Chapter 48 Replaced
Pattie
His words didn’t just hurt.
They broke something inside me that I didn’t even know could still break.
All those years, every night, every desperate trick I learned, every boundary I crossed just to please him… I had tried everything.
I hated the idea of threesomes, hated sharing him, hated the way it made me feel small, but I still let it happen. Over and over. Hoping, praying that this time would be different. That this time he would finally let go, finally come, finally show me I was enough.
And every single time, he’d just hiss in frustration, pull away, tell me it wasn’t working. That he couldn’t. That no matter how long we went, how many times I tried to make him feel good, release was impossible for him.
We had accepted it.
I had accepted it.
It became our quiet, painful truth: Liam King simply didn’t come. Not with me. Not with anyone.
Until her.
Until one woman, some faceless, nameless woman, unlocked the thing I had bled for, cried for, humiliated myself for, and failed at every single day.
It felt like a public execution.
Like the whole world had watched me try and fail spectacularly, only for someone else to walk in and succeed without even trying.
I sat there on the floor, tears streaming, body shaking, while he watched me from his chair, face completely blank, cold as marble. No pity. No regret. Just observation.
And in that moment, I understood.
I wasn’t special anymore.
I was just another girl on the payroll.
Another body that made him money.
Another toy he could put away when it stopped being interesting.
The other girls would laugh behind my back. Whisper. Pity me. Mock me for thinking I was different, for believing I could ever be the one to crack him open.
But that wasn’t what hurt the most.
What tore me apart, what left me hollow and bleeding, was the simple, brutal truth:
I had loved him from the very first second I laid eyes on him. Loved him completely. Hopelessly.
Like he was my entire universe.
And now… he didn’t even care enough to pretend he ever loved me back.
“Pattie.”
He said my name like it was an inconvenience, sharp and clipped.
When I lifted my head, trembling, my tear-blurred eyes met his and what I saw there wasn’t anger, or regret, or even indifference.
It was pure irritation.
I had seen that look on his face thousands of times, directed at slow staff, disappointing clients, broken toys, but never at me.
Not until now.
“You know damn well I’m not capable of returning your feelings,” he said, cocking his head like he was studying a mildly interesting specimen. “So why the hell did you let yourself fall this deep?”
I couldn’t speak. My whole body shook, chest tight, throat burning.
He sighed, the sound heavy with impatience. “Stop this nonsense, Pattie. Get the fuck up.”
The command was ice-cold, final. I knew better than to test him when he used that tone.
Slowly, painfully, I pushed myself to my feet, teeth clenched so hard my jaw ached. No.
No.
I wouldn’t let him discard me like trash. Liam couldn’t just erase everything we’d built, everything I’d built around him and walk away.
He rose abruptly from his chair, closing the distance between us in three strides. Towering. Untouchable.
“Don’t forget why I chose you in the first place,” he said, voice low and deliberate. “Now that you’re no longer useful, you should walk away quietly. Just like the ones before you.”
My stomach twisted violently.
He reached out, not to comfort, not to touch, but to tilt my chin up, forcing me to look directly into those empty eyes.
“You always knew this day would come, Pattie. The day I’d get bored. So don’t act like I used you.”
His fingers tightened for a second, then released.
“For the time you gave me, I gave you stability. Security. I polished you. Turned you from that awkward, shallow little nerd into what you are now. Don’t you dare forget that.”
Then he turned.
No hesitation. No backward glance.
He walked toward the door like I was already gone, like the last few years had been nothing more than a mildly diverting chapter he’d already closed.
He didn’t care how I felt.
He never had.
And the worst part, the part that cut deepest, was realizing I’d spent all this time convincing myself otherwise.
The door clicked shut behind him, and the silence rushed in like cold water.
I drew in a shaky breath, hands trembling as I wiped at my face. The tears kept coming anyway, hot, relentless, unstoppable. No matter how hard I tried to dam them up, they just kept spilling over.
Replaced.
The word echoed in my skull like a gunshot. I had been replaced.
There had been others before me, girls who came and went like seasons. But I was different. I lasted longer than any of them. You made me feel important. Special. You looked at me like I mattered, touched me like I was more than just another body in your empire. You polished me, shaped me, gave me a place at your side.
And then, in one conversation, you threw it all away like it had never meant anything.
Who is she?
Who is this woman, who dared to step into my place? Who managed, without even trying, to give you the one thing I bled for?
I need to see her.
I need to look into the face of the woman who stole you from me. The one who made you feel pleasure to the extent you came.
I’ll find her, I’ll tell her to let you go. To walk away. To stop taking what belongs to me.
Because you are mine, Liam Raul King.
Whether you want me or not. Whether you feel anything for me or not.
You changed my life. You molded me into this version of myself.
You made me yours.
And… I’ll make sure you never forget it.
You will always be mine. No matter what it takes.
Claire
After everyone else had gone to bed, I couldn’t settle. I slipped out to the poolside alone, cradling a glass of chilled white wine as the night air brushed my skin.
My phone buzzed softly on the table beside me.
A message from Liam.
“You left without saying goodbye, Claire. I’m upset.”
A small, private smile tugged at my lips. So he’d noticed.
I typed back quickly: “I had to go. I needed the space.”
Minutes passed. The screen stayed dark while I stared at it, the glow reflecting off the still water.
Then his reply appeared:
“Take care of yourself, Claire. Try not to miss me too much.”
I let out a soft chuckle, shaking my head.
So damn full of himself.
And yet… the words lingered, warm in the cool night, like the last sip of wine on my tongue.