Chapter 76 The Perfect Couple
Liam’s POV
From a distance, we probably looked like the perfect couple.
Stacy sat beside me, her hand lightly resting on my arm, her lips brushing close to my ear as she whispered. To anyone watching from across the room, it might have looked like we were sharing sweet nothings, laughing about something only the two of us understood.
But I was not smiling. I had not smiled all evening.
“I told you, Liam,” Stacy murmured, her voice soft as silk but edged with steel. “There’s nothing you can do to stop this. Don’t ruin your father’s trust over a passing crush.”
My jaw tightened. I did not look at her. When I spoke, my voice came out colder than I meant it to, a sharp contrast to the performance we were putting on for everyone else.
“Stacy, I already told you. This thing between us. It’s going nowhere.”
She tilted her head, all grace and charm, but her smile was sharp.
“Could have fooled me,” she said sweetly. “And let’s see how Mia reacts after she sees the photos from tonight.”
My stomach twisted. I had seen the camera flashes. I had felt her lean closer, fix my collar, make it all look like a romantic dinner. A celebration of something that did not even exist.
“She knows what this is,” I said, forcing my voice to stay steady. “She knows how I feel about you. She trusts me.”
Stacy let out a soft laugh.
“Trust is such a delicate thing, Liam. You know the saying. Actions speak louder than words.”
She leaned in again, smiling like she was flirting. “She must have seen the photos by now. I asked Chloe to send them to your girlfriend.”
I curled my fists under the table. I could feel the blood rushing to my temples, the weight of the suit suffocating me more by the second.
“We’ll always be seen together during holidays, family events, charity galas,” she continued lightly. Too casually. “Mia doesn’t belong in our world. You know she doesn’t.”
Then she turned fully toward me, her tone sharpening, daring me.
“Try bringing her as your date, Liam. I dare you. And watch how fast everything falls apart.”
My throat tightened. I forced myself to meet her gaze.
“One day, I will,” I said, even though my voice was hoarse with a lie I almost believed. “One day, I’ll walk in with Mia beside me, and I won’t care what anyone thinks.”
Her smile only widened.
“That day will never come, Alcaraz,” she said as she stood gracefully. “And if it does, she’ll be the one humiliated, not you. Because this world doesn’t spare girls like her.”
She walked away toward my mother, every step elegant and poised. Just the way my parents always liked.
I sat there, cold and unmoving, my heart hammering against my ribs.
I hated how helpless I felt. Because as much as I despised the games Stacy played, I knew what she was capable of. And I knew exactly what was at stake.
One word from her, and everything could spiral. My father’s business. My mother’s quiet pressure. The legacy I was expected to uphold. Stacy had been wrapped around our lives like a silk ribbon pulled too tight.
And Mia was the thread that did not belong. And yet, she was the only one who ever made me feel free.
I stared blankly at the glass in my hand, barely hearing the dull chatter around me. Across the room, Stacy watched me, waiting. Calculating.
She loved me. In her own twisted way, she did. And she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
And Mia did not even know she was walking straight into a storm. I wanted to protect her more than anything.
But how do you protect someone from a war they do not even know they are part of?
I clenched my jaw, wishing for the thousandth time that Julian were still alive. Julian had always known how to handle our parents. He stood in the way, absorbed the pressure, kept me safe. Without him, I was exposed, expected to lead and to obey.
My parents never used to care who I dated. They never meddled in my personal life. But now, they saw everything through the lens of legacy. And Stacy was the perfect fit.
Mia did not stand a chance in their world. But I was not going to let them destroy her. Not without a fight.
Even if it cost me everything.
She was worth it.
“Is there something you want to tell me, Liam?”
My mother’s voice broke through the heavy silence.
I blinked, startled. I had not even noticed her come in. She was suddenly sitting beside me on the edge of my bed, her presence soft and grounding, just like it had been when I was a child.
My phone lay dead on the nightstand. I had meant to call Mia. I needed to hear her voice. Needed to explain everything, but it was late. She was probably asleep. And part of me was afraid to wake her when I did not even know what to say anymore.
“About what?” I asked lightly, but my mother saw straight through me.
My mother reached for my hand and held it gently.
“Come on, son. I may not always understand what’s going on in your world, but I know when something is weighing on your heart.”
I looked down, avoiding her gaze.
“Did Stacy say something to you?”
She shook her head.
“No. She didn’t tell me anything. But Liam, I’m your mother. I don’t need anyone to tell me when my son is hurting.”
Her voice softened.
“I’m sorry about your father. I know he’s been pressuring you, trying to make you into something you’re not. It hurts me to see it, but you have to understand. He’s grieving in his own way.”
Her fingers tightened around mine.
“Losing Julian broke him. And now he’s afraid of losing you too. He’s clinging to control because it’s the only way he knows how to protect what’s left.”
I gave her a faint smile that did not quite reach my eyes.
“Mom, I’m okay. You don’t have to worry.”
She smiled gently, brushing my hair the way she used to when I was little.
“Of course I’ll worry. You’ll always be my baby, even when you’re grown and carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. But you don’t have to carry it alone.”
“Actually, it’s about Stacy,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper.
I swallowed. “I don’t want to marry her, Mom. I never did.”
She let out a slow breath, like she had known all along.
“I figured,” she said gently. “But in our family, Liam, love has always taken a backseat to duty. You know that. Even your father and I.”
She paused.
“He was good to me. A good provider. A good father. But he didn’t love me the way I once dreamed he would. And I accepted that, because that’s the world we live in.”
I looked at her, searching her eyes.
“But I love someone else.”
Something tender passed over her expression.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” she whispered, brushing her thumb over my knuckles. “Because as an Alcaraz, loving someone freely is the one thing we’re rarely allowed to do.”
My chest tightened.
“And what if I don’t follow Dad’s rules?” I asked quietly.
She looked away, her eyes misting.
“Then it will be hard. Harder than you think. He won’t just disapprove. He’ll cut you off. Not out of cruelty, but out of fear. He believes obedience is love, and disobedience is betrayal. It’s not right, but it’s how he’s always been.”
She stood slowly, smoothing her dress.
“It’s better to end it now, while it’s still early. Before she gets more attached. Before you do.”
Something inside me cracked.
“It’s already too late for that,” I murmured.
She paused in the doorway, then turned back to me.
“Then be sure, Liam. Because the kind of love you’re choosing, the kind that goes against everything expected of you…”
Her voice trembled. “That love has to be worth every sacrifice.”
And then she was gone, leaving me alone in the dark, staring at the closed door.
I lay back on my bed, staring at the ceiling, whispering Mia’s name like a mantra.
She was the only real thing in a world built on appearances. And now, more than ever, I knew exactly what I had to fight for.