Chapter 460

Liam's lips curved into a smile that never touched his piercing blue eyes. "Perhaps she's telling the truth. Though you know what awaits her if she's lying."

Sebastian remained silent, casting a pitying glance toward Margaret.

"Miss, please step inside the vehicle," Sebastian murmured, holding the car door open with practiced elegance.

Margaret's spirits lifted momentarily as she slid into the plush leather seats, but her smile faltered when she noticed Liam still standing outside. The rain pattered against his black umbrella as he maintained his distance, showing no intention of joining her.

"Hey—" Her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Sebastian offered a diplomatic explanation. "I hope you'll understand."

With a discreet gesture toward Liam, he continued, "He maintains strict boundaries with unfamiliar women."

Margaret nodded slowly, though her eyes betrayed a storm of emotions she couldn't quite conceal. She hadn't anticipated such ironclad self-control from the notorious Blackwood heir.

If destiny wove their paths together, she mused, at least she wouldn't have to worry about other women catching his wandering eye. Her gaze lingered on Liam's profile as she silently vowed to breach those formidable defenses.

Meanwhile, Olivia had just returned home and was preparing legal documents against Margaret when her phone vibrated unexpectedly. The screen displayed an unknown number, yet she knew with absolute certainty who was calling.

She exhaled sharply before answering. "What do you want?" Her voice could have frozen hell itself.

The line remained silent for several heartbeats before Liam finally spoke. "Olivia, I'm here. I know you don't want to see me, but I can't stop worrying about you and Isabelle. I'll keep my distance—just close enough to watch over you both."

Olivia drew a shaky breath. "Liam, you need to understand—you're only making things harder for me by doing this."

Silence stretched between them again.

Olivia's mind drifted back to the early days of their marriage, when she'd been so insecure, so desperate for his attention. She remembered spending entire days waiting at Blackwood Enterprises, too afraid to ask where he was, too proud to let anyone see how much it hurt.

She'd feared making him look bad—the powerful CEO with his clingy, naive wife. Yet someone had noticed anyway.

The next day, security had stopped her at the building's entrance. Liam had said those same cutting words to her then.

"Olivia, you're only making things harder for me by doing this." She remembered how the sunlight had warmed her skin while ice spread through her veins. How she'd forced a smile to hide the tears threatening to fall. Never had she imagined she'd one day throw those same words back at him.

Liam must have remembered too. His voice softened. "I'm sorry, Olivia. I never meant those words. I was terrified someone in the company might hurt you. I was drowning in work, terrified I couldn't protect you properly."

The line crackled with unspoken regrets.

Olivia's fingers tightened around her phone as old wounds throbbed anew. The past hung between them like a ghost neither could exorcise.