Chapter 4

I picked at my food, my mind a mess. Looking at Liam beside me, I cautiously spoke.

"Liam... there's something I need to ask, but please don't get angry."

Liam turned to me, smiling gently.

"Okay, I won't be angry, no matter what you ask."

"Has anyone ever told you what you look like?"

He was silent for a moment.

My heart sank. Had I accidentally brought up a sore spot? Did everyone think he was ugly?

The next moment, he chuckled, taking my hand and guiding it to his face.

"Everyone has always told me I'm handsome since I was a kid. I was voted Campus King every single year since junior high."

He seemed to worry I wouldn't believe him, so he pulled out his phone to show me pictures from his college days.

For four whole years, Liam's photos were displayed on the 'Hottest Guys' wall, and he consistently ranked number one by a landslide.

Seeing my bewildered expression, Liam flicked my forehead playfully.

"What? Can't stand that your boyfriend is just naturally this gorgeous?"

"I don't know what's going on in that head of yours. You didn't doubt me when we first started dating, but now that we're about to meet your parents, you're getting suspicious? Are you looking for an excuse to break up with me?"

Liam feigned a serious look, and I could only push my doubts down.

During dinner, I was distracted, constantly glancing at Liam, trying to find anything unusual.

But I came up empty-handed.

It wasn't until we were in bed that my mind started racing again.

Watching Liam sleep beside me, an idea formed.

If love was blind, how did that explain the height difference?

Why did everyone else see him as barely five feet tall, while I saw him as over six feet?

I carefully slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Liam.

I walked to the entrance and checked all of Liam's shoes - no insoles.

Still not satisfied, I pulled a tape measure from the drawer and crept back onto the bed to measure his height.

If six feet was just my visual perception, a tape measure would be accurate, right?

But Liam kept turning over precisely when I was trying to measure him, preventing me from succeeding.

I retracted the tape measure and then stared at his stomach.

The man in the photos had a beer belly, but Liam had eight-pack abs.

Were his abs fake? Was he wearing something under his shirt?

I'd seen videos about guys faking abs, and my hand slowly reached towards his stomach.

Just as I was about to confirm, he caught my hand. Liam opened his eyes, a playful smirk on his face.

"Honey, are you feeling a little restless tonight? Looking for some action?"

Cold sweat instantly dripped down my back. Thankfully, he didn't notice I'd been trying to measure his height.

"No, I was just worried your stomach might get cold... It's late, let's just go to sleep."

I quickly lay back down, pretending to be asleep.

But Liam rolled onto me, his warm lips claiming mine.

"Baby, you've definitely stirred something up, and it's not going away easily."

I didn't find out anything all night, but Liam definitely wore me out. What a waste of an investigation!

The next morning, Liam looked utterly satisfied as he gazed at me, still sprawled exhaustedly on the bed.

"Baby, when are you going to take me to meet your parents?"

"You're so adorable, I'm almost tempted to just lock you up and keep you all to myself."

Liam's reminder made me quickly pull out my phone.

The date I'd promised to bring Liam home was tomorrow.