Liam's voice was quiet, but it cut through the background music like a blade.
"Look into my eyes," he said to Ann. "And tell me you're happy being with Boris. Say it one more time. If you do… I'll walk away. I'll leave the two of you alone. Forever."
Ann didn't hesitate.
She turned her head slowly, eyes meeting his without a flicker of emotion.
"I already told you," she said firmly. "Forget what we had. It's over. It's time to move on."
Liam stood there, completely still, his eyes locked onto hers, searching. Hoping. Pleading in silence for a crack, for a flicker, for something that would tell him this was all a lie. That this wasn't really her choice. That she was being forced into this.
But there was nothing.
Her stare was firm. Her voice didn't shake. No tears. No tremor. No sign of the woman who used to hold him like he was her entire world.
It wasn't the words that broke him.
It was the ease with which she said them.
