E & Liam


    E


    I staggered under the weight of the pile of clothes in my arms, nearly stumbling over my own two feet as I carried it down the corridor. It was a long journey from the west wing to Alexander’s bedroom, but I had refused help from the servants, insisting on doing it myself.


    Truthfully, I just didn’t want to admit that without my wolf, I was far weaker than I once was. My arms were already tired and my legs felt like they might give out just from two trips carrying clothes like this.


    I was just rounding a corner, the pile of clothes blocking my line of sight, when I suddenly bumped into something. My feet stumbled on a trailing scarf, and before I knew it, the clothes were cascading around me as my arms windmilled out to the sides.


    Someone caught me before I could hit the floor.


    “You keep falling today, don’t you?”


    I looked up to see Liam staring down at me. He gently set me upright, his hands lingering on my shoulders for a moment.


    “Are you alright, E?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.


    My cheeks reddened, but I quickly nodded and began gathering the clothes. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired, that’s all.”


    Liam stooped and helped me gather the items. His face flushed as he held up a silky negligee, which I quickly snatched away and hid amongst the pile.


    “What is all of this?” he asked. “I saw you carrying more clothes earlier. Are you moving rooms or something?”


    I hesitated. How could I tell Liam that I was moving things from my real bedroom, which was a mere guest suite located in the west wing, to Alexander’s room-the room I hadn’t set foot in until a few days ago?


    Finally, I managed, “I had some of my clothes stored in a room in the west wing. I’m sorting through stuff.”


    Liam, however, looked entirely unconvinced. He stood, holding a bundle of clothes, and leveled me with that knowing gaze of his. “I think it’s time you tell me the truth, E.”


    I bit my lip, suppressing a sigh. Damn him and his uncanny ability to see right through me. That camp his father had sent him to as a kid hadn’t erased that part of him, it seemed.


    “Alright,” I finally sighed, ncing around. “But not here.”


    Liam nodded and followed me into a nearby room. It was a small reading room on the second floor that overlooked the courtyard below. Buttery sunlight spilled across the soft furniture, illuminating dust motes that werezily floating through the air.


    Once the door was shut, I set down the pile of clothes I was holding and gestured for Liam to sit. He hesitated, but eventually obliged.


    “Well?” Liam leaned back in the chair and gestured for me to speak. “I’m all ears.”


    I paused for a moment, carefully considering my words. Of course I wanted to tell Liam everything; he was my best friend when we were kids, and although we hadn’t seen each other in over a decade, he still meant so much to me. I hated lying to


    him.


    Finally, I settled on a half-truth.


    “Our rtionship isn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” I finally said. “Alexander and I… We have been sleeping in separate rooms for a while now. It’s only recently that we started sharing a room.”


    Liam blinked. “Is he mistreating you?”


    I opened my mouth, but then shut it again, unsure of what to say. Mistreating me? Alexander was certainly cold and distant throughout our entire marriage, but he wasn’t abusive.


    “It’s not like that.” I perched on the edge of the armchair across from Liam. From this angle, the sun haloed his golden hair. “It’s just… aplicated situation. It’s hard to love someone who you feel obligated to.”


    Liam’s face darkened in the same way it did earlier outside the barn. “So you’re saying you don’t love each other.”


    Hearing him say it out loud made my chest hurt. Yes, we didn’t love each other. I hated to admit it, even to myself sometimes.


    Meanwhile, my father had been quietly taking far more money from Alexander than I thought he was. Far more. I had married a man who didn’t love me just so my father could siphon as much money as possible.


    My silence must have been all the confirmation Liam needed, because he suddenly leaned forward and grasped my hands in his. His eyes never left mine as he said, “You need someone better, E. A man who will truly love you.”


    At that moment, I felt as though I would prefer no man instead. At least for a good, long while. But I didn’t say that to Liam.


    “Marriage isplicated,” I finally said, staring down at our joined hands. “Politics areplicated.”


    I could feel Liam’s gaze boring into me, searching for a lie. But this time, I wasn’t lying. Not really. It was an incrediblyplex situation, one that sometimes felt like it had no “right” solution.


    “You can leave, you know,” he said after a moment. “If he’s cruel to you, or hurting you—”


    “He’s not hurting me.” I met my friend’s gaze steadily.


    “But you look weak, E. Tired. Something must be going on that you’re not telling me.”


    “I’m fine.”


    Liam sighed softly. “E…”


    “I’m just tired, okay?” I let out a bitterugh, because it was true. I was fucking exhausted. “It’s tiring, always bending over backwards for someone who doesn’t love you.”


    “Why don’t you leave him, then?” Liam asked.


    I didn’t tell him about my wolf or the contracts or any of it. He wouldn’t understand, and besides… With Alexander’s electioning up, I couldn’t risk anything. If Liam knew the truth, he might get mad and refuse to give Ashw a good review.


    And if Alexander didn’t get what he wanted, then maybe he would pull out of the contract and refuse to divorce me.


    I doubted Alexander would go against our contract, but it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.


    “It’s not that simple,” I said. “With his electioning up, I don’t want to cause any trouble.”


    Liam’s eyes narrowed. “So he’s using you to win the election. Meanwhile, you’re miserable.”


    “It’s not like that…”


    D


    “Isn’t it?”


    I hesitated for a long moment before I dared to look at him again. When I did, his face was pale and drawn with worry.


    Without a word, he pulled me into an embrace. “I’ll help you, E,” he said gently, his voice muffled by my hair. “We’ll get you out of that marriage, even if we need to resort to dirty tactics-”


    “No.” I pulled back, wiping at my eyes. “It’s tooplicated, Liam.”


    Liam stared at me for a long second, that intense, dark expression crossing his face again. It was almost difficult to recognize the man sitting before me-scheming and determined, not at all like the kind-hearted, simple young boy I had known years ago. The boy who might have told me to keep my chin up and everything would be okay.


    Dirty tactics… That wasn’t like Liam at all.


    But I supposed I had changed, too. We all had. Perhaps for the worse.


    “There must be something I can do,” he said firmly.


    “Give Ashw a good review.” I stood, ignoring the way my legs shook. “It’s the best thing you can do for me right now.”


    Liam


    Liam watched E shakily scoop up the bundles of clothes and stumble out of the room, her legs hardly holding her upright beneath the weight.


    She was bing weak. Fatigued. Had she not been eating?


    The thought turned Liam’s heart to stone. She was clearly trapped like a prisoner, not just in this marriage, but in her own body. Her own husband refused to treat her properly, and she was starving herself.


    Bastard.


    Liam made a decision then: if he could gather enough evidence on his own, then he could get E out of this unhappy marriage.


    She might have said she didn’t want Liam’s help, but he would give it to her anyway. He had to. She was a mental prisoner, clearly. She wouldn’t leave Alexander on her own because deep down, she still loved him even though he didn’t love her.


    But Liam could save her. He would save her.


    Even if he had to drag her kicking and screaming out of that marriage, she was sure to thank him for it in the end.