Liam stared at Elara, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What are you doing here?" he repeated, his voice barely a whisper. "How did you find me?"
Elara took a step closer, her heart aching at the sight of his pain. "I was worried about you," she said softly. "I wanted to know what happened."
Liam turned away, his shoulders slumping. "You shouldn't have come," he said, his voice filled with despair. "This is my mess. You don't need to be involved."
"But I want to be involved," Elara said, her voice firm. "I care about you, Liam. I want to help you."
Liam shook his head. "You can't help me," he said. "No one can. My life is a disaster."
Elara knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in hers. "That's not true," she said, her eyes filled with sincerity. "You're not a disaster, Liam. You're a good person, with a kind heart. You've just been through a lot."
Liam looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude. "How did you find me?" he asked again, his voice softer this time.
Elara hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. "I spoke to your father," she said finally. "And then I contacted a friend of yours from high school, Daniel. He told me about this place."
Liam flinched at the mention of his father. "You spoke to my father?" he said, his voice filled with anger. "What did he tell you?"
"He didn't tell me much," Elara said. "Just that you were struggling, and that you blamed him for what happened to your family."
Liam pulled his hands away from hers and stood up, pacing nervously around the small cabin. "It's true," he said. "I do blame him. He ruined everything. He destroyed our family, our business, our lives."
Elara stood up as well, her heart aching for Liam's pain. "I know it must have been hard," she said. "But you can't let his mistakes define you. You are your own person, Liam. You can create your own future."
Liam stopped pacing and looked at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger and despair. "You don't understand," he said. "It's not that simple. The lawsuit is still ongoing. The creditors are still coming after us. I'm afraid that I'll never be free of this."
"But you can be