The silence between them had become unbearable. Sophia couldn't deny that something had changed, even though she didn't know exactly what it was. She found herself thinking about Liam more than she should, wondering if he was right about the tension between them. Every time their eyes met, there was an unspoken challenge in the air, but neither of them had the courage to acknowledge it.
It wasn't until later that week when the situation finally reached its boiling point. Sophia had been preparing for an important meeting with her father's investors when Liam entered the room without warning, looking as composed and infuriatingly perfect as ever. He casually dropped a stack of papers onto the table in front of her.
"You might want to look at these," he said, his tone businesslike but tinged with something else—something she couldn't quite pinpoint. "I've made some changes to the proposal. It might help if we're on the same page with the investors."
Sophia glanced at the papers, her brow furrowing. "I didn't ask for your input."
Liam raised an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "No, but I'm offering it. Take it or leave it."
She could feel her temper flaring. "You don't get to come in here and—"
"I do," he interrupted, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "You're not the only one with a stake in this marriage, Sophia. We both have a lot to lose."
Sophia's jaw clenched, but before she could respond, Liam moved closer, his presence suddenly overwhelming. The air between them felt electric, charged with something unspoken.
"Listen," he said, his voice quieter now, almost intimate, "I'm not trying to make your life harder. I'm just trying to make sure we both get out of this in one piece. We don't have to like each other, but we can at least be strategic about this."
Sophia was too stunned to speak for a moment. His words hit harder than she expected, and something inside her stirred, something she refused to acknowledge.
She shook her head, clearing the fog from her thoughts. "Fine," she snapped, gathering the papers and shoving them into her briefcase. "We'll do this your way—for now."
Liam didn't move, watching her carefully. "Good," he said with a calm that unsettled her. "But remember, you don't have to fight me at every turn."
She stood up, her posture rigid. "I'll fight you if I have to."
For a brief moment, their eyes locked, and there it was again—the flicker of something deeper. Something that neither of them was willing to confront.
But Sophia wasn't ready to face that just yet. Not when the stakes were so high.