By admin A Romance In Passing Chapter 13
When William returned to the villa by South Lake, a fresh, pleasant scent greeted him the moment he stepped inside. The living room was dim, lit only by the flicker of scented candles arranged along the dining table.
At the sound of the door, Aria appeared at the top of the stairs. She walked down slowly, wearing a slinky nightgown, a teasing smile tugging at her lips.
Just a few days ago, the sight of her like this would’ve made his heart race. He would’ve pulled her into his arms without a second thought and carried her straight upstairs.
But now, the sight made his stomach turn.
“Liam, you’re back! Are you hungry? I made steak. Come eat.”
Aría pressed herself against him, her hands sliding lower as she ran them over his body. But he didn’t react. His face was cold as ice as he caught her wrist in a firm grip.
She hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage and pulled him toward the dining room.
“Did I upset you earlier when I rushed you on the phone?” she asked, easing William into his chair.
Aria placed the steak in front of him and slowly began cutting it into pieces. As she spoke, she swayed her hips with deliberate grace, then leaned in close, easing herself onto his lap.
She kissed him, eager to win him over. Her nightgown was nearly transparent, the scant fabric clinging to her skin. The delicate lace trim that only heightened her fragile, pleading allure.
But William didn’t so much as glance at her. His voice was flat, cutting her off mid–motion. “Do you know where Emily went?”
The name alone made Aria snap upright in his lap, her expression shifting in an instant. “Why are you bringing her up again? Don’t tell me you actually went to see her.”
She slipped behind William, draping her arms around his neck in a sulky embrace, her face a picture of wounded innocence.
“Liam, did you forget what you promised me? You said there’d be no more Emily, that you’d stay with me and take care of me.”
William’s expression turned to ice. “I promised you that?”
With a dry, mocking laugh, he took out his phone and played the audio file he’d copied from the USB drive.
“I’ll throw myself off the balcony. Let’s see if Liam believes you pushed me.”
The familiar voice stopped Aria cold. “W–What’s that?”
Panic flared in her eyes as she lunged for the phone, but William kicked her aside. “You know exactly what it is. Or have you already forgotten your own words?”
Aria doubled over, her face pale. She clutched the edge of the table and cried out, “Liam! That’s not me! She set me up! She faked the recording!”
“Faked? Then how do you explain all this?”
Clenching his jaw, William flipped through screenshot after screenshot of chat logs from the USB drive. Every taunt and threat from Aria had been what drove Emily
away.
Aria dropped to her knees and crawled to his feet. “You have to believe me, Liam! Don’t you remember? I was the one who saved you back in the fishing village!”
At the mention of the village, William’s expression twisted with disgust, and he wouldn’t even look at her. “The fishing village? You lied and told me we were lovers. It was all a setup, wasn’t it?”
“No! I never lied to you!”
She could feel her lies were crumbling around her. Her voice cracked as she cried out, clinging to the hope that he might still show her mercy.
“Liam, I only did it because I loved you too much. I fell for you the second I saw you in that village. If only you hadn’t remembered Emily, we could’ve stayed together forever-”
“Shut the hell up!” William snapped, cutting her off mid–sentence.
His eyes blazed with fury. “You love me? Is that why you rigged the chandelier to fall on Emmy? Is that why you threw her cat off the balcony and then faked a suicide attempt just to win my pity?
“That’s your idea of love? You didn’t love me. You just wanted out of that dead–end village, and you thought I was your ticket!”
He strode toward Aria with an air of cold superiority. Grabbing her by the arm, he yanked her to her feet. His eyes were like ice as he struck her across the left cheek with a brutal slap.
“That one’s for Emily. You tormented her, over and over again, and harmed her. Now you get to feel what she felt.”
Then, he backhanded her across the right cheek.
“And this one’s from me. All this time, you lied straight to my face, played your role so damn well, thinking I’d never find out. I’ll make sure you suffer for the rest of your miserable life!”
The blows landed hard, one after another, until Aria’s ears were ringing and her face burned–hot, swelling and throbbing with pain.
William didn’t stop until his hand went numb. Only then did he finally rise, leaving her crumpled and battered and bleeding on the floor as he walked out of the villa.