A hollow, biting emptiness settled in Liam Martin’s chest. He stared down at Chloe Bishop’s closed eyes. Those beautiful, almond-shaped eyes that had once overflowed with tender affection for him were now hidden behind a thick, dark fringe of lashes.
He knew that when they opened again, that warmth would be gone. There would be no more soft glances, only the icy, distant stare he had seen the night before when she stood shielding Nora. It was a look that treated him like a stranger—or worse, an enemy.
Liam felt a surge of restless indignation. Driven by a desperate, lingering hope, he opened her messaging app one last time, needing to know if he had truly been erased from every corner of her digital world.
But before he could tap the screen, a low roar broke the silence of the villa. Ti
