He Proposed to Me to Punish Her Chapter 02

He Proposed to Me to Punish Her Chapter 02

I knew exactly why Gillian refused to get married.

Her parents were a famously miserable couple in our social circle. She’d grown up listening to them scream and fight nonstop.

She feared dating, marriage and any kind of intimate relationship.

We were each other’s only real friends, the family we’d chosen for ourselves.

I stepped out of the restroom to find Liam waiting by the door. He was holding the necklace I’d thrown aside earlier.

He reached out and smoothed my messy hair with a calm expression.

“So you know everything now?”

My back went rigid. I let out a bitter laugh. Couldn’t he even pretend to keep up appearances?

I mumbled a quiet “yes”.

He cupped my jaw and turned my face toward him firmly.

“Why don’t you ask me about it? I hate seeing you act like this.”

What was there left to ask?

Should I ask how my closest friend, who’d gotten my parents new jobs and always shared everything with me, had two children with my boyfriend?

Or should I ask if he’d only gotten with me in the first place out of petty spite?

What good would any of those questions do?

I never would have crossed paths with him if it weren’t for Gillian.

Seeing I stayed silent, he dropped his hand, clearly bored.

“Stop looking so hurt. Don’t let Manning notice anything is wrong.”

“If she finds out, your whole family will lose everything here. Your grandmother fractured her hip recently, and the Private Orthopedic Hospital here is the best for her injury.”

My face turned deathly pale.

I’d seen how brutal Liam could be to any man who bothered Gillian.

He once got into a violent conflict with a man who bothered Gillian, leaving the other party with lasting injuries, and he’d only paid a small settlement to make the problem go away.

I was lucky he’d gone easy on me, all because of Gillian.

My new job started in half a month. I just needed to play along for a little while longer, and then we’d never have to see each other again.

The next day, my phone rang. Gillian’s voice sounded panicked on the other end.

“Chris, Lucas is sick. I have no idea what to do.”

Gillian always fell apart over the slightest inconvenience.

Liam took care of everything for the kids, from their vaccines to late-night crying fits.

He tugged me abruptly out of bed the second he heard the call.

I climbed into the car and sat quietly in the back seat.

He glanced over at me, his mood clearly sour.

“Move up front. Are you trying to make Manning suspicious? I always thought you were honest, but I was wrong.”

I flinched in fear and quickly slid into the passenger seat, every muscle tensed up.

He let out a short laugh at my terrified expression.

“Scared of me? As long as—”

I cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

“I know. We can’t let Manning find out. Hurry up and drive. Lucas isn’t feeling well.”

Every other word out of both our mouths revolved around Gillian and her kids.

He never asked about my life or my work.

Back in school, I’d told myself he was just trying to protect my feelings.

After I started working, I’d convinced myself he was simply too busy.

I couldn’t lie to myself any longer.

I was just a tool for him to stay close to Gillian, nothing more.

He was too worried about the child to get upset over my interruption.

We walked inside, and he immediately picked up Lucas.

Milk dribbled from the toddler’s mouth, and his cries had turned hoarse from exhaustion.

Liam rubbed the little boy’s back gently and spoke to Gillian in a soothing tone.

“He’s just had too much milk. How many ounces did you give him?”

Gillian laughed nervously.

“Eight ounces at first, but he kept crying, so I gave him another full bottle.”

Liam’s expression darkened, but he only sighed in resignation.

He helped Lucas spit up the excess milk and changed his diaper. The boy finally drifted off to sleep.

Liam and I sat on opposite ends of the couch while Gillian tilted her head and teased us.

“You two are engaged now, why act so distant?”

“When are you getting married? You should have a few kids of your own someday.”

Liam suddenly pulled me tight into his arms and pressed a cold kiss to my cheek.

I saw Gillian’s smile freeze for a split second out of the corner of my eye, and a faint smirk tugged at Liam’s lips.

I watched the unspoken tension and silent games between them with a calm heart.

One used me to test the other, and the other let her emotions show through the act.

I leaned against Liam’s chest like a puppet being controlled by someone else’s strings.

“Chris, I’m staying here to look after Lucas. I’ll drive you home now.”

He caught hold of my wrist to stop me from leaving and led me outside to the car, then let go of me.

He rummaged in the glove compartment and pulled out a pack of band-aids, holding them out to me.

I lifted my head and met his deep gaze. For a fleeting moment, I was taken back to years ago.