Chapter 25 Looks Like It
Liam's POV
"Do you really want to hang out at my place?" I asked Daniel.
"Why not?" he replied with a smug smile. "Everyone has been dreaming of getting a peek inside the Alcaraz estate."
"Are you sure you do not want to spend time with your besties?" I teased.
"I would rather be alone than spend another second with them," Daniel said, his voice heavy. "I hate myself for making Mia feel miserable after she lost everything. I do not know how long I will carry this guilt in my heart. I should have been there for her."
The selfish part of me wanted to tell him to stop caring about Mia. But I had no right to say something like that.
"Well, you better make it up to her," I said instead as we continued walking toward the parking lot.
I could not deny that I liked Daniel's company. He could have been my best friend. But just thinking about the unspoken rivalry between us because of Mia made me uneasy, even if I knew she was already Josh's girlfriend and I had no right to call it a rivalry in the first place. I shook my head, thinking I was losing my mind.
We studied for a while, flipping through our notes. After that, we played video games. The familiar routine filled the house with noise it usually did not have. As always, my parents were not home.
The lights were on. The rooms were spotless and perfect. Too quiet once the game sounds faded.
As we sat down to eat dinner, Daniel glanced around the wide dining area, then at the long hallway stretching behind me.
"Your house is so big," he muttered, poking at his food. "And yet... it feels lonely."
I forced a small smile. I had heard that before. But hearing it out loud still stung.
"Yeah," I said after a moment. "I am the only son left, and my parents are rarely home. Most of the time, they stay at one of our hotels, vacation houses, or beach resorts, entertaining guests."
I shrugged. "My mom loves hosting social events like galas, charity dinners, and endless fundraisers."
I did not say the part where I had learned to eat alone at a table meant for twelve persons. Or how silence echoed louder than laughter ever could as Daniel stayed quiet, listening.
"Sometimes," I added, my voice lower now, "it feels like this house is just a place I sleep in. Not really a home."
I looked at him and tried to laugh it off. "Do you want to trade places with me? Just for a day?"
He shook his head immediately. "No offense, man," he said gently, "but I love my parents. And my younger siblings. The noise, the chaos, all of it. I would never trade that for money or a big house."
His words hit me with a sharp ache in my chest. I nodded, my chest tightening. Not because he was wrong, but because he was right.
Jealousy twisted sharply in my chest as I watched him. There was certainty in the way he spoke, contentment in the way he lived. His life felt full, even without everything I had.
Because for all the space around me, I had never felt more alone. And no amount of money, no size of a house, no luxury could fill the quiet where family should have been.
The next morning, the school parking lot buzzed with early energy. Students crossed the open grounds with backpacks slung over their shoulders, some heading toward the buildings, others lingering near parked cars. Coffee cups were passed from hand to hand, shoes scraped against the pavement, and the air carried that familiar tension only a Monday morning could bring.
Daniel adjusted the strap of his backpack as we walked side by side across the school grounds near the parking area. The noise around us grew louder, laughter, calling voices, the low hum of conversations.
"I still think you are messing with me," Daniel muttered, trying to sound casual. "Mia with a boyfriend? You probably saw her with a cousin or something."
I did not answer. I did not need to. Because just ahead, near the row of parked cars, stood Mia. She wasn't just smiling but laughing. And beside her, standing close with his fingers linked with hers, was Josh.
He looked so tall as me, clean-cut, and confident without trying. As Daniel slowed to a stop, Josh leaned down and kissed Mia on the cheek like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Time stopped as Daniel blinked. I felt something twist painfully in my gut as I glanced at him, but I did not say I told you so. I did not need to.
And still, I found myself smiling as I watched them, even while my heart cracked. Because I wanted those girls to see it. To realize Mia had someone in her life now. That she was not alone anymore. Even if that someone was not me.
I saw Chloe slide her sunglasses onto her face, then, she freeze mid-step. Her voice came out sharp. "Wait... is that Mia?" The other girls turned.
They all couldn't believe beside Mia stood a tall, broad-shouldered guy in a clean black jacket. Undeniably attractive.
None of the girls recognized him, of course.
But Josh walked beside Mia like it was natural, like they had done this many times before. Like she was not the girl who once cried in bathrooms or faded into the background. He reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers.
"What the hell," Chloe muttered, nearly spilling her coffee.
Kim stared, her mouth open. "Who is that? Since when does Mia have... that?"
Trish stayed quiet, her eyes fixed on them, her lips pressed together. Belle stood frozen, her fingers tightening around her cup until the plastic cracked and the straw bent.
They watched as Mia laughed, her head tipped back, completely unbothered. Josh gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and whispered something that made her smile even more. I curled my fists at my sides. It should have been me, if only I had met her first.
"They were not just talking," Belle said finally, her voice sharp. "That was not a simple good morning. Did you see how he looked at her?"
"Yeah," Kim whispered. "Like he knows her. Like she belongs to him."
For a moment, no one spoke. Because Mia was not supposed to look like that anymore. Not wanted. Not loved.
"She is doing it again," Chloe muttered. "Showing up like nothing happened. Acting like she is better than us. Like we did not leave her for a reason."
Belle's jaw tightened. "Let her pretend. It will not last."
But even as she said it, she knew. The students at Suncrest Academy were already watching. Mia was already winning. And whatever game Belle thought they were playing, Mia had just changed the rules. I did not need to do anything to put the golden four girls in their place. Mia knew how to fight them.
"That is him," Daniel said in barely a whisper, making sure only I could hear him, almost breathless.
I nodded once. "That is Josh."
"She never even mentioned him," Daniel said after a long moment, his voice sharp.
"Because she does not owe us anything," I said softly.
Daniel's fists clenched. "So this is it, then?" he asked. I did not look at him. I kept walking.
"Looks like it," I replied. My words tasted bitter in my mouth.
But my heart screamed no. I still could not accept that Mia and Josh were together. It did not make sense to me, even after seeing it with my own eyes. Even after Mia told me they had been dating for over six months. And no matter how hard I tried to bury my feelings for her, I could not. I still wanted her.