Chapter 8: The Ex Returns
1110 Words
Georgia didn't see Liam the next morning.
He was gone before the sun came up again like he always do
No note. No call.
She didn't know what last night meant. She didn't even know if it had meant anything to him at all.
But it meant something to her.
Because for the first time, she had seen the cracks. The man beneath the armor. The boy who had grown up with loss in his bones and learned to wear power like a shield.
She thought about his mother's letter again.
Don't let your past poison your future.
It stayed with her all morning.
---
By noon, Georgia found herself in the garden behind the mansion.
It was the only part of the house that felt alive.
She stood by the stone fountain, letting the sound of water calm her thoughts.
But then she heard it, wheels on gravel, the low purr of an expensive engine.
A car.
She turned toward the side gate as the driver parked a sleek red convertible near the main entrance. The door opened smoothly.
And then she stepped out.
Tall. Elegant. All legs. Hair like spun gold and lips painted the perfect shade of cruelty.
Celeste.
Georgia didn't know her personally, but she had seen her before, flashing across headlines beside Liam, her laugh echoing through parties, her name whispered in the business tabloids as the woman who once tamed the untamable billionaire.
Rumor had it they were engaged once.
Rumor also said it ended in disaster.
Georgia stayed hidden behind the arch of vines, watching as Celeste walk confidently toward the front door in four-inch heels like she owned the place.
She didn't ring the bell.
She walked right in.
Of course she would.
---
Georgia found her twenty minutes later.
The housekeeper had alerted her with a quiet whisper.
"Ma'am... a guest arrived. She's in the sitting room with Mr. Patel."
"He's home?"
"Yes. He returned just after she arrived."
Georgia's stomach twisted.
Of course he returned for her.
Still, she walked down the long hall, her heartbeat a heavy drumbeat in her ears.
The sitting room was flooded with light. Celeste sat on the white velvet couch like it was a throne, one leg crossed over the other, her hands wrapped around a crystal glass of something amber.
Liam stood across from her, jaw tight, arms crossed.
They both turned when Georgia entered.
Celeste's eyes swept over her like a challenge. Liam's gaze was unreadable.
"Well," Celeste said sweetly, "if it isn't the new Mrs. Patel."
Georgia didn't flinch.
"I don't believe we've met," she said evenly.
"Oh, but I know all about you," Celeste purred, standing. "Imagine my surprise when I opened the news and saw that Liam had gotten married. Quietly. Contractually."
Georgia's chest stiffened.
Liam said nothing.
Celeste glanced at him, amused. "You didn't tell her I knew?"
"Knew what?" Georgia asked coldly.
Celeste stepped closer. Too close. Her perfume hit like an attack, expensive and heavy.
"That this wasn't the first time Liam's tried to use love as a business tool."
"Celeste," Liam warned, his voice sharp.
She ignored him.
"I thought I was the only one who knew what he really was," she whispered to Georgia. "But then he found you."
Georgia didn't let her expression change. "If you came here to stir drama, you can leave."
Celeste smirked. "Oh, sweetheart. You're not even in the game yet."
She turned toward Liam, her smile fading.
"You know why I'm really here," she said. "We have unfinished business."
"Not anymore," he said, voice low.
Her eyes narrowed. "So it's true. You really did marry her just to get back at Caleb Lane?"
The silence was louder than a scream.
Georgia froze.
Celeste's smile returned. "Oh, darling... he didn't tell you?"
Liam moved then, quickly. "That's enough."
"No, let her talk," Georgia said quietly, her voice like glass. "Go ahead, Celeste. Say it."
The blonde's lips curled. "He's still in love with someone who doesn't exist. A version of you that lives in his memory. He married you to destroy your father, Georgia. That's all this ever was."
Liam's fists clenched. "Get out."
Celeste raised a brow. "Touched a nerve?"
"I said get out" Liam growled.
She rolled her eyes and walked toward the door.
But before she left, she turned one last time.
"Be careful, Georgia. He's good at pretending. But when he's done using you..."
She smiled, cruel and confident.
"He always walks away."
Then she was gone.
---
The room was silent.
Georgia didn't move. Neither did Liam.
When she finally spoke, her voice shook.
"Is it true?"
He turned to her. "Georgia.."
"Did you marry me to punish my father?"
His jaw worked, but no words came.
"Answer me."
He didn't.
The silence said enough.
Georgia's chest caved in.
She turned and walked out.
---
She didn't cry in her room. She didn't scream.
She just sat on the edge of the bed, hands clenched in her lap, and stared at the wall.
The worst part wasn't that Liam had used her.
The worst part was that she had started to hope.
That kiss. That touch. That moment in the kitchen.
She had started to believe there was something real behind his walls.
But maybe Celeste was right.
Maybe Liam didn't have a heart left to give.
And maybe Georgia was just another pawn in a game that began long before she entered it.
---
Night fell.
She didn't eat dinner.
And Liam didn't knock either.
The next morning, a maid arrived with a note.
Georgia opened it with numb fingers.
It was short. Precise.
"I'll be gone for three days. Business trip in Chicago.
Your things have been moved to the guest wing.
Do what you want with the library.
-L."
Georgia stared at the words.
Then she tore the note in half and tossed it in the trash.
If this was a game...
She was done playing by his rules.
- Writer
