn’t pick up.

Liam just watched me as I kept frantically hitting the call button.

"Fuck, fuck!" I groaned, throwing the phone down onto the key stand. I couldn’t believe this was happening. A sob broke out of my mouth. Desperate, I rushed back to Liam, grabbed his thin shoulders, and shook him fiercely.

"You just don’t get it!" I whimpered, tears streaming down my face.

"Wow, how nice," he sneered, closing his eyes. "Finally, your hands are on my naked body. It was worth it, just to feel a little of your touch. I’d rather have your brutality than your indifference, Soren."

That was… so fucking twisted.

I let go of him immediately, wiping my hands on my pants.

"How could you do this to me?!" I screamed.

"How could you do this to me?!" he screamed back.

Agonizing silence crept up on us again as we locked gazes. This madness, this absolute insanity—it couldn’t go on.

Closing my eyes, I whispered, "This is the one thing Skye can’t forgive. The moment he leaves for a few hours, you show up. It’s going to be damn near impossible to explain."

He shrugged again, almost robotically. "From my point of view, it’s a good thing. If you two aren’t together, my chances go up."

"Go up? You’ve just ruined them forever! Do you want me to hate you?!" I gritted my teeth. "My pregnancy is different this time—I actually have a chance of carrying to term! My hormone levels are high, and my uterus is growing. The doctor said it’s because I have such an intense relationship with Skye, the chemistry. The sex stimulates my hormonal system—it’s called Omega Awakening Syndrome."

Another heavy silence fell between us. For the first time since he arrived, Liam’s expression softened. His eyes widened, and he pressed his lips together. Then slowly, he averted his gaze, staring at the wall as if something there demanded his attention. His breath hitched.

"Congratulations. Looks like your dream might actually come true," he said, clearly fighting back some strong emotion.

"Did you really want to do this? Break Skye and me up in such a petty way? I can’t believe you’d be so vindictive! You were always kind, caring… Have you had this in you all along?"

"Me? Vindictive? What you did to me is a thousand times worse than anything I’ve done to you. Don’t even try to compare, Soren, because you’ll lose. You have no idea the hell I’ve been through—"

"And you want me to go through the same thing? Believe me, I’ve been through hell too. I’ve tormented myself over this—"

Liam laughed bitterly and cut in, "You? Tormented yourself? Hmph. And what came of it? Nothing. He fucked you into forgetting I even existed. You never cared about me, Soren.You were repulsed! You treated me like trash after everything I did for you. I fucking saved your life, and this is how you thanked me!"

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