Married to My Ruthless CEO Boss

Chapter 7: Tangled Loyalties

The morning after the heated confrontation with Liam, I woke with a heavy weight pressing against my chest. Not physical, but emotional—the kind that wrapped around your ribs and made it hard to breathe. I sat up in bed, the empty space beside me as cold as the night before. He hadn't returned.

Again.

Despite the fire between us, despite the kiss that had shaken the very ground we stood on, Liam had left. Like he always did. Like I should’ve expected.

I wrapped a robe around myself and padded into the living room. The silence of the penthouse was deafening. I passed the empty whiskey glass still sitting on the edge of the bar, untouched since the previous night. It mocked me.

The door buzzed. I nearly jumped.

A delivery man stood on the other side, holding a sleek black box.

"For Mrs. Blackwood," he said.

I hesitated. "From whom?"

He only smiled and handed it over.

Inside was a stunning designer dress in a shade of midnight blue, delicate and tailored to perfection. Beneath it, a note:

> You’re expected tonight. 7 PM. Wear this. —L.

No explanation. No apology.

Just a command.

---

By the time the chauffeur pulled up in front of the grand Blackwood Estate—one of Liam’s most exclusive private properties—I’d mentally rehearsed a hundred different responses to him. Most of them angry.

But when the massive doors opened and I stepped into the candlelit foyer, everything changed.

Liam stood there, dressed in a charcoal suit that hugged his frame perfectly, his hair slightly tousled, his eyes—those sharp, stormy eyes—watching me like I was both the answer and the question.

"You came," he said softly.

"You summoned," I said, keeping my chin up.

He stepped closer, his expression unreadable. "I wanted to show you something."

Before I could respond, he reached for my hand—not forcefully, but gently. Like he was asking for permission.

I let him.

He led me through a corridor I’d never seen before, into a private art gallery. The walls were lined with massive paintings, all in different styles. Some were violent splashes of color. Others were delicate pencil sketches. But they all had one thing in common—they featured a woman.

Me.

Sketches from different angles, paintings with my face hidden behind light and shadows. Some intimate, others regal.

My breath caught. "What is this?"

"My obsession," he said plainly.

I turned to him, my heart pounding. "Liam..."

"You’ve haunted me since the day we met, Amelia. I don’t know how to love. I don’t even know if I’m capable of it. But I can’t stop thinking about you."

His voice was rough. Honest. Vulnerable in a way I hadn’t seen before.

"You kissed me last night, and it didn’t feel like a mistake," I whispered.

He stepped forward, so close I could feel his breath on my skin. "That’s because it wasn’t. But I can’t protect you from what’s coming."

"Then tell me what it is. Trust me."

He shook his head. "If I do… you might leave."

"I already signed away my life to you, Liam. Don’t I at least deserve the truth?"

Before he could respond, a door creaked open behind us.

Aiden.

Leaning against the frame, eyes dark, jaw tight.

"I told you to keep her out of this," he said.

Liam turned, his expression shifting into steel. "You followed us."

"Because I had to. She’s in danger, Liam. And you know it."

"From who?" I asked, stepping between them.

They both went quiet. Too quiet.

My voice cracked. "From who?!"

"Our mother," Liam said finally.

The name fell like a bomb.

"What?"

Aiden looked at me, guilt flashing across his features. "She never wanted you in this family. She thinks you're a liability."

Liam added, "She’s planning to remove you—permanently—unless we keep you close, protected. That’s why I married you in the first place."

I felt like the floor was crumbling beneath me.

"So this was never about love? It was a cage?"

"At first," he admitted. "But things changed. I changed."

I turned to Aiden. "And you? Were you just part of the plan, too?"

His voice was low. "No. I tried to stop it. I wanted to protect you. But I fell for you along the way."

The room spun.

My heart was being pulled in two directions.

Love. Betrayal. Secrets.

I ran.

Out of the gallery, down the hallway, past the confused staff. I didn’t stop until I reached the garden terrace, where the cold air slapped my cheeks and the stars above blurred through tears.

The sound of footsteps behind me made me turn.

Liam.

He stopped a few feet away. "I don’t expect forgiveness. I just… I need you to know, I would burn the world before I let anyone hurt you."

I looked up at him, broken but unbowed. "Then stop lying to me. Because secrets are just another kind of weapon."

He stepped forward, brushing his knuckles along my cheek. "Then I’ll tell you everything. Starting tonight. No more lies."

I nodded slowly. Not ready to trust. But not ready to walk away either.

And deep inside, I knew—

This marriage was no longer just a contract.

It was war.

But maybe, just maybe… it was also the beginning of love.