WOLF and the Runaway Heiress.

Chapter 08

RIO

The moment the sun pierced through the window and cut straight into my face, I was reluctantly awakened from my moderately peaceful sleep.

My mind wouldn’t let go of what Liam said.

It wasn’t the first time he had made assumptions about my mother's and my money, but it also wasn’t the first time he apologized and promised not to do it again.

I hated it when people thought I was a trust fund kid. Heck no! If you knew me or my mum, then you’d realize that she believed in earning your way, and I did just that. I never bought lavish and expensive things. Those items were gifts, and only for celebrations like Christmas or birthdays. My mum believed in giving back, and I followed her path with that belief.

We weren't the type to be all about money. We didn’t live in a mansion; we lived in a six-bedroom house, which was because my mother loved having space to accommodate guests if needed. Which she always found a need to do.

The most extravagant aspect of our house, aside from my parkour training area in the backyard, was our kitchen. Mum and I loved being there; it was our happy place, so it had to offer the things we needed.

My bedroom was average, as was my mum's.

I hated that people thought we were living Bel Air style, when it simply wasn’t true.

I lay there, staring at the popcorn ceiling for longer than necessary. I turned my head to the other side of the bed. It was empty. Liam was already up and gone to work.

Was this how our life would be?

He would leave before I woke up, no good mornings or breakfast together. We’d see each other over takeout foods I disliked and shove down my disagreements or upsets to keep the peace, giving me more chances to be better?

Was that how relationships were?

My mum never had anything long-term, so I had no example to base mine on. When I read books, they were all about one another, the s*x was wild and passionate, the communication was next level in openness and honesty, and the connection was constant.

Was that strictly fiction?

I was starting to understand those women who returned home from work every day to a couple of cats and some great leading males in their devoured chapters.

My arm reached out, and my hand touched Liam's pillow. It was cold. He’d been gone for a while, and it was only just after eight am. I wondered what time he slipped away.

Turning my attention back to the window, I smiled at the day.

I had to get up, I had lunch with mum and needed to get home to shower and dress. I didn’t keep anything at Liam’s.

Weird, I know.

But I was really uncomfortable having my possessions slipped between two places. What if I needed something, and it was either here or at home? It felt illogical to me.

What's mine is mine and stays with me. Wasn’t that normal?

After sitting up and stretching, I moved to the reading chair in the bedroom and began dressing in last night's clothes.

The walk of shame was real and actively a regular occurrence in my life, but I still refused to leave clothing here.

After I was dressed, I went to the nightstand to grab my phone and earrings.

One earring fell to the floor and rolled under the bed.

Sigh.

With an annoyed eye roll, I dropped to my knees and partially crawled under the raised bed.

I easily found my earring, but it wasn’t the only thing found hiding under Liam’s bed.

Next to my now-tainted earring was a lacy pair of fire-engine red panties.

What the f***k!

It was as if molten lava coursed through my veins at the sight of these.

They weren’t mine!

I would remember owning a pair of red lacy panties, but I also never left clothing here. I always redressed and left with whatever I wore on arrival.

That was what the raging beast within me was snarling with a fire of fury that I’ve never felt before, but maybe I was overreacting?

Maybe I bought these, and it’s been so long that I’ve forgotten?

I wanted desperately to believe this version of things because logistically, it didn’t add up. Liam would never cheat. He never had the time to do so.

He was too busy with work and his demanding family, and what time was left was spent with me. He was too busy, to the point that he would often book time with our friends during our own time to maintain his social appearances.

He was too busy for anything else.

The voice within me was telling me to sniff them; it’d tell me who they belonged to.

Gross!

That is an instant hell no! Auto response. WTF!

Why would I sniff these? The heck was I thinking?

With a trembling hand, I held out my phone and took a picture of them.

I then texted Bree a message.

[Hey, are you free right now?]

[Morning, but yeah, no. I have work soon. Why, what's up?] Bree responded instantly.

[Picture sent] I sent her the picture of the panties on Liam’s bed.

[Uhh, it’s a nice colour, but since when do we need input on which panties to wear for the day, babe?]

She thought I was being playful, but I was anything but. The rage within me was still seething; it was trying to convince me that these weren’t mine, but I held on to that sliver of hope.

[They aren’t mine!]

There was a pause in Bree’s response. The three dots would start and then stop, then reappear and then stop.

[Meet me at the coffee shop around the corner from work. I’ll be there in twenty.]

I tucked my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, put the panties in a ziplock bag and stuffed them into my purse, leaving Liam’s apartment in a hurry.

I needed someone to help me figure this out.

I made it to the coffee shop with only a minute or two to spare before Bree arrived.

We greeted each other with a quick hug before she dug right in as we waited in line to order.

“Okay, tell me everything. Where did you find them? What did Liam say? What are we thinking? When are we slashing his tires?”

“So, I slept over at Liam’s last night, and he was already gone to work when I woke up this morning.” I started.

“Okay,” Bree encouraged.

We paused to place our order and then walked over to await our drinks.

“I was getting ready, but dropped my earring under the bed. That was where I found these,” I yanked the bagged evidence from my purse like I was a prosecutor in court.

Bree looked at the panties and shook her head.

“Babe, maybe they're yours?” She offered with a furrowed brow.

“I don’t own red panties. Plus, this shade clashes with my skin tone and hair colour,” I stated matter-of-factly, and Bree gave me the ‘are you kidding me?’ expression.

“Okay, but maybe you bought them once? You’ve been with Liam for years; it is quite possible that you forgot. I personally can’t tell you every pair of panties that I own. Rio, we go on crazy lingerie shopping binges whenever your mum hands us money for gifts to splurge. These were probably yours, and you don't remember them because you're right, they're horrible against your complexion.”

Bree’s words stumped me.

Maybe I did forget.

I didn’t recall every pair I owned. Maybe I did buy these and forgot, but when would I have left without my underwear on? I wasn’t that kind of person to go commando.

“But I also take my things when I leave. I don’t leave anything there. Nothing but a tooth and a hair brush.”

Bree frowned and thought about it. She looked at the underwear again, more confused.

“Are they your size?” I shrugged. I didn’t think about the sizing of them when I found them. “I just don’t understand when Liam would even have time to be cheating. He’s always working or with us.” She added, and I nodded.

That was my thought as well.

We received our coffee and stood outside the cafe. Bree smiled and reassured me that she doubted Liam would cheat. They were most likely a forgotten pair of mine, and it made sense.

We have been together for a while, maybe they were.

I walked Bree to her office building, then turned around and headed home. I was glad that I talked this out with Bree before I blew up my life over doubts and speculation.