Chapter 88

Chapter 88
Bella's POV:

The hand that yanked Ethan out of the car belonged to Liam Cross.

I barely had time to process what was happening before Ethan hit the pavement hard, landing on his hands and knees with a grunt of pain. I scrambled out of the passenger side, my hands shaking as I tried to smooth down my disheveled clothes. My heart was still racing from the struggle, from the rage at what Ethan had just tried to do.

"Liam," I breathed.

He didn't look at me. His eyes were locked on Ethan, who was struggling to get up while still clutching his groin where I'd kneed him.

Before Ethan could fully stand, Liam's boot connected with his side, sending him sprawling again.

"The Grave family really is a pack of animals," Liam snarled. "All of you. Every single one. Just rabid dogs wearing human skin."

Ethan's face twisted with fury as he finally managed to get to his feet, though he was still bent slightly at the waist. "Liam Cross. Don't think your money and your pack give you the right to interfere in my marriage. I used to respect you. I gave you that courtesy. But you're pushing it too far."

Liam cracked his knuckles, a dark smile crossing his face. "Your respect? I don't want it. How about we settle this the old-fashioned way?"

"You think I won't?" Ethan shot back, his eyes blazing.

They were seconds away from tearing into each other. I could feel the violence building in the air between them, thick and dangerous.

I stepped forward, putting myself between Liam and Ethan. "Stop. Both of you." My voice came out tired, so tired. "Liam, let's just go. I'm exhausted."

Liam's eyes finally moved to my face. I saw the exact moment he noticed the exhaustion in my eyes, the slight redness around my wrists where Ethan had grabbed me. His jaw clenched, but he took a step back.

"Fine," he said quietly. Then he turned back to Ethan, his voice dropping to something cold and threatening. "But hear me clearly, Grave. If I ever see you lay another finger on her, I'll make sure you lose that thing permanently. Let's see how you manage to sleep with your precious mistress then."

Ethan's face went white with rage. He lunged forward, fist raised, but I grabbed Liam's arm and pulled him back just in time.

"You bastard!" Ethan roared. "Don't you dare bring Faye into this! She's innocent! She has nothing to do with this! Leave her out of it!"

"Ethan," I said, my voice flat. "This is over. Just... let yourself have some dignity. Walk away."

"Dignity?" He laughed, but it was an ugly sound. "You're the one who should be talking about dignity? Now that you have someone backing you up, you think you can do whatever you want? I finally believe all those rumors about you two. You've been sneaking around together this whole time, haven't you?"

I didn't even have the energy to be offended. "Think whatever you want. I don't care anymore."

"Liam Cross is famous for going through women like he changes clothes," Ethan continued, his voice vicious. "You're just another toy to him. A divorced woman with nothing to offer. That's all you'll ever be to him."

"And without me?" Ethan took a step closer. "You're nothing. You have nothing. But I can give you everything—wealth, status, power. You should be grateful I'm even willing to keep you around."

Before I could respond, Liam's arm tightened around my waist.

"Then I'll marry her," he said simply. "Make her my Luna."

The words hung in the air. Ethan's face went through several expressions—shock, disbelief, rage.

I looked up at Liam, startled. His expression was serious, but there was something playful in his eyes when he glanced down at me.

"You think she's just some empty-headed trophy?" Liam continued, addressing Ethan. "You have no idea what you had. One day, you're going to realize exactly what you threw away. And when that day comes, you'll be on your knees begging her to take you back. But it'll be too late."

Ethan's lip curled in a sneer. "We're still legally bonded. The rejection ceremony hasn't happened yet."

"Only because you keep delaying it," Liam shot back. "The agreement is signed. It's just a formality at this point. And even if it wasn't—when have you ever actually treated her like your mate? If you had, she wouldn't be willing to walk away with nothing just to escape you."

"Walk away with nothing?" Ethan's laugh was sharp. "Is that what she told you? She's trying to force me to transfer billions in company shares to her. She's blackmailing me."

Liam's eyes cut to me, questioning.

I met his gaze steadily. "Brandon transferred Diana's shares to Ethan. That company was my mother's life's work. I'm just trying to protect what she built."

Liam's expression cleared immediately. "That's fair. If you want to fight dirty with someone who plays dirty, I don't see the problem. You can't blame Bella for using whatever tools she has against a man who doesn't know how to be human."

"You want those shares?" Ethan's voice was razor-sharp. "Fine. Show me the money. Twenty billion dollars. Cash. Right now."

"Give me a few more days," I said calmly. "I'll have it."

"A few days?" Ethan laughed. "You can't even come up with one hundred million, let alone twenty billion."

Liam started to speak, but I put my hand on his arm, stopping him. Instead, I pulled out my phone and, with both men watching, dialed Brandon on speaker.

He answered on the third ring, his voice irritated. "What do you want? I thought we agreed you wouldn't contact me anymore."

"The hundred million you owe me," I said clearly. "When are you paying it back?"

There was a pause. "Are you seriously calling to harass me about this? I said I'd get it to you in a few days."

"I want it by the day after tomorrow. Latest. The money needs to be in my account, or you know what I'll do."

Another pause, longer this time. "Fine. Fine. Tomorrow. I'll have someone transfer it tomorrow. Every cent. But Bella, remember what you promised. Once the debt is paid, we're done. We don't know each other anymore."

"I remember," I said and hung up.

I looked at Ethan. "Believe me now?"

His face had gone pale. "Where did you get that kind of money?"

I smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "I have my ways. You can guess."

"Even if you have a hundred million," Ethan said, but his voice had lost some of its certainty, "you're still short by a lot. Where are you going to get the rest?"

"That's not your concern."

Ethan's jaw clenched. "Fine. Three days. If you can come up with the full amount in three days, I'll sign the transfer agreement. But if you can't, you'll never touch Moore Industries again. Ever."

"She won't need three days," Liam said suddenly. "Tomorrow is fine. Bring your contract tomorrow, Ethan. We'll sign it then."

He turned to me. "Bella, what if I invested in Moore Industries? Became a partner?"

I looked at him carefully. "Are you serious?"

His expression was more serious than I'd ever seen it. "Completely."

My mind raced. Liam had the resources. More than that, he had business acumen that could help turn the company around.

"Tomorrow, then?" Liam looked back at Ethan with a challenging smile. "You'll bring the contract tomorrow?"

Ethan stared at me for a long moment, his face a mask of barely controlled emotion. Finally, he bit out, "Tomorrow. Bring the money, and I'll sign."

He turned and stalked back to his car, getting in with jerky, angry movements. The engine roared to life, and he peeled out of the parking lot with enough force to leave rubber on the pavement.

The silence after he left felt heavy.

I realized Liam's arm was still around my waist. I stepped away gently, and he let me go without resistance.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For everything."

He studied my face. "You okay?"

"I will be."

"You know I don't actually care about Moore Industries, right?" Liam said, his voice softer now. "I'm doing this for you."

Something in my chest tightened. "I know. And that's what makes it so hard to accept. I don't know how I'll ever repay this debt."

He grinned, some of his usual playfulness returning. "You could always marry me for real. Make an honest man out of me."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help the small smile. "Be serious."

"I am serious." But then he relented. "Look, think of it as an investment. If the company makes money, I make money. Simple business."

I nodded, though we both knew it wasn't that simple.

"By the way," Liam said, changing the subject, "the International AI Robotics Competition is coming up. Are you planning to enter?"

I let out a long breath. The competition. For three years, I'd kept my head down as Ethan's Luna, playing the perfect housewife while my real talents gathered dust. Almost no one in his world knew what I was truly capable of. If I could stand out in this competition, if I could win, it would give me something I'd never had before—recognition. Visibility. Ethan would finally see, with his own eyes, that the woman he'd thrown away like trash was the very computer genius he'd been desperately searching for. And more importantly, it would be the foundation I needed for my own career, my own future.

But the timing... "I haven't had time to even think about it. Between everything with the family and the divorce... It's too late to start now."

"What if you didn't have to start from scratch?" Liam pulled out his phone. "Victor already put together a team. They've been working on the preliminary framework and basic architecture. You'd just need to handle the complex core algorithms—the stuff only you can do."

I stared at him. "Victor did this?"

"He knew you'd be interested. He also knew you'd be too busy to do it alone." Liam's smile was knowing. "He asked me to talk to you about it."

I shook my head slowly, but I was smiling. "Victor Hunt, always three steps ahead."

"So is that a yes?"

I thought about it. Despite everything else going on, the idea of diving into a challenging technical problem, of creating something new and innovative, made something in me come alive.

"Yes," I said. "Tell him I'm in."