Chapter 131 On a break’ means breaking up. Got it?
Oh my God.
I do not even know if I want to laugh or just spit right in her face.
But one thing I am sure about. She has zero self-respect.
If she wants to make herself look like Liam’s toy, that is her choice. I am not doing the same thing.
Before I can say anything, Liam speaks up first. “Rossi, just drop it.”
Rossi’s eyes go wide with surprise, like she did not expect him to go against her. But Liam is already getting up from his seat with one hand in his pocket. He takes the dress from Rossi’s hand and gives it back to Mom with a small smile.
“Mrs. Thorne, you have really good taste. I am sure anyone would love this dress. But we should not be doing this. Sorry about that.”
Mom keeps her face cold even though he is trying to be nice. I know she is just as offended as I am.
“Do not worry about it,” Mom says, giving him a polite but cold smile. “If your girlfriend likes it, she can keep it. Like I said, there are plenty of other options for us to pick from.”
She ignores Liam’s hand and turns to me. “Sophie sweetheart, are you ready to leave?”
I stand up right away. “Yeah, totally.”
I follow Mom and walk out without looking back. I did not change my mind about Liam just because he stopped Rossi from acting crazy. He is still an asshole. I think he was just embarrassed by how she was behaving.
When we leave the store, Mom lets out a long sigh. “Dear lord, what was that? That girl has no manners at all.”
“Yeah . . . that is Rossi,” I say, my voice bitter. I guess Liam really likes the mean girl type.
“And she goes to the same school as you, right? Has she ever been mean to you?”
“A little. But I do not really care about her.”
“You are doing the right thing, sweetie. Just ignore her,” Mom says, patting my shoulder gently. “Because soon enough, someone else will deal with her.”
I can guess who Mom is talking about. “You mean Liam’s mom, right?”
“Yes. Alexander mentioned it to me once. Caroline has already picked out who Liam will marry a long time ago. He can date whoever he wants while he is still young. But you guys are going to college next year, so I think Caroline will introduce the girl to Liam pretty soon. She will definitely get rid of any cheap girls hanging around Liam before that girl comes into the picture.”
My mouth falls open when I hear this.
What the fuck . . . arranged marriage? And this is the twenty first century?
“Are you serious?” I ask, my voice coming out kind of high. “A marriage partner? Does Liam know about this? Is he okay with it?”
Mom gives me a weird look and I quickly try to hide the panic on my face. “I was just curious, that is all.”
“Well, Liam does not have much choice, does he? Caroline Griswold is a very strong woman. If she has picked the right daughter in law, I am sure she will force Liam down the aisle if she has to. And that is how high society works.”
“But you and Mr. Thorne married for love,” I say, talking fast.
“Alexander is the head of the family, so he does not have to listen to anyone. But there is a long way ahead of Liam before he can officially take control of his own life.” Mom pauses and looks at me again. “Since when do you care so much about Liam?”
My lips twist. “I do not. Just a little curious.”
How stupid of me to actually think we had a future.
Liam already has his whole life planned out. He will probably go to Harvard and take over the company after graduation. Then he will marry the girl his mother picked and have beautiful children with her.
What we have is nothing more than a short summer thing.
When we get home, I go straight up to my room and lock myself in. Mom calls me for dinner once, but I just tell her I am not hungry.
I lost my appetite after what happened this afternoon.
I lie on my bed staring at the ceiling, not really thinking about anything, until someone knocks on my door.
“Mom, I told you. I am not hungry!” I raise my voice.
Then the doorknob turns and someone just opens the door and walks in.
I turn around fast and stare at him in shock. “How did you . . . I locked the door!”
Liam holds up the key so I can see it and then shoves it back in his pocket. He closes the door behind him, walks over, and sits down on the bed, like he owns the place.
“Excuse me? Hello?” I sit up and snap at him. “Did I invite you in?”
“I invited myself,” he says, raising one eyebrow with this annoying grin on his face. “And you did not ask for my permission the first time, remember?”
I let out a long breath. I do not have the energy to deal with him today.
“Just say what you want to say, okay?”
He shrugs and puts a nicely wrapped box on my bed. I recognize the label right away.
I can not even talk for a second. “Please tell me that is not the silver dress.”
“Well, no surprise this time,” he says, smiling. “Do you like it?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I kick the box away with my foot. “You really think I still want that? It is already ruined by your dear girlfriend. Give it to her. I am sure she will keep it somewhere nice and high and probably worship it three times a day.”
Liam smirks. He crosses his arms over his chest and says in a flat voice, “Rossi is not my girlfriend.”
“Then you are just a fucking fuckboy who deserves to fuck yourself in hell!” I say, my voice hard. “Leave me alone.”
He laughs out loud. “That is a lot of F words.”
I bite my lip, angry. I always wanted to hear him explain what is going on with Rossi. But now I realize even if it is not Rossi, it will be someone else. He is just too much for me.
“You gave me the dress. Mission done. Now can you leave?” I ask, annoyed.
He sits there quiet, his green eyes moving across my face. The room starts feeling tense and my cheeks get warm under his stare.
No girl can last more than ten seconds when he looks at her like that. I have to pinch myself to stay sane.
Finally he speaks up in a soft voice. “Hey. Are you done being mad at me? Are we still on that break?”
“Let me give you a dating language one hundred and one. ‘On a break’ means breaking up. Got it?” I say it fast and feel pretty proud of myself for that one.