Chapter 69 Chapter 69
Liana's Pov
The tapping of feet and clacking of keys against the marble floor of the building were normally comforting, a rhythm I'd become accustomed to. But today, they were a nuisance. A painful one.
Stanley's visit hung in my mind like a stone in a glass of water. I had tried to push it under the carpet, tuck it behind deadlines and law strategy meetings, but it would not stay quiet. His eyes… his voice. The way he said my name as though it were still his.
I sat staring blankly at my screen. The same sentence glared back at me for the past fifteen minutes, unpenned.
He said he loved me. A part of me still longed to believe him but he had shattered my trust. A soft knock interrupted my train of thought. Clara entered my office with a considerate sort of reverence, as if she didn't realize I was at my breaking point.
"Your legal team has arrived. PR is joining remotely," she announced.
I nodded. "Send them in."
Two of my legal team members entered first and then our corporate publicist on screen.
"Let's keep this tight and strategic," I said, straightening my back even though I wished I could curl up on myself. "The vote to detrone Dominic has passed. We're officially in control of Smith group but I know that man. He won't sit quietly and lick his wounds."
David was the first to speak. "He can sue for wrongful dismissal. And he still has loads of loyalists in mid management. If he wants to stir up trouble from within, he can."
"He can but he wont because he's in the wrong too. We can anticipate a leak campaign," the PR leader said over the speaker. "If I were him, I'd capitalize on public sympathy or create rumors to destabilize Z-Core's image by linking you to Dominic's fall."
I reclined back. My fingers locked into each other. "We will fight this quietly. Rationally. We don't need headlines. I just want us ready, not reactive."
We chatted during the next half-hour drafting up contingency plans. Talking about legal jargon, asset blockades, handling the press. I assured them that I had more on Dominic and if he tried to start a mole, I will make a mountain out of it. All the while I was speaking, my mind was elsewhere.
I was thinking of Stanley. I'd seen the guilt in his eyes. But I'd also seen it before, in Dominic, in those who were skilled at making apologies weapons. So why was it so hard to push Stanley into the same corner?
Why did it feel like forgetting everything would be expensive?
I canceled the remainder of my appointments by early afternoon. I drove to Cam's school, yearning for the only source of solace that never left me in doubt, my daughter. I would have gone to mum but she was still recuperating and I didn't want to bring up conversations that will affect her blood pressure again. Cam ran towards me the moment she saw me waiting by the school gate, her pack bouncy, and her arms open wide.
"Mommy!" she screamed.
I wrapped her in my arms, burying my face in her hair. "Hi baby. Are you hungry?"
"I had snacks. But I want ice cream!"
I laughed. "We'll stop and get some. But first, let's go to the park."
She jumped happily, excited about an opportunity to play more. I just stared at her and admired how innocent her happiness was. It wasn't forced or pretentious and I envied her. We sat under a tree, her shoes were laying by the side and our blanket spread out on the grass. The sky above was pale blue, and for the first time in days I felt as if I could breathe.
Cam hummed to herself as she coloured in her book. I watched her for a while, mesmerized by the simplicity of her joy. The liberty in her.
She straightened up, as if remembering something.
"Mommy, when will Uncle Stanley come home again?"
My heart faltered. She asked it like it was a normal thing, she said home like Stanley belonged to her, to us. In our home.
I bent over and brushed her hair back behind her ear. "Why do you ask, sweetie?"
She shrugged. "I just miss him. He said he was going to buy me a princess doll house but he hasn't come by. And he listens when I talk about stars."
I swallowed. "That's nice of him, isn't it?"
She nodded gravely. "Are you two fighting?"
I blinked. "Why would you say that?"
She shrugged. "Because in movies, when people don't visit anymore, everybody says there was a big fight. So maybe that's happening with you too."
I looked at her, my own heart wrenching between laughter and grief. "Sometimes big people just need some time to think," I said gently.
Cam gave a flat "Oh" and returned to coloring, but the damage was done. That little question, so cheerfully asked, disturbed something deep.
Because the truth was... part of me did think of Stanley just a member of the home. Stanley felt like home. And that terrified the wits out of me more than any suit, more than Dominic's shenanigans, more than any battle of corporations I had ever waged.
About an hour later, we packed up and headed home.
……….
I put Cam to bed earlier than normal. These days, I don't let mum do it, I just want her to recover fully. Cam's words kept echoing in my head.
“When next will Uncle Stanley come home?”
I held a glass of water at the window, watching the city sparkle with golden and silver lights that evening. My thoughts were far from quiet.
Stanley's betrayal and apology were the only things that occupied my mind now. The way he looked at me like he hadn't just shattered all that we were trying to build. And yet… how my heart stuttered when he ran his fingers over my hand, as if my body had not yet caught up with my mind.
It was so much easier when love was simple. But it never really is, or is it?
I picked up my phone and pulled up my messages. He was still there. I hovered over the "Delete Conversation" tab. But I couldn't so I turned my phone off instead.
Some battles are better fought in silence. And some questions can only be answered when we're strong enough to listen for what the silence is telling us.