Chapter 10: A Name from the Past
593 Words
Ella’s fingers trembled as she stared at the screen.
The name flashing there—she hadn’t seen it in years.
A name she had buried.
A name that should have stayed in the past.
The phone kept ringing, each vibration rattling through her bones.
Liam noticed. His gaze sharpened, shifting from raw desire to something colder, more calculating.
“Who is it?” His voice was calm, but there was a razor’s edge to it.
Ella hesitated. Too long.
Liam’s eyes darkened.
Then—silence.
Missed call.
Her breath shuddered as she lowered the phone, willing her heart to steady.
“It’s nothing,” she lied.
Liam c****d his head slightly, his gaze unreadable. Assessing. Measuring.
He didn’t buy it.
“Try again.”
His voice was quieter now, but it carried weight. Like a man used to being given answers.
Ella straightened her spine, masking the unease creeping into her bones. “I don’t owe you an explanation.”
Liam smirked, but there was no humor in it. Only promise.
“Maybe not.” He took a slow, deliberate step forward, his presence wrapping around her like a storm. “But you will.”
A challenge.
A warning.
Ella’s pulse quickened, but she forced herself to hold his gaze.
Liam Sinclair didn’t like mysteries.
And now? She had just become one.
The phone buzzed again—a message this time.
Ella glanced down, her breath catching in her throat.
"We need to talk. It’s about him."
She stiffened.
Liam’s expression didn’t change, but his body did—his shoulders tensing, his fingers flexing.
He had seen it.
And now?
He wasn’t letting this go.
---
Ella forced herself to move, tucking the phone into her palm as if that could make it disappear. As if that could erase the past that had just come knocking.
Liam didn’t speak right away. He simply watched her, those sharp blue eyes peeling away the layers of her silence, searching for the truth beneath.
It made her skin prickle.
“I should go,” she muttered, stepping back.
Liam’s hand shot out, catching her wrist. Not forcefully. Not to stop her. But to remind her.
“Ella.” His voice was softer now. Steady. “Who is ‘him’?”
Her throat tightened. She shook her head. “It’s none of your business.”
Something flickered across his face. Frustration? Amusement? It was impossible to tell.
Then, slowly, he lifted her hand—the one he was still holding. His thumb brushed over the inside of her wrist, where her pulse betrayed her. Fast. Erratic.
“You’re shaking.” His voice was almost… gentle. “Is it fear?”
She swallowed.
“No.”
Liam tilted his head, considering her. “Lies don’t suit you, sweetheart.”
She yanked her hand back, glaring at him. “You don’t know me well enough to say that.”
His smirk returned, but it was laced with something darker.
"Oh, but I will.”
Ella’s chest tightened. This was a mistake.
Liam Sinclair was already dangerous. He was already too close, too intoxicating.
If he got curious?
If he started digging?
He would unravel everything.
She turned on her heel, pushing through the door before he could stop her again.
The night air hit her like a slap. Cold. Unforgiving.
She exhaled hard, glancing down at her phone one more time.
The message burned into her vision.
"We need to talk. It’s about him."
Ella closed her eyes.
Because she already knew.
The past wasn’t done with her yet.
- Writer
