She tried to brush it off as nothing, a cousin, a childhood friend, her sister. There were so many reasons that could make sense. But none of them explained why he'd lied. "Family stuff," he'd said, way too quickly and too casually. And the timing, right after last night. It made her chest feel tight.
Just last night, he'd been standing in her doorway, his eyes filled with emotion, his voice shaking as he told her he loved her. He held her close, like she was something valuable, something real. So why keep secrets now?
When the professor walked in, it snapped her attention for a moment before it drifted again. His voice turned into background noise, the words blending together into a low hum. She found herself imagining Liam's face when she'd replied that she loved him too. The way his eyes had gone wide. The way he had laughed, full of disbelief, and said, "I'm never leaving."
Her pen hovered above the page, not moving at all. What if she was wrong about him? What if she wasn't?
