Chapter 127 The Most Beautiful Girl
Liam’s POV
“So, your graduation is fast approaching, Liam. I want you and Stacy to start deciding which university you will attend.”
My father spoke without even looking at me, his eyes focused on the newspaper in front of him as if the matter had already been settled.
I frowned and leaned back slightly in my chair.
“Why do I need to coordinate with Stacy?” I asked.
The moment the words left my mouth, my father slowly lowered the newspaper and looked at me with clear displeasure. His eyes were sharp, the kind of look that made it clear he did not appreciate being questioned.
“Because it would be better if both of you attend the same university,” he replied in a firm voice. “You will be married after you graduate from college anyway.”
His words hit me like a heavy weight pressing against my chest.
I felt my hands slowly curl into fists at my sides.
Married.
The word echoed inside my mind like a prison door closing.
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that I never asked for this arrangement, that my life should be mine to decide. But I had lived under my father’s authority long enough to understand how pointless that would be.
Protesting would only make things worse.
My father had already made up his mind.
So instead, I forced myself to swallow the frustration building inside me. I took a slow breath and kept my voice steady.
“I will talk to her,” I said calmly. “We will study together so we can prepare and ace the entrance exams.”
The answer seemed to satisfy him immediately.
A pleased grin appeared on his face as he nodded approvingly.
“That’s my boy,” he said proudly before lifting his newspaper again, as if the conversation had never meant anything more than a simple plan for the future.
But for me, it meant everything.
Because the future he was planning for me was not the future I wanted.
In the days that followed, I found myself living two completely different lives.
During the day, I spent most of my time with Stacy. Our families often arranged dinners and meetings, and everyone treated us like a couple whose future had already been decided. She talked about universities, social events, and plans for our future as if everything was perfectly normal.
I nodded when I had to. I listened when she spoke.
But my heart was never really there.
Because whenever I had the chance, I searched for Mia.
I met her in secret places where no one from our circle would see us. Quiet corners of the campus, empty hallways, and hidden paths behind the buildings became our small escape from the world that wanted to control us.
Every time I found her alone, I could not stop myself.
I pulled her close and kissed her like I had been starving for it all day.
Sometimes she would laugh softly and push against my chest, telling me someone might see us. But even then, I could see the same longing in her eyes.
Those moments with her felt real. They were the only moments that felt like my life actually belonged to me.
And that was why it hurt so much.
Because the rest of the time, I was forced to stand beside Stacy, smiling like the obedient son my father expected me to be.
All while the girl I truly wanted was someone I had to love in secret.
“So you are dating Mia again?”
Daniel’s voice caught me off guard as we stepped out of our last class for the day. I stopped walking and turned to look at him, my eyebrows furrowing in surprise.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to sound casual.
Daniel gave me a look that told me he was not fooled at all.
“Come on, Liam,” he said with a quiet sigh. “You can deny it all you want, but I saw you kissing her the other day.”
My heart skipped for a second.
Before I could even think of an excuse, he continued speaking.
“I was actually looking for Mia that time,” Daniel added. “She did not show up in the cafeteria during lunch, and I was worried she had not eaten anything again.”
His words made something twist uncomfortably inside my chest.
Daniel always looked after Mia like that.
He noticed the small things about her that most people ignored.
Sometimes I wondered if he cared about her more than anyone else.
“It’s complicated,” I finally replied, keeping my voice low.
I did not confirm what he said, but I did not deny it either.
Daniel stopped walking and faced me fully, his expression serious in a way I rarely saw from him.
“Liam,” he said firmly. “You need to be sure about what you are doing.”
His voice was calm, but there was a warning behind it.
“Do not make Mia hope for something if you are just going to break her heart in the end.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
I clenched my jaw slightly.
“Hurting Mia was never part of my plan, Daniel,” I said honestly.
If there was one thing I was certain about, it was that I never wanted to be the reason Mia cried.
Daniel studied my face for a long moment as if trying to decide whether he believed me or not.
“Then you better stop doing what you are doing right now,” he said finally.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You cannot keep seeing Mia in secret while dating Stacy in public,” Daniel replied bluntly. “That is not fair to Mia.”
His words made guilt settle heavily inside my chest.
Because deep down, I knew he was right.
“I do not want to punch you, Liam,” Daniel continued, his voice growing more serious. “But if you keep playing with her feelings like this, I will not hesitate.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
The hallway around us buzzed with students talking and laughing, but it felt like the world had suddenly grown quiet between us.
Looking at Daniel now, I realized something I had probably always known. He truly cared about Mia.
Maybe even more than I deserved to. And the worst part was that I could not even tell him the truth.
I could not tell him about my father’s plans, about the arranged future waiting for me with Stacy, about the pressure that followed me everywhere.
All I knew was that I could not give up Mia. And yet I could not explain any of it.
“I do not like Stacy,” I said firmly.
That was the only truth I could say out loud. Daniel let out a short, humorless laugh.
“Yeah, right,” he replied.
He gestured around us at the busy academy grounds.
“Try telling that to the entire academy, Liam.”
His words lingered heavily in the air, and for the first time that day, I had no answer.
Daniel’s words stayed in my head long after we parted ways.
Even when I drove home, I could not escape them. They kept repeating in my mind like a warning I could not silence.
Do not make Mia hope if you are just going to break her heart. I hated hearing it. Not because it was wrong.
But because a part of me knew he was right.
When I arrived home, the house felt unusually quiet. I walked straight to my room, threw my keys on the table, and sat on the edge of my bed. I tried to distract myself by scrolling through my phone, but my thoughts kept drifting back to Mia.
The way her eyes softened whenever she looked at me.
I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.
The more I tried to ignore it, the more I missed her.
Daniel’s voice echoed in my mind again, reminding me how easily I could hurt her without meaning to. The thought made my chest tighten painfully.
Mia deserved someone who could stand beside her without hiding. Someone who could hold her hand in public without worrying about who might see.
Someone who did not have another girl constantly linked to his name. But despite knowing all that, I could not stay away from her.
I knew Mia would still be at work.
She always helped at Josh’s salon after school to earn extra money. She usually arrived home late because of it.
That thought alone made me stand up. Before I could even change my mind, I grabbed my keys again and walked out of the house.
The drive to her apartment felt longer than usual, even though I knew the route by heart. My hands tightened around the steering wheel as my mind filled with memories of her.
By the time I arrived, the street was quiet and dimly lit. I parked the car and climbed the stairs toward her apartment.
I had just reached the door when I heard soft footsteps coming from the hallway.
A moment later Mia appeared, holding her bag and looking tired from work.
She stopped abruptly when she saw me standing there.
“Liam?” she said in surprise.
Her eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting to see me there.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. “It is very late.”
I looked at her for a moment, taking in the sight of her messy hair and the faint exhaustion on her face.
Even like this, after a long day of work, she was still the most beautiful person I had ever seen.
“I wanted to see my girlfriend,” I said.
The words came out so naturally that it almost surprised me.
Mia’s cheeks turned pink almost instantly. She lowered her gaze shyly, clearly embarrassed by the way I called her that.
Seeing her reaction made my chest ache. She looked so happy from such a simple thing. And that happiness terrified me.
Because she trusted me so easily. For a moment neither of us spoke. I simply stood there, looking at her as if I had not seen her in years.
And in that quiet moment, the truth I had been avoiding became impossible to ignore. I loved her more than I had ever expected. But the more I realized how deeply she meant to me, the more one question continued to haunt my mind.
How was I supposed to protect her from the world I came from?
From my father. From the future that had already been planned for me. Because loving Mia felt like the most natural thing in the world. And yet somehow it also felt like the most dangerous thing I could ever do.