Loving the enemy

Chapter 11

Ava’s pov

Liam had been quiet since he came home last night. Too quiet. He ate in silence after that he went back to his office he had in the house. I caught him staring at me more than once, like he was studying something he hadn’t quite figured out yet. It made me so uneasy. I had the urge to speak and question him but felt maybe the silence was much needed.

I finally heard his footsteps behind me that morning, I already knew he was carrying news I wasn’t going to like.

“There’s a dinner tomorrow night,” he said simply. His tone was casual.

He never asked me what I wanted. Asked me if this dinner was befitting for me, only commanded it and expected me to always submit.

I turned to face him. “Dinner?”

“With my family.” He leaned against the doorway with his arms crossed. “My mother wants to meet you.”

I was surprised at the statement he made. His mother. Of course. I should have known she wouldn’t let me exist quietly in his shadow. I was a question mark in their carefully drawn-out empire, a flaw in their perfect legacy. And people like me do not survive much in their family.

I forced my voice to stay calm. “So this is what, some kind of welcome party?”

The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “Hardly. More like a test.”

Of course it was. My throat went dry, but I refused to let him see the fear rising in me. If I showed weakness now, I’d already be beaten.

“And what exactly am I being tested on?” I asked, folding my arms.

“Everything,” he said, eyes locking with mine. “How you speak. How you eat. How you hold yourself. Whether you crack under pressure.” He paused, watching me like he was studying me. “She wants to get to know you.”

“But it’s so sudden.”

“I’m curious.” He said instead. His smirk deepened. He seemed too amused by everything. Is this a game to him?

I blinked. “Curious?”

“To see if you will break.” His gaze dragged over me slowly. “I doubt you will.”

For a moment, the room felt too small. I hated the way my heart reacted to his words, to the quiet certainty in his voice. Like he already saw strength in me I wasn’t sure I possessed.

I turned away first, needing to breathe. “So your mother wants to play her little game. Fine. But don’t expect me to smile through it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, and there it was again. The amusement in his tone. He is definitely having fun. He stepped out of my room.

I carried my laptop into the dining room, setting it on the table with a cup of tea beside me.

I told myself I was only browsing. But the truth was, I was digging. My fingers were above the keyboard for a while before I finally typed it out. Elaine Vance. Liam’s mother.

The search results were what I expected. Articles. Photos from charity galas. Headlines about her investments, her philanthropy, her taste in fashion. She was painted as elegance incarnate, the woman behind the man, the quiet but sharp force of the Vance empire.

Every photograph showed the same poised smile, the same calculating eyes. Liam was right. This wasn’t just dinner. It was an evaluation.

“Looking at someone you shouldn’t?”

The voice startled me. I snapped the laptop half-shut, turning to see Mrs. Hart standing in the doorway. Her expression was kind, but her eyes were sharp. She had seen enough.

I forced a smile. “Just… doing a little research.”

She raised a brow, stepping into the room. “On Elaine.” It wasn’t a question.

I hesitated, then gave a small nod. There was no point in lying. Mrs. Hart seemed like the kind of woman who could tell my lies apart.

She walked closer, her steps slow, until she lowered herself into the chair across from me. For a moment, she just folded her hands neatly on the table, studying me.

“You want to know what you’re walking into,” she said at last.

“Yes.” My voice was quiet. Honest.

Mrs. Hart’s lips curved, but it wasn’t quite a smile. “Elaine Vance is… not a woman who tolerates mistakes. She grew up in high society, married into money, and built her reputation on never once letting her composure crack. To her, appearances are everything. Family name. Social standing. The way you speak, the way you hold your fork.”

I swallowed hard, but I kept her gaze.

“She’ll be polite, of course,” Mrs. Hart went on. “Charming, even. But don’t be fooled. Elaine’s charm is just another blade. She’ll test you with questions that sound harmless, but every word will be weighed. Every answer measured. And if she senses weakness…” Mrs. Hart’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She’ll cut.”

“And what if she does?”

Mrs. Hart leaned back, her expression softening, though her voice stayed firm. “Then you don’t let her see the wound. That’s the only way to survive Elaine Vance. She doesn’t respect perfection. She respects strength.”

I sat there for a long moment, the weight of her words sinking in. Mrs. Hart didn’t say it out loud, but I heard it anyway. If you show weakness tomorrow, she’ll eat you alive.

Finally, I nodded. “Thank you.”

Her gaze lingered on me a moment longer, as if she was searching for something. Then she stood. “Finish your tea, dear. You’ll need your strength.”

And with that, she left me with the silence again.

I looked back at my laptop screen, the images of Elaine Vance frozen mid-smile. My stomach tightened.

Tomorrow, I wasn’t walking into a dinner.

I was walking into war.

I closed my eyes for some seconds, trying to decipher what might go down tomorrow night. I need to be ready for any question she might throw my way. Liam seems so unbothered by it all.

Shouldn’t he be worried?

The thought twisted in my chest as I stared at the black screen of my laptop. He was too calm, too detached. Almost as if he wanted me to walk into this blind. Maybe he did.

Maybe this was his way of peeling back my layers, of seeing how much pressure it would take before I cracked. Since he woke up I have been expecting a lot from him. It seemed like he didn’t buy the whole marriage idea or was this how someone who claims to be married acts?

What am I even expecting? I think it’s best we barely see each other. Makes my plan easier for me.

I pushed the chair back and stood. I needed to become someone else.

Would Elaine see right through me? Would she know that beneath the expensive dress and polished act was nothing more than a fraud who forged a marriage certificate out of desperation?

I clenched my jaw. No. She couldn’t know. She wouldn’t.

If Liam wasn’t worried, then I would learn from him. I would be calm. Tomorrow, I will wear it like armor. Tomorrow, I would walk into their world and prove I belonged.

Or at least convince them I did.