Chapter 4Not Your Backup Bride

After the divorce, I moved out West and opened a cozy little B&B in a mountain town in Colorado.

The town had perfect weather year-round, and the locals were incredibly warm and genuine.

Spending time with them did wonders for my mental health.

Within a year, the reputation of my little inn grew, and business was no longer as bleak as when I first started.

Liam Sterling was the most reclusive guest I had ever hosted.

Most of the time, he stayed locked in his room, never stepping outside.

He only appeared on the terrace when there were very few people around.

At first, I was worried something might happen to him, so I unconsciously kept an eye on his movements.

Until one day, while I was sunbathing in the courtyard, he walked over to me with a half-smile and asked:

"Do I really look like someone who's about to end it all?"

I looked up in shock.

He lay down on the lounge chair next to mine, looking completely relaxed and careless.

"I heard you on the phone."

I was instantly mortified.

The night before, I had called my best friend and mentioned Liam.

I had said, "That guy is really good-looking. It'd be a real shame if he just dropped dead."

I never expected Liam to overhear it.

While I was dying of embarrassment, Liam suddenly asked, "You don't look like a local. What made you want to open a B&B here?"

I made up some nonsense: "Too much money, too much free time."

A low, incredibly pleasant laugh rumbled in his throat.

I couldn't help but look over at him, and I was met with a breathtaking sight—

The man was resting his head on his arm, staring out at the horizon.

His jawline was sharp and clean, his side profile sculpted to perfection.

Carter was already incredibly good-looking, but Liam was on a completely different level.

He must have felt my stare, because he turned his head, and our eyes locked.

I don't remember who looked away first, but from that day on, the atmosphere between us changed subtly.

The day we finally crossed the line, Liam and I had gone hiking in the mountains.

On our way down, the weather suddenly turned, and a massive thunderstorm broke out.

By the time we got back to the inn, we were completely soaked.

That night, I developed a high fever. While trying to get up to take some medicine, I shattered a glass on the floor.

Liam literally broke the door down to get to me.

I don't know if it was an illusion or my fever-addled brain, but I distinctly saw sheer terror on his face the moment he burst in.

And the second he saw me, he visibly let out a massive sigh of relief.

The sickness hit me like a truck. I was bedridden for five days, and Liam took care of me for all five.

He moved his instruments into my room, which was how I found out he was a musician.

"So, are you just ready to pack up and leave at any moment?" I asked, clutching a mug of hot water.

He didn't answer, instead asking, "Do you want me to leave?"

I stayed silent.

He took the mug from my hands and suddenly leaned in to kiss me.

His burning breath seared every cell in my body. I gripped his shirt, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst from my chest.

After that day, Liam essentially became the new co-owner of the B&B.

Changing lightbulbs, fixing broken chairs—it all became his job.

The guests at the inn loved to tease him: "You're such a good househusband! You should make the beautiful boss marry you already."

Whenever they said that, he would turn to me and ask:

"When are you planning to marry me?"

I would always just laugh it off.

On the surface, he didn't seem to mind, but the second we were alone, he would find every way possible to torment me in bed.

Even when I begged for mercy, he showed absolutely no restraint.

I thought those days would last forever. But one day, Liam vanished.

I asked the other guests at the inn, and they gossiped:

"Where else could he have gone? With a face like that, and being in the music industry? I bet a sugar mama came and scooped him up."