Not a Fiancée, a Resource

eristically serious in the loud, buzzing room.

m his directness, could

ood to me. Or for me. Not a single drop. My health is my responsibi

Ethan had been built on, that she didn't know how to respond. He wasn't asking for her sa

wed. "I think I c

andsome. "Good. Because I was not looking forward to competing with yo

id you

ld me you were here to find a new boyfrien

ing, a real, genuine smi

ng. He reached out, took her hand, and brought it to his lips for a light, chas

t felt warm and real. "I need some time," she said, her voice

ion turning gentle again. "Take al

night, the apartment was quiet. She

mask of anger and worry. "I've been calling you for hours! Liam is in t

redictable it was almost funny. Chloe felt a cold detachment settle over her. She looked

simply, walking past h

argument would have. "Out? You were out? Liam is in

pulative liar," she said, not bothering to t

o the bedroom door, watching as she began to pull

it look lik

e said, his voice pleading now. "They paid for my first t

r debt to him has nothing to do with me. It doesn't give him the ri

He took a breath. "Liam is... he's in a bad way. The doctors are worrie

urt. Instead, a slow, cold smile

caught him complete

ng a strange, hollow vic

ated, her voice a monotone. With each call, another tie to her old life was severed. She remembered the joy she' d felt booking the venue, the excitement of choosing the flowers. It all f

ale and frail, but his eyes were sharp and triumphant. Ethan was fussing over him, tucking a blanket around his legs, his face etched with concern. They looked so close, so int

ere supposed to have dinner with her parents, a formal meeting that had been

"Liam just had a dizzy spell. He says he fee

r Liam in the background, his voice a p

ull of a tenderness he hadn't shown her in years. "Chl

r best clothes, the smell of the roast she'd been cooking filling the air. She was supposed to be

d over her. Her knees buckled. She crumpled to the floor, the carefully constructed calm she had maintained for days shattering into