After a brief silence, Liam continued, "Mr. Taylor, regardless of the circumstances, I won't let you hurt her anymore. This woman is my wife now."
With those words, he turned and walked away, his expression dark and stormy.
But he'd only taken two steps when Noah's voice rang out from behind him. "Liam, don't be so sure. You know who Emma truly loves in her heart. No one can erase the seven years she and I shared together. Besides, I love her more than you ever could."
The words weren't loud, but they were enough to ignite a blazing fury inside Liam.
His lips pressed into a thin line. He spun around and threw a punch. Noah felt the impact explode across his jaw and cheek. The force sent him stumbling backward two steps before he lunged forward himself, landing a heavy blow on Liam's cold, hard face.
In an instant, they were locked in a brawl. Liam had served in the military. When it came to physical strength and fighting skill, Noah was clearly outmatched. Still, he gritted his teeth and fought back with everything he had.
Finally, Liam knocked Noah to the ground. He couldn't get up. Liam crouched beside him, grabbed him by the collar, and said, "Don't bring up your past anymore. You're the one who destroyed what you had with her. As for me, I didn't have a chance to be part of Emma's past. But I promise you this—from now on, I'll do everything in my power to make her future happy. And you? You don't deserve to love her."
With that, Liam released him and walked away. His face showed no emotion, but the air around him was thick with a dangerous, icy chill.
Noah lay on the ground for a long time. He thought about the happy times they'd shared and couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
Was this how people were? Only when they lost something did they realize how precious it was, how much they couldn't bear to let it go.
He loved Emma. But one wrong step had destroyed everything.
Now, if he wanted to win her back, he needed more than just her forgiveness. He needed to start over with her. Noah made a silent vow in his heart.
But neither of them knew that someone had been watching their entire confrontation.
Not far away, in a dark corner, the owner of the red Mercedes sports car pulled a cigarette from her bag, lit it, and took a slow drag.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Noah. Her face was pale, and the anger burning in her gaze seemed like it could reduce him to ashes.
She watched until Noah got up and disappeared from sight. Then she turned on her headlights and slowly drove away.
When Liam got home, he went straight to the bathroom. He flipped on the light and stared at himself in the mirror.
He felt strange. He'd never been this impulsive before. He rarely even raised his voice, let alone his fists.
And all of this seemed to have started the day he met Emma.
The man in the mirror had his brows tightly knitted together. Even though he'd come out on top in the fight, his forehead was still bruised from where Noah had hit him. And the corner of his mouth—the spot Emma had bitten that morning—hadn't healed yet. Now it was worse. The wound was bigger, and a little blood had started to seep out.
Liam splashed some cold water on his face, then lay down on the bed, exhausted.
Emma was already half-asleep. She let out a soft snort, then turned over. She stretched out her long leg and naturally draped it over Liam's thigh.
Before he could react, she pulled his left arm and tucked it under her head. Then she curled up in his arms like a cute little kitten, searching for a comfortable spot before settling down.
Liam's heart tightened. Was she throwing herself into his arms?
Even though he knew it wasn't intentional, that small gesture made all his anger from earlier disappear.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He reached out his right hand and gently placed it on Emma's shoulder, pulling her closer. Then he closed his eyes.
The next morning dawned bright and clear. The sun shone warmly over the neighborhood.
Emma woke up naturally. She stretched lazily, but her head throbbed with a dull ache. She thought back and remembered she'd been drinking last night.
But what had she done after drinking? She thought hard for a long time before finally recalling a few things. It seemed like she'd gotten herself into trouble again last night, hadn't she?
Her memories were fragmented. Um... it seemed like she'd run into Noah last night. Then she'd been really upset and dragged Liam out for drinks. After that, she'd said a bunch of messy things. And it seemed like she'd even molested Liam, saying she liked his abs!
Oh, crap!
Emma remembered that she'd thrown up all over Liam! What was she supposed to do now?
She quickly and carefully moved to the side of the bed. Luckily, she hadn't woken him up.
She had to get up and get dressed.
She knew Liam well enough. Whenever he was unhappy, he liked to use force.
She couldn't let him get the upper hand again. Thinking this, Emma crept out of bed. Her head was still a little dizzy, and she almost stumbled into the wall.
She grabbed the clothes and pants she needed to change into, then snuck into the bathroom. She washed up as quickly as she could. Before Liam woke up, she grabbed her bag like a thief and slipped out the door. Just as she was about to gently close it behind her, Sophia's loud voice rang out.
"What are you doing? Trying to be a thief?"
"Shh! Mom, keep your voice down!" Emma quickly turned back and shushed her. Then she peeked inside to make sure Liam hadn't woken up. She patted her chest in relief, closed the door, and walked into the kitchen.
Sophia set breakfast on the table and poked Emma hard on the back of the head with her finger. "You child, you only know how to cause trouble for my son-in-law. He had a rough time last night because of you."
As soon as she finished speaking, James sat down at the table and looked at Emma with a disapproving expression. "Young lady, tell your father the truth. Why did you drink so much last night? Did you have a fight with Liam?"
Emma hadn't even finished the bun in her hand. She looked at her father and sighed. "Dad, you're giving your daughter too much credit. How would I dare to fight with him? Even if you lent me a hundred times the courage, I wouldn't dare provoke him. Last night, I drank because... cough... I've been under a lot of pressure, so..."
Emma couldn't exactly say that she'd seen Noah and gotten upset, so she'd gone out to drown her sorrows, could she?
Right now, it seemed like her parents were both on Liam's side. If she told them she still cared about that scumbag, they'd probably throw her out of the house.