41

DAISY

A few minutes later, Liam pulled up by the curb of the night clubhouse. He drove a black Porsche which was just one of his many rides. He'd picked it up when he visited his family house after we arrived. I watched him alight from the car, he still had his suit on and looked very exhausted.

We'd barely arrived here when his Father, Mr. Lawrence, snagged him up and took him to the Lawrence Empire branch that was located here In California. As an heir to all the riches, he had to stay close to the business.

“Hey,“ I beamed at him, as he walked up to me.

“Come here,“ He groaned, pulling me into a crushing hug, and wrapping his arms tightly around me.

“Hey, Liam. What's wrong?” I chuckled slightly, finding it hard to breathe in his arms.

“Can't you tell? I missed you so much,“ He mumbled, rocking me slightly. It made me laugh.

“Yeah, right. We saw each other hours ago,“ I reminded him. We'd been together at our new apartment before Mr. Lawrence's butler arrived to pick him up. So saying he missed me like it's been years since we last saw each other was kind of cheesy.

“Hours. Seems like a whole year to me,“ He said. Slowly, he released me and we both stared into each other's eyes. His hazel eyes looked weary. He must have been exhausted from spending all day at the company.

“How did it go?” I asked him. His eyes, his ruffled hair, the way his shoulders slumped tiredly. It was pretty obvious how it went.

“Good,” He held my hands and intertwined our fingers. I felt awkward, but I didn't try to retrieve my hands. It wasn't the first time we were holding hands, but there was something about this moment that made it a bit too intimate. And I was scared of intimacy.

“What's wrong, Liam?”

He gulped, fixing his eyes on your intertwined hands, “I had dinner with my extended family. Aunties, uncles, Grandparents, all of them. At our resort,”

Yeah, I did hear that most of the Lawrence relatives resided here in California, including Mr. Lawrence.

”Father lied. It wasn't the company they took me to. It was the dinner,”

“Why would he lie about it?”

“Because he knows I won't go if I knew about it. Dinners with relatives suck. You just hear the nastiest things there,”

“Uh, okay?” I drawled. That didn't explain why he looked irked and that was the explanation I needed. A few seconds passed and he didn't say anything more, so I added, ”It must have been great bonding with them after a long while,“

”It was shitty,” He sighed, and pulled me out of the way as two drunk men staggered past us, ”They want me to get married,”

”Wait, what?“ I blurted out in shock. I didn't see that coming.

Liam was still very young and had a lot of dreams to pursue. I thought his family knew that at least. Why would they wanna force him into getting married?

“As an only son, it's my priority to continue the family's legacy. Father said I have to pick a girl before graduating college,” He was looking me dead in the eyes, squeezing my hands warmly.

Again, this moment felt awkward. He was emitting lots of emotions and it was becoming uncomfortable keeping up with this conversation.

”Daisy!“ I heard my name and I quickly turned around, snatching my hands away from Liam's hold. Not like we were doing anything wrong. It just feels weird now.

“Valeria,“ I called out, and waited for her to get to where we stood,

”Let's talk about this at home, alright?“ Liam whispered into my ears.

I gulped, and nodded, ”Okay,”

”Where did you run off to?“ Valeria asked as she got to where I stood with Liam.

I was gonna reply but her messy dress caught my attention, ”Jesus, Val. What happened to you?“

“That obnoxious jerk spilled wine on me,“ She sighed, looking down at the huge stain on her dress.

“What jerk?” I eyed her closely, “Please don't tell me you got into a fight,”

“I didn't get into a fight. I was on the bar stool and he bumped into a waitress and the drink she was carrying on a tray spilled on me. And when I tried to get him to apologize, he called me a stalker,“

“A what?“ Liam chirped him, his lips curled into a lopsided smile,

“Stalker,” Valeria repeated.

“Why would he call you that?” Liam asked further.

“I bumped into him at my new apartment, and I also met him here. In his books, that makes me a stalker,”

“And you're not?” Liam chirped in again. It was obvious he was trying to piss her off. The duo had a hate-love relationship. Always at each other's neck, but being the absolute friend to each other when the need arises.

”Go to hell, Liam!” Val. hissed, rolling her eyes at him. “I need to head back to the apartment and get out of this dress,“

”Sure. Get in. Liam will drop you off,“ I said, grabbing her hand and leading her to his car.

“Who has the ride?“ she asked with a gasp. It was a beautiful ride and costs a fortune. She should know, she got one of those back in Spain.

“I do,” Liam replied with a smug smile, ”Why? You want me to lend it to you?“

“Show-off,“ She scoffed and opened the passenger seat, “I'll sit here. Daisy, get in the back,“

“Whoa, hold on,“ Liam stopped her from entering, “If I'm gonna be driving, then Daisy has to sit in front,“

”But I love sitting in front. You know that” Valeria pouted.

“It's no biggie, Liam. I love sitting in the back anyways,“ I said, not wanting to make an issue out of it. Valeria loved the front seats, and I didn't have any favorite spots. I'm comfortable wherever I sit.

“My car, my rules, Val. Back seat or you take a cab,“ a note of finality was in Liam's tone. He was getting under her skin, and it seemed to be working. Valeria looked like she would explode from anger.

She slammed the door shut and got into the back seat with a huff.

Liam walked to his car and opened the front seat for me.

“You didn't have to. I'm really okay with sitting at the back,“ I said, as I slid unto the front seat.

“I want you next to me, that's just it,” He said, and shut the door after I got in.

He turned around and turned on the ignition. He drove Val to her apartment and we headed to the house we both shared.

I didn't glance at him and just hurried to my room, hoping to escape the conversation. Something was unnerving about it that made me wanna avoid it.

I locked the door and slumped on my queen-sized bed. I thought of Father and decided to give him a call later. Beta Xariel said I should and I knew Father would be waiting for my call. I've just not settled in yet.

'but you had enough time to hit the club,' my subconscious taunted me.

'that's on Val, not me,'

I slid my feet into my flip-flops and headed into the bathroom. It was past midnight. I was a tad tipsy and feeling drowsy.

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I took out my eye contacts and my wig. Beta Xariel had suggested we changed our appearance if we wanted to live like normal college students. If I dressed like my usual self, everyone would recognize me as Daisy, the queen of sad romance. I would get swarmed by fans and paparazzi. It would stir up unnecessary drama and my stay here would be far from normal.

So Valeria and I had to hide under eye contacts, wigs and we had to change our dressing styles too. I wanted my stay here to be normal. I've had enough drama to last a lifetime.

I had a warm shower and stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around my naked body.

I jerked back at the sight of Liam seated on the edge of my bed.

“How- how did you get in?“ I stuttered, glancing at the door. It was supposed to be locked.

“I picked your lock,“ He said like it was a very regular thing to do,

”Why would you do that?”

“I told you we would finish our talk when we get home,“ He said and stood. He was careful not to let his eyes take me in, but I could see how affected he was by my almost nude state.

”Okay, but can I get dressed first?” I asked. I was uncomfortable.

”You don't have to. I won't take advantage of you. You know that,” he mused, walking closer to me. ”I just need to talk to you,”

”Liam,“ I wasn't sure how to say it, but I needed him to leave. He was broken and sad. This wasn't his usual rational side. He was letting his emotions get the best of him, and I didn't want to stay any closer to him. We might just do something we would both regret.

“I love you, Daisy. You know that, right?”