Chapter 40 The Truth
Liam's POV
"Liam!" Josh called out just as I reached my car, the cool night air pressing between us like a wall.
I paused, my fingers hovering over the door handle. I turned slowly, a smile already fixed on my lips.
"What's up, Josh?" I asked, too casually. Like nothing was wrong. Like my heart wasn't still unraveling inside my chest.
"Do you have a minute?" he asked, his tone gentler now, almost hesitant.
I hesitated. I didn't want to talk, not tonight. Not when every time I looked at Josh, all I could see was Julian. My brother's shadow still lingered behind Josh's eyes, the same boy who used to practically live at our house. We were both grieving. Both trying to figure out how to keep breathing in a world that suddenly felt emptier.
And now... we both liked the same girl.
Still, I nodded. "Yeah. Sure."
Josh stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, rocking back on his heels before meeting my eyes.
"You like her?"
The question landed with the force of a punch I hadn't braced for.
"Josh..." I swallowed, then exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry. Am I that obvious?" I let out a soft, almost self-mocking laugh. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I never wanted to get in the way. But... yeah. I like her. I like her a lot."
My voice cracked slightly, but I pushed through it.
"This is the first time I've felt this way about anyone. And I swear, I'm not trying to steal her from you."
Josh looked at me for a long second. Then, slowly, he smiled. Not the kind of smile I expected. It wasn't cold or bitter or forced. It was warm, full of understanding, and he even looked a little amused.
"You're not stealing anything, Liam," he said softly. "You're Julian's little brother. I know you. And I'm not mad. I don't even have the right to be."
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I'm in love with someone else," he said quietly. "And it isn't Mia."
For a moment, I did not know what I was supposed to feel.
Relief washed over me first. A selfish kind of happiness, because it meant he did not love her the way I feared he did. But that feeling was quickly followed by anger. Sharp and bitter. Because if he was not in love with Mia, then what was he doing with her? Why was he holding her heart so carelessly, letting her stand beside him as if she meant something more?
Josh let out a slow breath, as if bracing himself.
"Mia's not my girlfriend," he said. "Not really."
The words hit me hard. I was truly shocked. Hope flared inside my chest so fast it left me lightheaded.
"What?" I asked, barely trusting my own voice.
"I asked her to pretend to be my girlfriend," Josh admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Just in front of my parents and in public."
He gave a humorless laugh. "My parents have been trying to match me with someone from one of their business partners' families. Blind dates. Introductions. Endless dinners with girls I do not even know. It was suffocating. I felt like I was being trapped into a future I never chose."
"So I asked Mia for help," he continued. "I told her it would only be temporary. Just long enough for my parents to back off and stop pushing their expectations on me. I needed them to believe I was already taken."
He looked at me then, his expression serious.
"It was never real. I never meant to use her, but she wanted to help me.
I couldn't speak. I just stared at him, stunned.
Josh chuckled. "She's one of the kindest girls I've ever met. She agreed to help me, no questions asked. And now? She's like my best friend, and I love her as a friend, that's all we are."
There was a pause. Quiet but heavy.
My heart beat so loudly in my chest, I was sure he could hear it.
"I think she likes you too," Josh added, almost teasing now. "She just doesn't want to hurt anyone."
I let out a shaky breath, and for the first time that evening, I smiled for real.
"You have no idea how much that means to me," I said quietly.
Josh grinned. "Well, now you do."
And just like that, the weight pressing against my chest lifted. Not completely. But enough.
Because Mia wasn't taken. She wasn't pretending with me. And I had a chance. A real one. To be someone real in her life. Someone who could love her the way she deserved.
"Can I wait for her?" I asked, my voice quieter now, unsure if I even had the right. "Just... don't tell her you told me anything yet."
Josh let out a low chuckle, shaking his head with a knowing smile. "Of course. And get back inside, will you? Your dinner's getting cold, and it's on me."
I hesitated, then nodded.
Josh leaned casually against the doorway, arms crossed. "If I don't say anything, she's going to keep her distance," he said after a beat. "That's just who Mia is. Loyal to the point of breaking her own heart. She'd never let herself be the reason someone else gets hurt, even if it means hiding what she really feels."
I looked down, the truth of that hitting harder than I expected.
Josh's voice softened. "She'll never make me look like a fool. She's too kind for that. Too good."
Later, back inside the restaurant, I sat at a booth near the window, talking casually with Josh again, trying to act normal.
Mia looked genuinely shocked when she saw me sitting inside the restaurant, already eating. Earlier, she had watched me walk out after I realized Josh was also working there, and I knew she must have thought I had left for good. But now, everything was different. I knew the truth. And for the first time in a long while, I felt like the happiest person alive. I did not want to ruin this moment with her. I did not want to ruin us.
"I thought you left," she said softly, surprise clear in her voice.
I could hear it then. Beneath the confusion, there was relief. Happiness. And that alone made staying worth it.
"I almost did," I admitted. "But then I realized I wanted to see you. And honestly, I do not care anymore if Josh is working here."
She blinked at me, caught off guard.
"If being here is the only way I get to see you," I continued, meeting her eyes, "then I will work part-time too."
Her cheeks immediately turned pink, and she looked away, clearly flustered.
"And I am driving you home tonight," I added gently but firmly. "I do not care if Josh gets upset with me."
Her blush deepened.
"I am not expecting anything from you," I said more quietly. "I just want to be close to you. That is all."
She stayed silent, but the small smile that curved her lips told me everything I needed to know.
All I ever wanted in that moment was to kiss her. Right there. To finally close the distance between us and let my feelings show. But I held myself back. She deserved patience, not pressure, Even so, I longed to kiss her, to softly whisper in her ear, to see her blush because of me.