Chapter 48

• LIAM
• A few weeks ago, the way I felt about Monique was a lot different from how I felt today. She had always intrigued me, but now... now it was more than that. It was like she was evolving right in front of me, becoming someone I couldn't stop thinking about. Every day with her, I discovered something new. And this weekend had proven it beyond doubt.
• We were the same in so many ways—damaged. Family trauma, a troubled past that haunted us both. It was strange, almost ironic, that someone as broken as her was the person I felt the most connected to. She had an edge to her, a mystery I couldn't fully grasp, and yet I found myself wanting to uncover it all. This weekend, her guard had slipped again, if only for a moment, and it made me realize just how damaged she was beneath the surface of professionalism and elegance.