Chapter 4
Liam had always confused loyalty with obedience.
Gwen taught him that.
When they were young, she became half sister, half parent, half commander.
She told him what friends were using him.
What girlfriends were too ambitious.
What jobs were beneath him.
What women smiled too sweetly at his apartment.
Liam called it protectiveness.
Nora called it control.
That was their first real fight before the wedding.
“She hates me,” Nora said.
“She doesn’t hate you.”
“She hates losing influence.”
Liam laughed because it sounded too dramatic.
Now, standing inside with wine in his hand while Nora shook outside the glass, he remembered that sentence and hated himself for remembering it too late.
Gwen kept speaking.
“She stole eight thousand dollars from you.”
Nora’s lips trembled in the cold.
“I never stole from you.”
Liam tried to hold onto anger.
Anger was easier than doubt.
Doubt meant he had locked his wife outside because his sister told him to.
Doubt meant Nora’s terror was real.
Doubt meant the person standing beside him might not be protecting him at all.
He gripped the balcony handle harder.
“Then who received the money?”
Nora looked directly at Gwen.
“Ask your sister.”
The room changed.
It was not proof.
Not yet.
But Gwen’s face tightened before she could stop it.
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And Liam saw that too.
Read the full story 👉 Liam’s anger started breaking the moment Nora stopped defending herself and pointed the question at Gwen.
