Chapter 4

Aria's POV

Maeve stood on the staircase, looking down at me with a condescending gaze.

The suitcase she was carrying was a gift from Mrs. Hayes when I graduated college. Now, it was filled with things that weren't mine, taken from my room.

"You're back?" Maeve's tone was light and casual. "I thought you'd never step foot in this house again."

My gaze went past her, landing on my half-open bedroom door. The room showed signs of being ransacked.

"What are you doing in my room?" My voice was cold as ice.

"Your room?" Maeve laughed, a loud, exaggerated sound, as if I'd told the funniest joke. "Aria, are you still half-asleep? This is Liam's home, and soon it will be mine. Your things should have been cleared out ages ago."

As she spoke, she deliberately slammed the suitcase onto the floor. It wasn't latched properly, and with a "snap," it burst open.

The contents spilled everywhere.

All my photography portfolios, my cherished camera, and lenses.

In the very center was a thick photo album.

Maeve bent down, picked up the album, and slowly, deliberately, flipped it open.

Inside were only photos of Liam.

From his awkward teenage years to the mature, composed man he was now.

Playing basketball, reading, in meetings, asleep.

All sorts of him filled the entire album.

These were all the moments I'd secretly captured over twenty years, all his time.

"Tsk, tsk," Maeve murmured, flipping through the pages with a feigned sigh. Her finger traced Liam's sweat-drenched profile from a basketball game. "This shot is really good. You clearly loved him so much. Too bad, only I get to see him sweat now."

She turned another page, a photo of Liam asleep on the sofa.

"And this one," she continued. "He told me he has insomnia, that he can only truly sleep when he feels completely safe. Guess he didn't feel safe with you watching him."

My nails dug deep into my palms, as I fought the urge to lunge at her and tear that smug face apart.

"Give them back," I grated out, my voice barely a whisper.

"Give them back?" Maeve closed the album, her smile innocent and cruel. "Of course. But Liam said keeping these things would only fuel your delusions. He thinks we should just toss them. For your own good."

With that, she hugged the album, walking step by step down the stairs, towards the fireplace.

My heart leaped into my throat.

"You wouldn't dare!" I shrieked.

Maeve looked back and smiled at me. "Watch me."

Before I could react, she swung her arm, and the album-the keeper of my entire youthful love-was tossed into the roaring fireplace.

Flames instantly leaped up, eagerly devouring those precious photographs.

I could almost see his young face in the photos, slowly disintegrating into ash within the flames.

"No!"

I lunged forward like a madwoman, desperate to rescue the album from the fire.

But it was too late.

"You psycho!" My eyes bloodshot, I spun around and lunged at Maeve.

I just wanted this woman to pay.

However, before my hands could even touch Maeve, a powerful grip seized me from behind.

Liam had returned, I didn't know when.

He clamped down on my wrist, his grip so fierce it felt like my bones would shatter.

"Let me go!" I struggled wildly.

"Enough! Aria, how long are you going to keep acting like a madwoman?!" Liam's furious roar exploded above me.

Maeve instantly reverted to her startled fawn act, cowering behind Liam, whimpering, "Liam, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to help you clear out some things that would upset her. I had no idea she'd react so violently. Does she want to hit me?"

"Did I tell you to touch her things?" Liam's voice, for the first time, held a note of reproach for Maeve.

Maeve froze, her tears falling in earnest. "I just...I didn't want this to be hard for you. The photos...they're bad for everyone."

Liam's expression darkened. He looked at me, his voice dropping to a dangerous low. "That doesn't justify putting your hands on her."

I stopped struggling, letting Liam hold me.

My heart had died with that album.

"Liam," I said, my voice unnervingly flat. "You told me to keep my distance. Fine. Then give me back what's mine. My room. My things. Don't touch any of it. Once it's gone, I'll be gone too. You'll never see me again."

Liam stared at my hollow eyes, a flicker of unease crossing his face.

His grip on my wrist loosened. "Aria, don't say things you don't mean."

"I mean every word." took a step back, reclaiming the space between us. "As of today, I'm not your sister. We're former roommates. You and your fiancée will stay out of my life."

Liam stood rigid, his face like stone.

I turned without another word, walked upstairs, and shut my door. The lock clicked into place with a final, deafening sound.