Chapter 4My Boyfriend Shielded Me from a Lab Fire and Lost a Layer of Skin. So I Broke Up With Him.

Behind that sweet, soft voice was an incredibly agreeable, soft-featured face.

I barely even had to process it. I recognized her instantly.

It was Emily Miller!

She was the exact girl who caused the lab explosion.

Luckily for her, she had been standing slightly further back and wasn't badly hurt.

What a ridiculously small world.

She stared at me, too.

Slowly, the smile on her face began to slip.

A deep, magnetic voice instantly interrupted before Emily could blurt out my name.

"Whatever you want.

"Or we could just grab Thai food downstairs again.

"Go ahead and book a table. I'll be done here in a minute."

They spoke right over me.

From this angle, I could clearly see the sharp line of Liam's jaw, and...

The soft, unguarded tenderness in his eyes.

A tenderness that used to belong exclusively to me.

In high school, Emily was in our class, but she wasn't particularly close to me or Liam.

During breaks, whenever I went to find Liam, Emily would be sitting in the row right behind him.

I would always see her sitting quietly at her desk, entirely alone.

Maybe she felt awkward and couldn't figure out how to join our conversations.

Sometimes, when we accidentally made eye contact, she would immediately look away.

But now, the roles were completely reversed. I was the outsider.

Before closing the door, Emily gave me one last look. Her expression had already returned to normal, and she gave a polite, detached nod.

Once again, it was just me and Liam in the office.

He naturally possessed an incredibly dominant, intimidating aura. The air in the room instantly felt suffocating.

I lowered my eyes, resting my elbows nervously on the edge of the desk.

Suddenly, a large shadow fell over me, blocking the overhead light.

His broad chest leaned forward, closing the distance between us.

Almost completely by reflex, I jerked backward in my chair, scrambling to put space between us.

His outstretched hand froze in midair. His face turned to absolute ice.

"What are you dodging?"