54 Chapter 54- Waking Up to Consequences.
Chapter 54 Waking Up to Consequences
Liam’s POV
——
I wandered through the crowded ballroom searching for Damian, my vision already blurring from too much alcohol. The chandeliers overhead seemed to spin like carnival lights, and the faces around me melted into a hazy blur. Where the hell was Damian when I needed him most? Owen was nowhere to be found either.
My legs felt unsteady beneath me, and the room tilted dangerously. I had to get out of there before I made a complete fool of myself in front of the entire business elite of the city. My office upstairs seemed like the only refuge where I could clear my head and wait for this nightmare to end.
I began weaving through the sea of designer gowns and expensive suits, managing weak nods at familiar faces who greeted me. The effort of appearing normal was exhausting when every step felt like walking through quicksand.
Then I felt it – slender arms snaking around my waist like a trap closing shut. That cloying, overpowering perfume hit me like a physical blow. Before I could react, Isabella appeared beside me, her red lips stretched in a predatory smile.
“There you are, darling,” she purred, her grip tightening possessively around my arm.
She began dragging me through the ballroom like a prize she’d won, stopping to chat with various guests while I struggled to maintain my balance. The alcohol had robbed me of my strength, and her surprisingly firm grip kept me anchored to her side despite my attempts to break free.
“Isabella, let go,” I mumbled, but my words came out slurred and weak.
She either didn’t hear me or chose to ignore my protests, continuing her performance as the devoted companion. Every smile she flashed at the other guests made my stomach turn. The woman was absolutely relentless in her pursuit, and tonight she’d found me at my most vulnerable.
Finally, she steered me away from the crowd and toward a quieter corridor. Before I could process what was happening, her lips crashed against mine with desperate hunger. I tried to push her away, but my coordination was shot, and she clung to me like a leech.
“Isabella, stop,” I
manage
between her aggressive kisses, but she pressed closer, her hands roaming where they had no business being.
She practically carried me to the elevator, her arm supporting most of my weight while she jabbed the button repeatedly. The small space felt like a cage once the doors closed, trapping
54 Chapter 54–Waking Up to Consequences
me with her suffocating presence.
“Poor Liam, you’re completely wasted, she cooed, her voice taking on a false sweetness that
made
my skin crawl. “Let’s get you to your office so you can rest and drink some water. Then we o back to the party when you’re feeling better.”
can go
“I need to find Damian,” I slurred, my head lolling against the elevator wall.
“How about this – you go rest in your office, and I’ll find Damian for you. I’ll tell him exactly where you are,” she said with that syrupy tone that should have been my first warning.
Through my alcohol–fogged brain, that seemed reasonable enough. I nodded weakly, not realizing until the elevator reached my floor that she hadn’t left to search for Damian at all. She was still right there beside me, her fingers digging into my arm as she guided me down the hallway.
The next few hours dissolved into a black void of unconsciousness.
I woke up to sunlight streaming through my office windows and a splitting headache that felt like someone was driving nails into my skull. My mouth was dry as cotton, and every muscle in my body ached. But the worst part was the weight pressed against my chest and the unmistakable feeling of bare skin against mine.
My eyes snapped open, and the horror of my situation hit me like a freight train. Isabella was sprawled across my chest on the leather couch, wearing nothing but a lacy black bra and matching underwear. Her auburn hair was tangled and wild, and she was sleeping with the satisfied smile of a cat who’d caught the canary.
What the hell had I done?
Panic surged through me as I realized I was shirtless, my clothes scattered across the office floor like evidence of a crime I couldn’t remember comm The implications crashed down
on me with sickening clarity.
In my desperation to escape this nightmare, I shoved Isabella off me with more force than necessary. She tumbled to the floor in a heap, her limbs tangled awkwardly.
“Owww!” she shrieked, her voice piercing through my skull like a rusty knife, “Liam, what the hell? What’s wrong with you?”
“I should be asking you that question,” I snapped, scrambling to my feet and grabbing my shirt from the floor. “What happened here, you psychotic woman?”
Isabella stretched languidly, making no effort to cover herself as she smiled up at me with predatory satisfaction. “Oh baby, don’t tell me you don’t remember our incredible night together. You were absolutely insatiable, telling me how gorgeous I was, how amazing I felt…” She rose from the floor like a serpent, moving toward me with her arms outstretched as if she expected me to welcome her embrace.
54 Chapter 54- Waking Up to Consequences
“Stay away from me, you lunatic!” I dodged her reaching arms and backed toward the door. “I would never willingly touch you, Isabella Clairemont. You’re the most repulsive creature on this planet, you and that corrupt father of yours.”
Her expression shifted from seductive to wounded in an instant, crocodile tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Then came the ear–piercing wail that made my hangover ten times worse.
You can’t treat me like this, Liam!” she screamed, her voice climbing to frequencies that could shatter glass. “You used me and now you want to throw me away like garbage? Well, you can’t! Daddy will make sure you do right by me, you’ll see.”
“You’ve completely lost your mind,” I said, running both hands through my disheveled hair. “Get. dressed, Isabella. Please, for the love of God, put your clothes on and then we’ll talk like civilized human beings.”
She dressed with deliberate slowness, making sure I saw every movement as she slipped back into her evening gown. The moment she finished zipping up the back, I grabbed her arm and marched her to the elevator.
I spun her around to face me, my voice deadly serious. “If anything happened between us last. night, it was because you orchestrated it while I was too drunk to consent. This isn’t the Dark Ages where your daddy can force me to marry you to protect your precious honor. Besides, we both know you lost your virginity to Bryce Monteiro in the country club sauna three years ago, and half the city found out about it. Tell your father to go complain to him instead.”
“Liam, please,” she whined, trying to cling to my arm as I pushed her into the elevator. “You don’t mean this.”
I jabbed the lobby button and stepped back as the doors began to close. “Stay away from me, Isabella. Pretend you don’t know me, pretend we’ve never met. If I see you again, I’m calling security.”
The moment she was gone, I slumped against the wall, my head pounding with equal parts hangover and horror. I immediately called building security to confirm she’d left the premises, then contacted Mitchell to change all my access codes.
With shaking hands, I dialed Damian’s number.
“Brother, you vanished last night without a word, Damian’s voice came through clear and concerned. “What happened to you?”
“I danced with the devil herself and lived to regret it, I said, my voice hoarse with exhaustion and disgust. “Call Adrian and meet me at my apartment in thirty minutes. I need to tell you both what happened before I lose my mind completely
“Of course, Liam. We’ll be right there, Damian assured me before hanging up.
I fled my office like it was contaminated and headed home to confess my sins to the only people I trusted completely.
