Chapter 19
It wasn’t until 3:00 am that Stephanie finally felt sleepy.
Her alarm went off at 10:00 am the next day. She groggily got out of bed and realized Hubert and Rita had already gone to work. Her breakfast was all set
in the kitchen
Mter freshening up, Stephanie ate while going over the two interviews she had scheduled for the afternoon–one at 2:00 pm and the other at 4:30 pm- both within a half hour’s drive from home.
Once she confirmed the routes, she went back to her room to clean up and started getting ready.
Stephanie grabbed her bag and headed down at 1:00 pm, only to find Liam and Ivan still there, looking like they’d pulled an all–nighter,
As soon as Liam spotted her, he got up and blocked her path. His voice was heavy with fatigue as he pleaded, “Steph, can we talk?”
Stephanie chocked the time and said flatly, Sorry, I’m busy.”
Liam stayed frozen in place after being turned down again.
Realizing he wasn’t going to move, Stephanie didn’t bother saying another word. She slipped past him through the narrow path on the left and hurried. out of the apartment complex.
She accidentally bumped Liam’s injured hand, causing the wound to open up again. The bandage started to turn red as blood seeped through.
But!
ut Liam seemed unaffected by the pain,
1, his eyes full of sorrow as he watched her fading into the distance.
Ivan was about to collapse from exhaustion but jolted awake when he saw Liam’s wound. He frantically pulled out some medication.
“Liam, your wound’s bleeding again. Come on, we need to get to the hospital,”
Liam ignored Ivan, brushed off his hand as he tried to loosen the bandage, and quickly caught up with Stephanie.
Realizing that nothing would get through to Liam, Ivan glanced up at the sky, let out a deep sigh, and muttered a curse before reluctantly following him.
The first interview finished at 3:30 pm.
Stephanie was about to head down the stairs to hail a cab when she spotted Liam, who had somehow followed her. He stood by the flower bed, watching her with a determined look in his eyes
Ivan was pacing nearby, looking anxious. When he saw Stephanie, he rushed over and blocked her way.
“Damn, you’re finally done. Now you have got some time, right? Can you please talk some sense into him and get him to the hospital? His hand is in really bad shape. Please, I’m begging you.”
Stephanie glanced at Liam’s hand when she heard that. She froze for a second when she saw the deep red stain but then quickly pulled herself together, “Sorry, but I’ve got another interview. Can you step aside?”
Ivan’s pent–up frustration burst out when he heard that “Stephanie, whatever grievances you’ve got, could you take them out on me instead? Liam came all the way to Riverton for you with a seriously injured hand and hasn’t slept in nearly three days.
“Can
you stop being mad at him? You two have been together for six years. Don’t you think you can talk things through?”
Stephanie almost laughed when she heard Liam had come all the way for her.
She looked down at Liam standing at the bottom of the stairs, her tone frusty. “I believe parting on good terms is a basic principle in any relationship. What do you think, Liam?”
Her cold gaze cut through Liam like a knife, and it stung. He clenched his fists and pursed his lips, forcing the bitterness and pain down.
His voice came out stiff. “Ivan, move.
Ivan never expected things to get this tense between them. But now that Liam had spoken, he had no choice but to step aside.
Stephanie walked down the steps without a second thought, hailed a cab, and left.
Liam watched the cab drive off, feeling a vast emptiness inside. A flood of loneliness and disappointment hit him, swallowing him whole. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and slammed his fist into the flower bed, Blood began trickling down his fingers, dripping onto the ground.
