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A gulp rolls down my throat, the taste of his cum lingering, but his energy could not be further from what it was mere minutes ago. Despite my apprehension, I do as he asks, staring at myself in the mirror.
“I see me naked with your arms wrapped around my stomach.”
“Okay, dumbass, dig a little deeper, please.”
Resisting the urge to rear back and step on his foot, I look into the mirror once more.
“My lipstick is all over, thanks for that.” I chuckle, causing him to laugh too.
“If you’re expecting an apology for that, you’ve got the wrong guy.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I roll my eyes before turning my attention back to the task. “My mascara is everywhere too.”
“Hannah,” he says with that reprimanding tone that usually makes my knees buckle, but I honestly can’t tell what he’s asking for.
“I don’t know, okay? I don’t know what you’re asking and you’re starting to piss me off.”
“Fine.” He huffs before tightening his hold around me. “I’ll go.”
“Do I really need to be here while you compliment yourself? You’ve got an ego the size of the Empire State Building. Save me the preview, I’ve watched the movie.”
“Hannah, please.” His voice is soft and earnest.
I want to keep fighting him, but I don’t. My eyes meet his in the mirror and he lets out a relieved sigh before continuing.
“When I see you, I see the most incredible woman I’ve ever known.”
I scoff, earning me a pinch on the side.
“I’m serious. Even before all of this, I’ve always thought you were exceptional, and I hate that you don’t think that too.” He presses a kiss to the side of my head before continuing. “Who told you you weren’t everything that I know you are?”
“You.” I laugh, trying to cut through the tension in the air, but it has the opposite effect.
“Well, I’m an idiot. You really shouldn’t listen to me 95%of the time.”
Tears begin to build at my waterline as I struggle to hold them at bay. I don’t like how vulnerable I feel right now, but as Liam’s arms tighten around me, I know I’m not escaping it. The warmth of his embrace envelopes me in a cocoon of comfort, the chill in the air a whisper of a memory long since gone. The heating vent on the floor kicks on with a click before air begins whooshing out of the corner of the room. Our hotel room is spacious, but not big enough to give me an escape from Liam, though at this point I’m not sure I’d want one.
“I said a lot of things I’m not proud of. I worked for a long time to keep you at arm’s length and I know in doing that I caused a lot of harm to us…to you. I still can’t get over the fact that I could have had you this entire time if it wasn’t for my stupid ego.”
“It wasn’t just you, Liam.”
“I know that, but my dumbass decision to shrug you off the morning after we…after I took your virginity caused a nearly decade-long rift between us. I love you, and the thought of that now churns my stomach.”
“I love you too.”
Liam nods, a defeated expression plaguing his face as shame blankets him. “I know I was out of line with your mom earlier, and I’m sorry. I made a scene, but I can’t stand the way she treats you. Half the time I want to punch Jackson in the face for not seeing it. More than anything, I hate the way her opinion has made you see yourself.”
“My mom’s opinion doesn’t m—”
“Hannah.”
A single tear streams down my cheek as my eyes meet his once more. All I can manage to do is shrug. My voice cracks as I speak. “She’s my mom.”
“And you deserve to be treated better.”
“What? Is that gonna be you? Are you about to come and save me from the mean old Mother Gothel and fix everything?” Sarcasm drips off my words and I watch him mentally recoil.
Silence coats us, but we don’t break apart as his gaze lingers on me in the mirror.
