Ryan didn't knock.
He stormed straight into Liam's office, slamming the door behind him. Liam, who had been reviewing documents, looked up sharply.
His eyes widened—surprised, but not shocked.
Almost like he had been waiting for this.
Ryan's chest rose and fell with anger and hurt.
"Why are you avoiding me?"
Liam leaned back in his chair, expression unreadable. "I'm busy."
"Liam," Ryan said, voice trembling. "I'm your friend. Talk to me."
Liam's jaw tightened.
Silence stretched.
"I know what you told Kia," Ryan continued quietly. "You thought he took advantage of me."
Liam's eyes flashed—anger, guilt, frustration all at once.
"Oh," he muttered. "So he ran to you first."
"He didn't 'run' to me," Ryan snapped. "I asked—because you wouldn't. Why didn't you just come to me?"
Liam slammed his pen down. "BECAUSE YOU WOULDN'T LISTEN."
Ryan froze.
Liam stood—slowly, deliberately—eyes burning.
"You wouldn't listen, Ryan. Because you're blinded."
"Blinded by what?" Ryan demanded.
Liam laughed. Bitter. Low. "By him."
Ryan's heart stuttered.
"Kia? What does Kia have to do with you ignoring me?"
Liam scoffed. "Everything."
He stepped around the desk and stood directly in front of Ryan, voice rising.
"Do you even remember why we came here?"
Ryan blinked, confused. "What—?"
Liam grabbed Ryan's shoulders, shaking slightly.
"RYAN. The agreement. The plan. The reason we left your old life behind. The reason we hid. The reason you CHANGED your name. The reason you lost everything."
Ryan felt his stomach drop.
Cold.
Heavy.
Sharp.
"Liam…" he whispered, "don't."
But Liam didn't stop.
His voice cracked—raw and furious.
"Did you forget that you swore we would get revenge? Huh? That we would take back everything those people stole from you? That we'd destroy every bastard who used you, lied to you, and ruined your life?"
Ryan's breath hitched.
Liam stepped closer, eyes blazing.
"And now look at you," he said, biting the words out.
"Living in the house of one of the men responsible for what happened to you."
Ryan flinched.
"And you're getting comfortable," Liam continued, voice trembling with rage and hurt. "Laughing with him. Sleeping under his roof. Letting your guard down."
Ryan swallowed hard.
"That's not true."
"Oh REALLY?" Liam snapped. "Because from where I'm standing, you look like someone who forgot everything."
Ryan's hands clenched at his sides.
"I didn't forget."
"Then ACT like it!" Liam shouted.
"Or have you become so dumb—so soft—that you're getting carried away by the enemy?"
Ryan's eyes widened in shock.
Liam's voice dropped—dangerously quiet.
"Yes, Ryan.
Kia is one of the people who put you in this situation in the first place.
Don't you DARE forget that."
Ryan stood frozen, shaking.
Liam wasn't finished.
He took a deep breath—and delivered the final blow.
"Tell me something, Ryan."
His voice was soft now. Too soft.
Deadly soft.
"Are you really going to throw away our goal… our plan… your revenge… because you feel safe in his arms?"
Liam's eyes bored into his.
"Are you really going to lose everything again… and gain NOTHING?"
Ryan felt the world tilt.
His pulse hammered in his ears.
"Kia…" he breathed, barely audible. "He… he wouldn't—he's not—"
"Ryan," Liam said, stepping closer, voice low with devastation.
"He is exactly what you're trying to forget."
Ryan's heart cracked.
And for the first time in a long, long time—
He didn't know whose side his heart wanted to be on.