Leah's POV
"Yes," I admitted, my chest tightening. "It happened. And no matter what we do, we can't undo it. So I think… the best thing now is for us to forget it."
He snapped. "You mean you want me to forget we slept together?" His voice rose, raw and ragged, slicing through the hum of the restaurant.
The door creaked open then, a waiter stepping in with a tray of dishes. He froze, eyes darting between us, then backed out as quick as he'd come, the door swinging shut behind him. I clenched my fists under the table. "Calm down."
"How can I calm down?" Liam snarled, his control fraying. "I'm not you! I've got feelings, Leah - self-esteem! I don't just fuck someone and wipe it clean like it never happened!"
The words hit like fists, bruising. I steadied myself, forcing the tremble out of my voice. "I'm pregnant now, Liam. I've got another man's child in me."
He slammed the table, the dishes rattling, and shot to his feet. "A man who hates you to the bone! His child! You're just trying to patch up your guilt with a kid - some pitiful compensation because you let him down. What about me?"
I sat still, staring up at him, his fury a mirror to Lucas - my ex, my ghost, the one who'd raged just like this when I'd cut him loose. Liam's anger was a storm, but I wouldn't bend. Not this time. I kept my tone even, a lifeline in the chaos. "Liam, there's something you need to know."
He dropped to one knee before I could finish, his hands grabbing mine, desperate. "No, Leah, there's something you need to know. I love you. I've loved you since the first damn second I saw you. Being kicked away from you - it ripped me apart. I worked myself to the bone just to drown it out, but no one got it, no one could touch the pain. I'm torn up because I know you feel it too. That's why you pushed me away - you're scared it'll happen again. I totally understand, Leah."
The words clawed at me, tearing through the walls I'd built. I turned my head, the ache in my chest blooming, sharp and relentless. I couldn't look at him - couldn't face those eyes, so full of hope I'd already crushed. If I did, I'd break, and I couldn't afford to break.
But Liam wouldn't let go. His cheek pressed against my hand, his lips trailing kisses up my arm - my shoulder, my neck - each one a plea, a wound. "Look me in the eye," he whispered, his breath hot against my skin, "and tell me you never loved me. Say it, and I'll vanish from your life. Gone. Forever."
His mouth hovered near mine, and panic surged. I jerked back, shoving him away, my hands trembling. "No, Liam, this isn't what I want. I never loved you. I slept with you because you looked like him - my ex-husband. I… I miss him too much."
The despair cracked his face open, raw and bleeding. "That ex-husband who hunted you down and tried to kill you… he's the one you can't let go of, isn't he? You used me. Why, Leah? Why?"
Tears stung my eyes, but I forced them down. "I know I shouldn't have. But it happened. And you know… I'm grateful you were there. You saved me, Liam. I didn't believe in kindness - real, selfless kindness - until I met you. You stood up for me when I had nothing, when you didn't even know me. That's why I helped you - got justice for your father, made sure everyone who hurt you paid. They did."
Tears streamed down his face now, a flood of heartbreak. "What about you? You hurt me too - deeper than any of them."
My throat closed, but I pushed the words out, cold and final. "When this child's born, I'll take the punishment I've earned. Death's been stalking me forever. Everyone I've loved, I've hurt them - or they've hurt me. I've loved too much to love again, hated too much to hate. I'm done with this life."
His hands seized mine, frantic. "No, don't say that! I didn't mean it - I don't want you dead! Please, Leah, stay for me! I'll never say that shit again - I don't blame you! I just want you alive, even if I can only watch from a distance. That's enough. It's all I need!"
I stood, pulling my hands free, and took his arm, my voice calm despite the storm inside. "Liam, remember the first day we met? You promised to take me to the fish market. We never got the fish. Take me now."
The dusk light spilled over his face, painting him in shades of sorrow - lost, childlike, broken. I'd gutted him, and he'd done nothing to deserve it. Love stripped us all bare, turned us to ash. I'd been there, felt that same ruin, and now I'd dealt it to him. What could I offer to stitch up that wound? Love's debts were the heaviest, and my time was running out.
We left the restaurant, the food abandoned, and walked toward the fish market. The air stank of salt and sea, vendors shouting over the crowd. Liam trailed beside me, silent, his presence a weight I couldn't shake. I stopped at a stall, eyeing the fish, but my mind was elsewhere - on him, on the past, on the end creeping closer.
"Liam," I said, turning to him, "promise me something."
He met my gaze, wary. "What?"
"When I'm gone, move on. Find someone who can love you right. Don't let me chain you."
His jaw tightened, fighting the words. "I can't promise that. I don't know if I'll ever forget you."
"You have to," I pressed, my voice hard. "For you. Please."
He shook his head, tears glinting. "Why are you doing this? Pushing me away?"
"Because I care," I said, soft but firm. "I won't let you waste your life on me."
He reached out, cradling my face, his touch warm, unbearable. "You're what I need, Leah. Don't you see?"
I shut my eyes, letting myself feel it - just for a second - before stepping back. "I'm sorry."
His hands fell, empty. "So this is goodbye?"
I nodded, the weight settling in. "Yeah. It's better this way."
He looked away, defeated. "I don't know if I can take that."
"You will," I said. "Let me go, Liam."
After a long, aching silence, he nodded. "If that's what you want."
"It is," I lied.
He forced a smile, brittle. "Then let's get some fish. For old times."
I matched it, hollow. "Yeah. For old times."
We wandered the market, picking out fish, trading small words like it could erase the wreckage. It was a goodbye wrapped in normalcy, a last thread before it snapped.
When we parted, he pulled me into a hug, his voice breaking against my ear. "This isn't the end of us, Leah."
"Liam..." I choked out.
He vanished into the crowd before I could say anything, and I stood there, staring after him, an ache hollowing me out. It was right. It had to be. But as I walked away, back to my fate, I couldn't shake the regret - not for what I'd said, but for what I couldn't.