Page 10 of Checks & Bonds

I followed him, my heart pounding in my chest. "Didn't your brother get married a couple of months ago?"

"So?" He opened the fridge, rummaging through its contents as if he could find answers there.

"He's in love, isn't he?" I pointed out. "If someone like him found love, don't I deserve that same right?"

Liam paused, a carton of milk in his hand, his shoulders tense. For a moment, he didn't say anything, and the silence felt heavy between us.

"It's not that simple," he finally muttered, setting the milk on the counter with a thud.

"But it should be," I argued. "I want more than just an arrangement."

Liam's eyes met mine, and for a brief second, I saw something soften in his gaze. But it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He shook his head, turning away from me.

"Freya," he said quietly but firmly. "Sometimes we don't get to choose our path."

I clenched my fists at my sides, feeling helpless and trapped. But I wasn't ready to give up yet. Not on myself and certainly not on my future.

"That's bullshit," I snapped.

"Yes," he agreed, his voice surprisingly calm. "I'll give you the same advice I gave my brother. Figure out what you want and then play the game and get it. But you have to play the game."

"Then I'll play," I said, staring at the card on the bar.

"You're being rash," he warned, closing the fridge with a soft thud.

"So?" I challenged, my eyes locking onto his. "If I have to be this way for Henry to finally drop me, I will."

"Trust me," he said, leaning on the bar now. "If Henry didn't drop you, knowing you were with Dan, he's not going to drop you."

"What does that mean?" I demanded, my heart pounding faster.

"It means why do you think Dan broke up with you?" Liam asked, his voice almost too casual.

I blinked, feeling a sudden chill. "I thought… he said…" My mind raced back to those painful conversations. "He said he wanted to focus on soccer and school, but that he didn't like that I was eventually going to marry Henry."

Liam's eyes narrowed slightly. "Let me ask you something," he said, his tone more intense now. Ivy shifted uncomfortably in her seat beside him. "Did he have a bruise on his face, maybe a busted lip?"

I frowned, trying to remember. "I mean," I began slowly. "I think a busted lip. I thought he got it in soccer, though..."

Liam smirked, shaking his head slightly. "Not soccer," he said firmly.

My breath caught in my throat as the pieces began to fall into place. The memory of Dan's split lip flashed vividly in my mind now—how he had avoided eye contact when I asked about it, brushing it off with a laugh about rough practice.

"Why didn't Dan tell me?" I whispered, more to myself than anyone else.

"He was probably trying to protect you," he replied quietly. "Henry has a way of making things clear without words."

The room seemed to close in around me as the realization sank deeper into my bones. Henry had been manipulating everything from the shadows all along.

Ivy reached out and touched my arm gently, her eyes full of sympathy. "Freya," she said softly, her voice like a balm on my raw nerves.

But there was no comfort in knowing the truth. Only a cold resolve hardened inside me. If playing this twisted game was what it took to reclaim my life, then so be it.

Henry wouldn't control me forever.

"Henry barely even looks at me," I said. "I’m just a duty to him. I know it. The second his grandfather died, he had to do whatever everyone told him. He can go fuck whoever he wants, but I’m supposed to sit around and wait? I don’t think so.”

I snatched the card from the bar, clutching it tightly. The cold surface felt oddly comforting in my palm.

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