Chapter 6: This Time, I Chose Myself

Liam's POV

The next morning, I received two emails.

The first was an offer letter from the international projects division.

The position I'd wanted for years, the one I'd given up three times for the sake of my family, had finally opened its door to me.

This time, I was going to put myself first.

The second was a threatening message from Gwen.

A moment later, my phone rang.

"Liam, have you lost your mind?" The second I picked up, she was screaming.

"You went to my office and made a scene, telling everyone our son is dead? Now the whole company is calling me shameless and calling Pierce a homewrecker. Do you have any idea how much this is hurting him?"

My fingers trembled, and my stomach turned. I felt something close to a physical revulsion toward her.

"Gwen," I said quietly, cutting her off. "Andy is really dead. It happened the night you took his blood."

"Shut up!" she screamed.

"I know you're putting on an act. You used to pull this same thing back in college, didn't you? Faking sick and playing the victim—anything to get my attention."

"And now you're trotting out this 'my son is dead' routine? You think that's going to make me feel guilty enough to come running back? Not a chance."

My mind blurred for a second, and the memories came flooding back.

She was right about one thing. I had been like that.

Back in college, I'd chased after her like a lovesick idiot who couldn't take a hint. If she mentioned her stomach hurt, I'd run through the rain across the entire city to buy her soup from that one place that was impossible to get into.

When she bombed an exam, I stayed up all night putting together her study materials and then told her it was all her own hard work.

Back then, I thought that was love.

Now I understood that in her eyes, I was never anything more than a desperate, clingy doormat who didn't know his place.

That kind of lopsided devotion had sealed my fate from the very start.

"I don't need your sympathy." My voice was calm. "And I'm not backing down. Gwen, I mean it this time."

The other end of the line went quiet for a beat.

She clearly hadn't expected me to push back this hard.

Then she let out a laugh so sharp that it could cut glass.

"Fine. You want a divorce? I'll sign right now. Let's see who ends up regretting it. And you'd better go back to my office and set the record straight, or I'll fly home and report you to the police for slander."

"You're saying Andy's dead? Please. I have proof he's fine. You're the one fabricating stories for sympathy, you lunatic."

When she said she'd go to the police and prove Andy was alive, my heart clenched so hard that it hurt.

I wished more than anything that this really was just a nightmare and that any second now, Andy would come bouncing up to me with that big grin on his face.

But there were no miracles.

"Do whatever you want." I hung up and tossed the phone aside.

...

Third-Person POV

Gwen flew back from the Azurine Islands in a fury and stormed straight into her office.

She stood in front of her coworkers and launched into her defense.

"Don't listen to a word Liam says. He's not right in the head. He'll make up any lie he has to if it gets me to come home. There's also nothing going on between me and Pierce. He just hit a rough patch at work, and I helped him out as his supervisor. What's wrong with that?"

The whispering didn't stop. If anything, the looks got more contemptuous.

Gwen's face twisted with humiliation and rage. She yanked out her phone and dialed 911.

"Yes, I'd like to file a report. My husband, Liam Morrison, has been fabricating allegations, claiming I'm having an affair and that our son is dead. I want to press charges for defamation."

Two officers arrived shortly after.

Gwen rushed up to them, talking a mile a minute and pointing at the people around her.

"Officers, perfect timing. My husband came in here and turned the entire staff against me with his lies."

"My son is perfectly fine. He's not dead. My husband is out of his mind. He'll say anything for money. Go ahead and check. Run his name through the system and pull up the hospital records. My son, Andy Morrison, is alive and well."

One of the officers frowned and took out a tablet, typing in Andy's name and date of birth.

Gwen folded her arms, staring at the crowd around her with a look of absolute confidence.

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth, like she was already picturing them hauling Liam off in handcuffs.

But a few seconds later, the young officer's expression changed.

She glanced down at the screen, then turned to Gwen with a strange look in her eyes.

Her voice was heavy.

"According to our records, Andy Morrison, male, age four, passed away three days ago."

The entire room went dead silent.