Chapter 3.
The house was perfect.
The owner came home late yesterday, so he wasn't able to see her like the agent told him yesterday.
His gaze wandered around the surrounding as he stood there. He had been shown around yesterday by the agent, but he couldn't help but marvel at the house.
It stood at two stories with tall windows and porches-and detailed ornamentation that almost bordered on over-the-top.
It was fairly simple, rectangular-shaped with flat roofs that protruded quite far out from the exterior walls. The windows were tall, skinny and rounded at the top, and there was trim, trim and more trim. It even featured a square cupola that rose out of the center of the house, adding to the Tuscan villa feel.
It looked old but he wanted to live here, he didn't know why but he felt a deep desire, a deep connection with this house. Maybe because of the name he saw, but all he knew was that he wanted to live here.
He paused at the entrance for a few minutes, mentally preparing himself, before pressing the bell. He turned his head at the sound of footsteps approaching him at the door.
His eyes met with a woman's.
Not just any woman, but a familiar woman. She looked familiar, but he knew she wasn't the Diana Wilson he knew, she obviously wasn't.
He knew Diana Wilson very well, down to the colors she liked to paint her nails, but this woman was definitely not Diana.
If anything, she was the complete opposite of the Diana he knew.
This woman stood tall, her luscious blonde curly hair sitting pretty just a few inches above her obvious cleavage bulging out of the U-neck dress she was wearing.
She flipped her hair behind her shoulder with her long matte brown nails.
Her dress came to a stop on her mid-thigh, hugging her curvy body, accentuating her hip dips beautifully. Her long hairless legs were on display, shining under the sun as she walked up the steps.
Liam's eyes roamed her body, and then up to her face. She was beautiful, her diamond blue eyes shone brightly as she stared at him, frozen in her steps.
She couldn't believe her eyes. It was him, Liam Maxwell.
She quickly caught herself and cleared her throat to speak, but was quickly interrupted by him.
"Um… I came to see you regarding the property yesterday, but you weren't around."
"Oh." Her mind went blank. She couldn't think up anything to say fast enough so he wouldn't suspect her, so she said the first thing that came to her mind. "I'm afraid you came all the way here for nothing. I only rent to women, no men allowed."
Liam's eyes unintentionally narrowed as he stared her down. "Excuse me?"
"I know you heard me right the first time." She rolled her eyes.
Liam was confused, he wasn't prepared for this at all. "Excuse me?"
"Have you suddenly gone deaf, sir? I only rent to women, no men allowed. And I'm pretty sure you saw that on the ad before you clicked it." She retorted, placing her right hand on her right hip.
Every hope Liam had of meeting the Diana Wilson he knew went down the drain as he just stared confusedly. This wasn't his Diana. She wasn't the same Diana Wilson he broke years ago.
"I understand but can we at least go inside to discuss this? I find it rude that you're just giving me the news out here without even welcoming me in or anything." He pointed out his observations.
"There's nothing to discuss, sir. I'm sincerely sorry if my manager misled you or forgot to tell you. I don't rent to men! It's clearly stated on the ad which you clicked and read."
"Well, have you found someone to rent to?" He argued back, clearly getting fed up. "Or do you just have a thing against men?"
"I don't care about men. I have to check my emails now, which means I do not have time for this. So if you'll excuse me?" She walked by him, inhaling that familiar scent as she pushed the door open.
Liam stood still. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation, but he was sure of one thing; he wasn't leaving. He liked the place, and the intriguingly rude lady as well.
"My name is Liam Maxwell."
Diana's eyes widened unnoticeably at the sound of his name, but she managed to comport herself. "I don't rent to men. So if you don't mind, please leave."
She turned away from him and shut the door, but Liam was fast. Too fast for a man who just recovered from a deadly illness. He placed his foot between the door and Its hinges, pushing himself through it real quick.
He noticed her flinch and said, "Don't be scared, please, I'm not gonna do anything to you, I just need you to listen to me, I won't hurt you."
That pissed Diana off as she balled her fists in anger. "Do I look like I'm scared of you?" She growled.
"No, no, you don't, at all. But it's not wise of you to let a stranger into your house, hence my assurance. I mean, what if I'm a rapist or a thief? Wouldn't you be scared?"
"Just shut up and leave!" She growled loudly, getting annoyed by his stubbornness. "Mr Maxwell, now you listen to me-"
"I'll pay you double of whatever the rent is. I'll fund the painting of the steps or paint it myself. I'll weed the garden. I'll even clear out the chimneys, or maybe pay someone to do it. I'll do everything but the only thing I wouldn't do is wear a skirt."
"Wow!! The stairway is magnificent!" Liam looked around.
"I didn't invite you into my house to admire my stairway."
"You didn't invite me at all."
"Thank you for reminding me. Maybe I should call the police and tell them there's an intruder in my house."
"Go ahead then." Liam shrugged nonchalantly. "It would be really interesting to let them know how much of a violent feminist you are, going as far as discriminating against the male gender. It would be fun to watch the lawyer's try to defend your case, now wouldn't it?"
Liam smiled in amusement as he watched her nose flare in anger.
Was he really threatening her on her own property?
What the hell?
He hadn't changed at all, not one bit. He was still as cunning and scheming as the first day she met him, using these weird means and twisting everything to get what he wants.
Seeing as she had nothing to say, that drove him to carry on.
"What do you have against men? Why do you not like men?"
Her heart stopped as she heard his question. "Nothing! Now shut up." She lied through her teeth.
It was so obvious, even to Liam. He just assumed she didn't want to talk about it. "If you say so."
"Um… alright, so, as you can see here, there are no obvious demarcations, which is why I feel it's rather safe for me to rent it out to a female."
She didn't want Liam to know about anything that's happened with her after them.
She'd been with many men. And everytime, it never worked out.
One of her exes flat out told her he wasn't spending her birthday with her because they'd been fighting a lot lately. Later, she found out that he hooked up with another girl that day and she eventually left him.
While she was dating another, she would always complain about him and how annoying he was. When she would go out, she would find herself flirting with other guys. It took him finding out for her to understand she'd fallen out of love with him, if it was even love in the first place.
And another she actually liked more than the rest, but he would lie about the smallest things, like what he ate for lunch and stuff like that. He once told her he had a burger, only to find out later that he actually had pasta.
She didn't actually care about what he ate, but why was he even lying about stuff like that?
That's when she realized that he was a compulsive liar. Eventually, she found out that he lost his job, and other things all while they were in a relationship. But he lied about the unemployment too.
Another that she just couldn't stand. He was shallow, uncultured, and lazy, meanwhile she love art, culture, knowledge, music, science, etc. They were polar opposites.
The excitement of the new relationship that once was came crashing down once she started to discover the person he really was. It was horrible. So horrible that she wondered why she even got in the relationship in the first place.
And many more after these but the one that contributed to her character development the most was the ex who tried to put his hands on her.
They had issues before that; alcoholism, jealousy, possessiveness and gaslighting but physical abuse was the nail in the coffin.
They were in a heated argument and he slapped her. She didn't react at first, just cradled her face in her hand in shock as she stared at him. She definitely didn't expect that.
"What the fuck did you just do?" She asked in shock as she glared at him.
He raised his hand to slap her again and she caught it mid-air. He groaned as her knuckles met his nose, accompanied by her knee to his crotch.
She wasn't some pushover that he could do that to. She didn't think twice about anything. All she saw was red as she dishes punches out to his face.
After that day, she hated men. She just didn't want to be involved with any man, it never ends well for her.
"I'm a very private person, and I love my privacy." Liam deadpanned, snapping her back to reality. "You can be sure I'd respect yours as much as I expect you to respect mine."
"Y'know," she began sweetly, "Some nerve you've got there, coming into my house and offering me twice the rent, without even knowing how much I'll demand initially."
"Well-"
"Aaaaaaaaaand to spice it all up, you threaten me with discrimination. Sorry, but those are just too many red flags for me to ignore."
He gave her a lazy grin. For some reason, he was happy to be talking with her. Maybe because she was attractive, but she wouldn't be the first attractive woman whose attention he'd have. Neither is she the most attractive he's seen.
"I could clear up those red flags in a minute. I could give you my reference letters, a credit rating, postdated checks. I don't drink and I don't smoke- well, only casually. I don't entertain any guests and I've overgrown wild parties. What more do you want?"
"A high-pitched voice perhaps?"
He laughed. Liam laughed his heart out. Six months ago, he would've never thought he would laugh this heartily.
In a weird high-pitched voice, he jokingly said "I could try."
He watched her. He saw her about to let loose and laugh at his joke, about to let her guard down, but she immediately fixed up, putting on her poker face again.
But he didn't miss the unmistakable glare of interest in her eyes.
"I prefer renting to women." She insisted stubbornly. "You'd be a nuisance. I can't even walk around in my underwear with you here."
"You think I can? This applies to both of us, y'know." He smirked.
Colors slowly rose on her cheeks, but a phone call came in, saving her from the embarrassment.
"Excuse me."
Liam stared at her retreating figure as she walked to a corner to take the call.
If he couldn't get the place, he would lose his chance to heal.
A suddent wave of exhaustion washed over him as he leaned back against the wall. All of a sudden, his breath got shallow and his heartbeat got so slow that he could hear his own breath. He internally cursed the weakness if his knees.
Natural side effects, the doctor back in England had told him they were debilitating effects of fatigue. So he has nothing to worry about. They would go away soon.
He closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh breeze laced with the scent of nature.
He could feel his head getting lighter and he was confused; was this also a side effect or was there something wrong with him? He didn't realize what was happening, but she did.
"Are you alright?" Diana called out as she walked towards him.
Oh shit!