113 Chapter 113 – Restaurant Ultimatum
“This is torture for me too. But it’s the only way they’ll leave me in peace. You have to marry her, Liam.”
The thought of him with someone else was agony, but I couldn’t keep living under this constant threat. I reached out and touched his face, trying to memorize the feel of his skin under my fingers.
“Clairemont, I’m not standing in the way of your little domestic fantasy. I broke things off with Liam the day you announced your pregnancy. If he’s not rushing to the altar with you, that’s between you and him,” I said, fighting to keep my own tears at bay. “Oh yes, she will. Even if I have to risk my clean criminal record to make it happen.” Stella’s fierce loyalty almost made me smile despite everything.
The rest of the week crawled by in a haze. I went through the motions of living, pretending everything was normal for my son’s sake, but inside I felt like I was watching my life from a distance, unable to fully participate in my own existence.
I placed a restraining hand on Stella’s arm. “Let it go, Stella. I’ll hear her out. I’d rather deal with this pest once and for all than have her stalking me around town.”
The last thing I expected during lunch was to see Clairemont’s face in the restaurant doorway. But there she stood, scanning the room until her eyes locked on mine.
Her mask slipped completely. “You’re heartless, Hazel!” she shrieked, loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear. “You want to steal my baby’s father!”
“You’ve got some nerve showing up here to harass my friend, you witch,” Stella immediately bristled, her voice cutting through the ambient chatter.
“Pretty woman, just tell me whose ass needs kicking first,” he said in that silly way of his that always managed to coax a smile out of me.
“The
Way to make her and her father stop is for you to go through with this marriage.” The words tore at my throat as I spoke them.
Stella rushed in as soon as Liam left, wrapping me in her arms. Damian a doorway, took one look at my tear–stained face, and left again, his jaw tight with frustration. Owen came over and pulled me into one of his bear hugs.
ared in the
113 Chapter 113 Restaurant Ultimatum
After lunch, I returned to find the slice of chocolate cake I’d ordered still sitting on desk. I devoured it immediately, hoping the sugar would provide some comfort however temporary..
*Absolutely not. Get lost and leave Hazel alone.” Stella’s protective instincts were in full force, and I could practically see her calculating the distance between herself and Clairemont’s throat.
She had the nerve to look wounded. “I’m here to ask you, to beg you if I have to, to step away from Liam. He has a responsibility to marry me and give my baby a proper home and family. Please, Hazel, don’t force my child to grow up fatherless. Remove yourself from Liam’s life.”
“She’s never going to leave me alone, Stella. Never.” The words came out between sobs.
“You’ve made your little scene, and I’ve given you my answer. I’m not in Liam’s life, but I’m not sacrificing my livelihood either.” I stood up, my chair scraping against the floor. “Don’t contact me again.”
“Look, Hazel, I want to speak to you mother to mother,” she began, pressing her hand dramatically to her chest. “You understand how difficult it is to raise a child without a father. I know you’re struggling with the same thing since you don’t even know who your son’s father is.”
“Keep my son out of your mouth,” I warned, my voice deadly quiet. “Whatever poison you came here to spill, leave him out of it.”
“My angel, please don’t cry.” His violet eyes looked haunted, stripped of their usual intensity. “We’ll face this together. I promise you. Stella told me what happened, and I swear she won’t bother you again. I’ll find a way to handle this.”
Hazel’s POV
I was just finishing the last bite when Liam appeared in my doorway, then dropped to his knees beside my chair.
Clairemont wasted no time sliding into the chair beside me, uninvited. The audacity of this woman never ceased to amaze me.
My blood turned to ice. Only Bianca could have fed her that piece of inlurmation.
I walked to the counter and arranged for our order to be delivered to the office. Stella
113 Chapter 113 Rostaurant Ultimatum
was right behind me, doing the same. We left that toxic atmosphere and returned to work, where I finally allowed myself to collapse into my chair and let the tears fall.
He stood, kissed my forehead with heartbreaking tenderness, and walked away. I crumbled the moment he was gone, sobbing like a child, feeling like my chest was being ripped apart.
When I returned to my desk, I buried myself in work, trying to lose myself in spreadsheets and correspondence. The girls all called throughout the afternoon, each one assuring me they wouldn’t let that manipulative princess anywhere near me again. When our lunch arrived, Stella called me to the break room. We ate in relative silence. my appetite completely gone.
Fiona insisted on making me tea, hovering over me like a concerned mother. I excused myself to the bathroom to wash my face and pull myself together.
“But you’re still working with him, still in his orbit,” she whined, her voice taking on a petulant edge. “You haven’t really removed yourself from his life.
The crocodile tears started flowing right on cue.
Chapter 113 – Restaurant Ultimatum
“This will destroy me, Hazel.” He captured my hand and pressed his lips to my palm. “But I can’t bear to see you suffering like this. Let me try to find another solution first. I’ll speak with my lawyer. I love you.”
“I’m not abandoning my career. You know perfectly well that I work for Damian now, not Liam. So there’s no valid reason for you to keep harassing me. If you think you can guilt me into quitting my job, you’re delusional.”
Every head in the place turned toward our table. I wanted to disappear into the floor. The way she was carrying on, anyone listening would think I was some home–wrecking witch trying to destroy an innocent family.
Clairemont approached our table with what she probably thought was a humble
tl have to say. expression, though her eyes held something sharper. “Hazel, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. Please, I’m begging you to just listen to v
