Chapter 28

Liya struggled to open her eyes. She glanced at the clock and realized she’d overslept. Last night’s confrontation with Blake had drained her energy. She tried to sit up and sank back against her pillows. She needed to see a doctor if these symptoms continued. The bedside telephone rang suddenly, cutting through the morning silence like a sword through paper.

“Good morning, Liya.”

“Good morning, Blake.”

“I’m sending out our wedding invitations. Would you like to have your family’s invitations couriered or would you prefer we drop them off personally?”

She froze. “Courier is fine.”

“I’d love to meet your family.”

No, he wouldn’t. She wished she’d told him the truth about her family. Would he still want to marry her if he knew she was an orphan? Liya struggled to come up with an excuse. “My mom’s out of the country right now.”

Blake sighed. “I’d love for your mom to visit before our wedding.”

Liya shuddered at the prospect of meeting Jasmine before her fake marriage.

“Do you have a number I can call your mother on?”

Liya bit her bottom lip. Blake wasn’t going to give up so easily. “I’ll text you her number.”

“That will be great. Thanks.”

Blake ended the call before Liya responded. What could she possibly do to convince Blake not to invite Jasmine especially when he was so determined to meet her? Liya sighed and got out of bed. What was the point in stalling? She’d have to face Blake sooner or later and tell him about her family.

Liya had just stepped out of the shower when someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” she called, expecting Mrs. David. She wrapped a towel around her body.

“Liya, I’m sorry. I should have asked for your input into our wedding before sending out invitations.” Blake’s voice trailed off when he noticed Liya was clad only in a towel.

Liya clutched the two ends of her towel in a firm grip. ”Um. It doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t have much of a family to invite to the wedding anyway.”

He raised his eyes brows at her reply. “It matters to me.”

“All that matters to me is that we exchange our vows, and nobody stops us.” She wished he would quit mentioning her family.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Blake asked, his tone soft and gentle.

Liya sat on the edge of the bed, no longer self-conscious. “I should have mentioned this a long time ago.” She paused. “I’m an orphan, Blake. I don’t know who my father is. My mother had an affair with a married man who wouldn’t commit. He left her when he found out she was pregnant. My mother eventually died of a broken heart. My aunt Jasmine took me in. Needless to say, she has never liked me. She never let a day pass without reminding I was an orphan. She is the last person I want at our wedding.”

“I understand,” Blake said, “but you don’t need to worry about anyone creating trouble at our wedding. I will make sure of that.”

“What if she speaks to the reporters?” Liya asked.

“She wouldn’t dare,” Blake assured her. “I will ensure your aunt is aware of the consequences if she decides to do anything to upset you on our big day. I’m going back to the office to take care of a few things.”

“Okay.”

Blake closed the door behind him.

Liya fell back on the bed. She still couldn’t believe her ears. Was this really Blake Stone she was speaking to? Every word he’d uttered, every assurance he’d given her had sounded a lot like he loved her. Bus she knew the truth. He’d pledged to do whatever it took to keep her happy in their marriage. He was just honoring his end of the marriage promise, wasn’t he?

***

Blake paused outside the guestroom. He’d seen a similar mixture of pain and anger in Sophia’s eyes when he’d first brought her home. Had Liya suffered abuse at her stepmother’s hands? Guilt flooded him when he realized how he’d insisted on inviting her family to their wedding. He’d definitely forced Liya to unearth memories she’d rather forget. Anger flared inside him. He’d invite Jasmine out of politeness. Liya’s reaction at the mention of her name was enough to trigger the warning bells in his head. God forbid Jasmine to try to hurt Liya ever again. He’d protect her from Jasmine. He wondered how much she’d suffered at her stepmother’s hands. Now he understood that Liya’s past helped her understand Sophia so well. Suddenly, everything fell into place.

He rushed back to the office and checked on the wedding décor, caterers, sent out the remaining invitations, and confirmed Liya’s wedding dress. He hadn’t asked her what type of dress she’d wanted. Instead, he’d asked one of his favorite designers to send five of her most popular designs in Liya’s size. The dresses would arrive later this evening.

Last, he stopped at a jeweler to buy their rings. He chose an opulent gold and diamond ring with an elaborate sunflower for Liya.

“You must really love your fiancée,” the young, male sales assistant told him.

A strange sensation filled Blake’s chest. “Yeah,” he replied, “I do love her.” It was the first time he’d admitted to himself and to anyone else that he loved Liya Ahuja. He’d fallen in love with her the day she’d made his daughter smile. He’d just never realized that he’d fallen in love.

He had a sudden yearning to spend time with Liya and Sophia. He paid for the rings and rushed home. They were on the porch, eating ice cream when he reached home. he loved the way Liya’s face lit up when she glanced at him. Sophia’s face broke into its trademark grin. He joined them on the porch. Mrs. David brought him a bowl of ice cream topped with candy as well. Blake laughed when Sophia and Liya stared at his bowl daring him to eat the candy.

“You two think I can’t eat candy and ice cream?” he asked.

“Aha!” they replied in unison.

Blake took a huge scoop and relished the icy sweetness. Of course, he’d need to hit the gym later to burn off the sugar. Right now, all he wanted to do was enjoy ice cream with his two favorite ladies.

“Guess what, Liya,” Sophia said, after she’d finished all her ice cream.

“Hmmmm. You’re eating all of your vegetables today?”

“Yup.” Sophia giggled. “There’s more.”

“I know. You have a boyfriend,” Liya teased.

“No way. Boyfriends are yuck.” Sophia pulled her face.

“Hmmm…I give up.”

“Daddy bought me a fairy dress for the wedding. Oops.” Sophia covered her face with her hands and snuck a glance at Blake. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Blake winked at Liya. “Liya didn’t hear you, love.”

Liya nodded. “What was that, Sophia?”

He’d told Sophia about the dress this morning. It would arrive with Liya’s wedding dresses. Blake took in Liya’s and Sophia’s relaxed demeanors. He never wanted them to let them out of his sight. Ever.

“It’s reading time,” Liya reminded Sophia.

Sophia covered her eyes. “My eyes are tired.”

“It’s a really short story about a little girl who loves the beach,” Liya told her. “Please excuse us, Blake.”

Blake nodded. Liya’s reading lessons had definitely helped improve Sophia’s vocabulary. Her other tutors had also noticed a significant difference. Blake decided to do some work until the evening.

***

Blake watched the evening news while waiting for Liya and Sophia to join him for dinner.

“Beach Center for Abused and Orphaned Kids to Shut Down”

“What!” Liya gasped after hearing the headline.

“Liya? Are you okay?” Blake asked.

She pointed at the television set. “That’s the clinic I served my internship and volunteered at.”

The listened to the rest of the brief broadcast. Blake opened a search tab on his tablet and looked for the latest updates on Charleston property sales.

“Alicia,” he whispered eventually.

“Alicia?”

“Yeah. She’s dating a property developer.” Blake pushed his plate away. “This move is deliberate.”

“You mean they’re out to get me?”

“Us,” Blake corrected. “It’s just a cheap shot at revenge. It won’t affect Sophia’s custody hearing at all.”

Liya looked away. The orphanage closure might not affect Sophia’s custody hearing but it would most certainly affect her. She’d served her internship at the beach center. She’d worked with kids so much like herself. Kids shut out by society and disowned from families that refused to care for them. Would Blake understand just how much the orphanage meant to her?

“I’ll do everything I can to stop her.”

“Thank you.” He knew how much the beach clinic meant to her.

“I’ll get Andrew to check if this so-called deal is a valid one or just another one of Alicia’s publicity stunts.”

Liya nodded as Blake speed-dialed Andrew. She listened to Blake’s side of the conversation as if in a dream.

“Bankrupt? When? How much do they owe the bank? How much did Alicia’s boyfriend offer? Really?”

Liya waited expectantly for Blake to speak after he ended the call.

“I’ll sort this out,” he assured her, “it’s just a minor financial matter Alicia is manipulating.”

“Thanks. Please excuse me. I should check on Sophia.” There had to be more to Alicia’s sudden interest in the orphanage. Blake shuddered. Did Alicia plan on exposing Liya’s tragic childhood to the media? What if the move to shut down the orphanage was just a part of a deeper, more intricate plan to unsettle Liya and scare her off from marrying him? No, he couldn’t let that happen. The media would have a field day writing about Liya’s mother’s affair, and comparing Liya to her. He had to do everything in his power to protect Liya and to ensure Alicia didn’t do something stupid to hurt her.

The change in Liya’s mood hurt some deep, distant part of Blake he’d never paid much attention to previously. He wanted to see her smile. He wanted her eyes to sparkle and her skin to glow when she laughed—little things he’d never noticed in another woman. His emotions only confirmed what he’d realized earlier that day. He’d fallen in love with Liya Ahuja.