Chapter 176 The Announcement

Chapter 176 The Announcement
Liam’s POV

I barely remembered the drive home from Josh’s condo. Mia’s words followed me the entire way.

Please, Liam. Just let me go. This is what I want.

I’d known she was hurt, but I hadn’t expected her to end us. Maybe I should have. She had walked into my father’s mansion wearing my engagement ring and heard me agree to marry another woman.

Fuck.

When Dad told me he was dying, I hadn’t been thinking about Glydel or the consequences of what he was asking. All I could think about was losing the father I’d spent months believing was recovering. Then he asked me for one final wish, and in my shock, I said yes.

One word had been enough to hurt Mia and threaten everything we had fought so hard to rebuild.

By the time I reached the mansion, it was late. I parked in the garage but remained behind the wheel, staring through the windshield. Dad and Mom were inside, and possibly Glydel too. I wasn’t ready to face any of them, but eventually, I forced myself out of the car and entered through the side entrance, hoping everyone had gone to bed.

I almost made it upstairs.

“Liam.”

I stopped at the sound of Mom’s voice. She stood near the living room entrance, still dressed in the clothes she’d worn earlier.

“Not tonight, Mom.”

“I only want to talk.”

“I don’t.”

“Liam, I know tonight was difficult, but your father—”

“I said not tonight.”

Something in my voice finally stopped her, and I continued upstairs without waiting for a response.

Once inside my room, I loosened my tie, tossed it onto a chair, and sat on the edge of the bed. My phone was in my hand before I realized I’d reached for it.

Mia’s name was still near the top of my messages.

I opened our conversation and scrolled through months of texts. Dinner plans, teasing arguments, photographs, and ordinary conversations I’d never considered important because I’d always assumed there would be another one tomorrow.

My thumb hovered over the keyboard.

Are you okay?

I stared at the words before deleting them. Of course she wasn’t okay, and I had promised to give her space.

I set the phone aside and lay down, but sleep refused to come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Mia crying as she asked me to let her go. She still loved me, but she was tired of getting hurt, and I hated knowing I had given her another reason to walk away.

Sometime after two, I gave up trying to sleep and stood by the window, staring across the dark mansion grounds. Dad was dying, Mia wanted to leave me, and I had no idea how to fix either situation.

One thing was certain.

I wasn’t marrying Glydel.

Marrying a woman I didn’t love wouldn’t save my father. I could spend whatever time he had left beside him, support him through every treatment and appointment, and still refuse to sacrifice the rest of my life to fulfill his dying wish. I would talk to him once we’d both had time to process everything.

I returned to bed sometime before dawn and managed barely an hour of sleep. By six, I gave up completely, showered, dressed, and left without breakfast to avoid another conversation with my parents.

The drive to Alcaraz Global was unusually quiet. Normally, I spent it checking emails or reviewing my schedule, but that morning, my phone remained untouched beside me.

I wanted to contact Mia. Hell, part of me wanted to turn the car around, drive straight to Josh’s condo, and tell her again that I wasn’t giving up on us.

But she had asked for space, and for now, I would give it to her.

The elevator opened onto the executive floor shortly after seven, and I found Anabel already at her desk. She looked up and stared at me for a second too long.

“Good morning, sir.”

“Morning.”

“Rough night?”

I stopped on my way to my office and looked back at her.

She gave me an innocent smile. “Just asking.”

“I’m fine.”

“Of course. You certainly look fine.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“Busy morning,” she said quickly, turning toward her computer. “Lots to do.”

I entered my office without responding.

Less than five minutes later, Anabel appeared carrying coffee and placed it on my desk.

“I didn’t ask for that.”

“No, but judging by your face, I’m making an executive decision.”

“You’re my executive assistant. You don’t make executive decisions.”

“I made one today.”

“Are you trying to get fired?”

“Would you actually fire me?”

“Not before I finish the coffee.”

“Then we’re making progress.”

Despite myself, I almost smiled.

Anabel noticed, but the teasing soon disappeared from her expression. “Seriously, sir. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’ve said that twice, which usually means the opposite.”

I picked up the coffee. “Don’t you have work?”

“Plenty.”

“Then do it.”

“Yes, sir.”

She turned toward the door.

“My father is dying.”

Anabel stopped and slowly turned around. “What?”

“He told us last night. Less than a year, maybe only months.”

Her expression softened immediately. “Sir, I’m so sorry.”

I looked down at the coffee in my hands. I wasn’t sure why I’d told her. Anabel had worked for me long enough to know more about my life than most people, but there were still boundaries I rarely crossed. Apparently, exhaustion had weakened them.

“He had another operation abroad and told us it had gone well. We all believed he was recovering.”

“And he knew he wasn’t?”

I nodded, gesturing for her to sit when she came farther into the office.

“Is that what happened last night?”

“Part of it.”

Her brows drew together. “There’s more?”

“He asked me to marry Glydel as his dying wish.”

Anabel stared at me. “He what?”

I leaned back in my chair.

“What did you say?”

My silence answered for me.

Her eyes widened. “Oh, no. You said yes?”

“I’d just found out he was dying.”

“I understand that, but…” She stopped herself and took a breath. “Sorry.”

“No. You’re right.”

“And Mia?”

“She heard me.”

Anabel’s expression fell. “She was there?”

“She arrived while Dad was talking. I didn’t know she’d heard anything until she left, so I went after her.”

“And?”

“She asked me to let her go.”

Anabel watched me carefully. “Did you?”

“I left because she asked me to.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.”

“Are you two over?”

“She says we are. I told her I’m not giving up.”

Anabel leaned back in her chair. “That sounds complicated.”

“Thank you for that brilliant assessment.”

“You’re welcome.”

A faint smile almost escaped me before she grew serious again.

“So what happens now? Are you actually going to marry Glydel?”

“No.” The answer came without hesitation. “I shouldn’t have said yes. I was shocked and scared, but I’m not spending the rest of my life with someone I don’t love because my father asked me to.”

“Does he know that?”

“Not yet, but I’m going to tell him.”

“And Mia?”

“I promised to respect her space.”

Anabel raised an eyebrow. “For how long?”

“For now.”

“That must be killing you.”

“You have no idea.”

“I think I do.”

I gave her a look, and she smiled.

“There. Almost a normal expression.”

“Get out.”

She laughed softly as she stood. “Gladly. Drink your coffee before you scare the rest of the staff.”

“Anabel.”

“I’m going.”

She headed toward the door, and for the first time since last night, some of the heaviness in my chest had eased.

Then her phone vibrated.

Anabel pulled it from her pocket, glanced at the screen, and stopped. Her smile disappeared so quickly that I immediately straightened.

“What?”

She didn’t answer.

“Anabel.”

Her eyes moved across the screen before she slowly looked at me. “Sir, I think you need to see this.”

She returned to my desk and handed me her phone.

A photograph of Glydel and me filled the screen.

Above it was a headline that made my blood run cold.

LIAM ALCARAZ AND GLYDEL GARCIA ARE ENGAGED

“What the fuck?”

I scrolled down and found another post, then another. Entertainment pages, business accounts, thousands of reactions and congratulations from people I barely knew.

“It’s all over social media,” Anabel said quietly.

I grabbed my phone and finally noticed the flood of notifications waiting for me. Missed calls, messages, news alerts, and congratulations filled the screen.

I had said yes only hours ago. There had been no announcement, no discussion, and definitely no permission from me.

Then one thought cut through my anger.

Mia.

If this was everywhere, she would see it too.

“Who released this?”

“I don’t know.”

My grip tightened around the phone as I stared at the headline again.

Someone had taken one terrible answer I’d given in the worst moment of my life and turned it into an official engagement before I even had the chance to undo it.

And now the whole world believed I was going to marry Glydel Garcia.