Boom.
Jack was ripped away from the wall so violently that he stumbled, crashing into the nearby table. Bottles shattered, crates tumbled, and the entire room seemed to shake with the impact. Before I could even blink, a strong, unrelenting grip closed around my wrist, yanking me back with a force that sent my pulse skyrocketing.
Liam.
His presence was suffocating. Dominating. His fingers were wrapped around my wrist like a steel cuff, his expression carved from ice. Jack groaned from the floor, trying to push himself up. "Liam—what the hell—"
Liam didn't even look at him. His cold, piercing gaze was locked onto me, burning with something unreadable.
"Outside." His voice was calm. Too calm. Jack scrambled to his feet. "Hey, man, she—
Liam's head turned, his eyes dark, lethal. "Shut up.
Jack flinched.
Liam didn't give me a chance to protest. He dragged me with him, his grip unyielding, his body tense with something dangerous.
And despite the sharp warning in his touch, despite the undeniable dominance radiating from him—
I smiled.
Because I had won.
For the first time, Liam had reacted to me.
And that meant I was under his skin.
Liam dragged me upstairs, and the second we reached my door, he didn't just let me go—he turned sharply, pressing me back against the wooden wall. His body loomed over mine, his grip on my wrist unyielding, his breathing controlled but heavy.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" His voice was dangerously low, each syllable laced with something dark and unspoken.
I tilted my head, letting a smirk curve my lips. "What does it look like? Having fun."
His jaw flexed, his other hand bracing against the wall beside my head, boxing me in. The intensity in his gaze was searing, like he was waiting for me to crack under the weight of it.
But I didn't.
"Fun?" He repeated the word, like it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Is that what you call it?"
"You tell me, Liam. If it wasn't fun, then what was it? Jack was enjoying himself too."
His eyes darkened. A cruel, knowing smile tugged at his lips—one that sent a slow, creeping chill through me.
"You think you were in control back there?" His voice was almost amused, but there was something sharper beneath it. "You think Jack was some harmless, nervous boy?" He let out a low, humorless chuckle. "He was playing you, Sara. Acting shy, waiting for you to lower your guard. You were testing him, but you don't even realize he was doing the same to you. You think I interrupted something?" He leaned in, his breath ghosting against my skin. "If I hadn't stepped in, maybe he would've gone for a second round."
I stilled, watching him, waiting. He wanted to rattle me, to make me doubt myself.
But he was wrong.
Because I had known.
Jack wasn't weak. He was pretending to be. I'd seen it the moment I started pushing him, the way his hesitation had flickered—not out of innocence, but calculation. The restraint in his eyes wasn't fear. It was control. He was playing a long game, waiting for the right moment.
But so was I.
I tilted my head, studying Liam, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make him wonder what was going on in my mind. Then, I smiled—slow and deliberate.
"No." I shook my head.
Liam's brows knit together. "No?"
I met his gaze, unflinching. "You didn't save me, Liam. If anything, you saved Jack. If you're expecting a thank you for 'rescuing' me, you should go to him.
The muscle in his jaw twitched, but I wasn't done.
"You think I didn't know what Jack was doing? That I was some naive girl who thought he was harmless?" I scoffed, letting my voice drop to something almost lazy, something taunting. "You still don't get it, do you?" I leaned in slightly, mirroring his intimidation tactics just to see how he'd react. "I wanted to push him. I wanted to see what was beneath that shy little act. And guess what? He cracked."
My smile widened as I watched the shift in Liam's expression—the realization that I wasn't just provoking for fun.
"Jack was testing me, but I was testing him, too. And I was right." I let the words settle, my voice smooth, unwavering. "His restraint gave him away. He wanted me. He was just waiting for the perfect opportunity."
Liam's stare was unreadable, but something flickered in those dark eyes of his. Not surprise. Not even anger.
Amusement.
He suddenly backed away, his presence just as suffocating from a few steps away.
"You always do this," he muttered, almost like he was talking to himself. His gaze flickered, sharp and assessing. "You're calculating. Always testing, always provoking. And it makes me wonder—do you really not remember anything? Or are you just pretending?"
He let the question hang between us before taking another step back, his expression unreadable.
"Another thing to add to my list," he murmured, his voice carrying a warning. "Watch your back, Sara. Because one day, when you least expect it—I'll snap."
And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, my heart pounding, my mind already moving onto the next step.
Okay, now I'm actually scared of Sara.
Girl, who even are you?
The way she completely turned the tables on Jack and then shut Liam down like that? Chilling.
What do you guys think of Sara's character? Is she a mastermind or a villain in the making? Let me know in the comments!