A Love Betrayed, A Future Reclaimed

Europe, telling Liam she wasn' t ready. The truth was, she felt paralyzed. Jake had been calling and texting re

or. Liam answered, blocking

see you, Jake," Liam

d, trying to push past him. "Liv, baby,

e. It was another performance. She knew she had to end it, but the

Liam," she called ou

ets of flowers that Liam immediately threw in the dumpster. He h

to be there. All our friends. If you don' t come, people will talk. It will look bad for

ult. He was a powerful music producer. He could ruin her reputation with a few phone

try. Liv felt completely out of place in the expensive dress Jake had sent over, a dress that felt more like a costume than a

he murmured, smiling for the photogr

. She scanned the crowd, a horrible premonitio

r eyes met Liv' s for a fraction of a second, and a small, triumphant smile played on her lips. Liv' s worst fears wer

producer I need to talk to," he said, his eyes already f

anor changing. He leaned in, whispering something in Chloe' s ear that made her laugh, a bright, tinkling sound that echoed across th

r the whispers starting up around her. It was a public shaming, orchestrated perfectly. She wanted to run,

ends, the same sycophantic inner circle that enabled his cruelty, surr

, a guy named Todd, sneered. "Lo

she said, her vo

ove was harder than it needed to be. Liv stumbled backward, her heel catching on the thick carp

dull roar. Through a darkening haze, she saw Jake turn, his eyes wide with something tha

ision swam, but she could see one thing with perfect, terrible clarity. Across the room, Jake had pulled Chloe into a secluded alcove. He was kissing her, his hands

ragile thread of hope she hadn' t even realized she w

of antiseptic once again filling her

aid gently. "You have a severe concussion.

pered, her head throbbing w

nk and tripped," the doctor explained. "You' re ve

heir tracks. She felt a prick in her arm and sa

asked, her eyelids s

" he said, his voice soothing. "Do

ing thought surfaced through the fog. They weren' t