Chapter 65 It Should Have Been Me
Liam’s POV
Josh’s punch hit my jaw so hard my head snapped to the side. The parking lot filled with gasps and shocked whispers. But I did not fall. I barely reacted.
I smiled, even though it hurt. It was not a happy smile. It was bitter and broken, and my eyes stung for reasons that had nothing to do with the punch.
Because I deserved it.
Part of me even wanted to thank Josh for hitting me.
The pain felt like a release. Like it finally matched the chaos burning inside my chest. For once, what I felt inside showed on the outside.
Then Stacy rushed to me, looking panicked and dramatic.
"Liam! Oh my God, are you okay?" she cried, rushing over to me. Her heels clicked on the cement as she dropped beside me, her hands reaching for my face like she did not know if she should comfort me or get angry. "Josh, what is wrong with you?"
Then she turned on him, anger blooming behind her mascara thick lashes.
Of course she recognized him. Josh was from the same circle as me. The same circle as her. But Stacy did not care about any of that.
What she cared about was being the center of it.
"What the hell was that for, Josh?" she snapped. One hand went to her hip while the other stayed hooked around my arm. "You knew I was supposed to be with Liam. Everyone said that. Even my mom used to joke we would have our wedding in Paris. So what now? You punch him because you suddenly regret not telling me how you feel sooner?"
She even laughed, soft and airy, like this was some romantic drama she was enjoying.
"I did not even know you liked me too," she added, smirking as she flipped her hair, like she was being praised instead of embarrassed.
My stomach twisted harder than the punch to my jaw.
It was the way she sounded proud. The way she assumed everything was about her.
This was the girl my parents wanted for me. The girl they proudly showed off at every family event. The girl who cared more about being claimed than being loved.
And suddenly, I did not even feel the bruise on my face.
God, I wished my parents were here.
I wished they could hear her, how she turned love into status and attention. I wished they could see the difference between a girl who smiled for cameras, and a girl who smiled through pain just to survive.
Because Stacy was not like Mia. She never was.
And I knew it now. I had been with the wrong girl.
Josh's sharp laugh cut through the silence, low and disbelieving.
"Stacy," Josh said slowly, like her name tasted bitter in his mouth, "not everything is about you."
He stared at her, cold and tired at the same time, and even Stacy went quiet. "This is not about your Paris wedding fantasy or who you think loves you. This is not your moment to steal. It never was."
Then he turned back to me, and his anger came back instantly.
"Ask him why I punched him," Josh said, his voice tight.
I looked away. My jaw throbbed, but the pain was nothing compared to the guilt burning inside me. I could not even lift my head. I could not even defend myself.
Josh stepped closer, his fists clenched again. "I told you to stay away from her if you were just going to hurt her. I warned you."
He leaned in, close enough that I could hear his breathing shake.
"I warned you."
I stayed silent. Because what could I say?
That I regretted everything? That I missed her every night? That she haunted my dreams, and I hated waking up without her?
Josh's voice cracked, and suddenly it was not only anger anymore. It was pain. "You knew what she was going through, Liam. You knew what Mia had already lost. And still you walked away like a coward. You did not even look back."
The hallway went completely still. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.
Josh stepped back and let out a harsh breath. "I want to hit you again. I really do. But I will not. Because she would hate me for it. And Mia has been through enough."
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay quiet even as everything inside me felt like it was collapsing.
Josh shook his head, disgust all over his face. "You still do not get it, do you? You could have just told her the truth. You could have ended it properly. But you did not. You let her hope. You let her fall."
His voice lowered, softer now, raw and heavy.
"You let her fall, and now she is the one bleeding."
I dropped my gaze to the floor, wishing I could disappear.
Josh turned and scanned the crowd. His face changed when he realized what I already feared.
Mia was gone.
My chest tightened, panic squeezing the air out of me. She saw everything. She heard everything. And she left without saying a word.
Josh sighed, running a hand through his hair, disappointment written all over him.
Then he turned away and walked off, shoulders stiff, his footsteps echoing in the silence.
Stacy insisted we should go to the clinic, but I insisted I was fine. And it made her mad that she walked ahead of me with the golden four.
I walked slower still processing what happened and the words that greeted me the moment I got inside the classroom making me so pissed.
Mia just said she was in love with Daniel, and that he was her boyfriend now. I could not tell if she meant it or if she was only saying it to protect her pride. But I knew they had a history, and I knew Daniel had loved her for a long time.
But I couldn't breathe.
My legs moved on their own, carrying me slowly down the aisle toward the front of the room, toward the only girl I wanted to chase, yet couldn't seem to reach anymore.
The classroom felt colder now.
Everyone was still whispering. Some were staring at Daniel like they were trying to calculate when he and Mia had even gotten close. Others were watching me, waiting for a reaction. Waiting for a scene.
But I had no scene left in me. Because Mia had already delivered the final line.
I sat behind her. Close enough to see the strands of her hair tied in a loose ribbon, the back of her neck tense, the slight tremble in her shoulders she tried to hide so well.
I wanted to say something, anything, but I couldn't.
Because she wasn't mine anymore, not even a little.
And Daniel sat beside her like he'd always belonged there. He leaned over slightly and whispered something in her ear, something that made her lips curve into a quiet, grateful smile.
And I felt like I was suffocating. Because I knew that smile. I used to be the reason for it.
Now I was just the reason she hid her pain so well. My fists stayed curled under my desk.
I should have spoken earlier. I should have chased her when I had the chance. But I let silence win. I let fear lead. And now she was slipping through my fingers in the most elegant, devastating way possible.
Mia, with her trembling hands and composed lies, had just declared she was in love with someone else.
And even if it wasn't true, even if her voice had shaken just a little too much, she looked so convincing that I almost believed it myself.
I stared at the back of her head like a man trying to memorize the shape of regret.
Then her hand slipped into Daniel's again, and I closed my eyes.
Because it should've been me.
And now, maybe, it never would be.