Ch. 1911..1915
Chapter 1911
Inside the spacious and well-lit living room was Liam. He was dressed in a matching set of gray pajamas like the one Caprice was wearing and was resting on the couch.
There were books and a tea set on the table, but he was neither reading nor drinking tea. He sat quietly with his arms folded in front of him.
He must be waiting for Caprice. Soon, Caprice showed up. He turned to her and motioned her over. “Come here.” Caprice approached him. She was aiming for the couch adjacent to his.
“Sit with me.” Liam noticed and beckoned. His voice was calm, but there was an undertone of authority that was not to be disobeyed.
Caprice silently nodded and sat next to him with her cheeks flushed red.
He turned to her. “How are you feeling? Do you still feel sick?”
She shook her head and murmured, “No.”
Liam seemed relieved to hear this. Then, he gently grabbed her by her chin and turned her to face him.
He peered into her eyes and asked, “Before you left the car, you mentioned there was another reason you did not want to get engaged to me. What was it?”
Caprice picked at her fingers. “It’s...it's nothing.”
“You said it was something about me. What was it?” He stared at her intently. He was not going to give up until he go this answer.
Caprice felt her cheeks burning. “Liam, I’m getting a little tired. Can | go to bed first?” She was too embarrassed to say it.
“You can sleep after you tell me.” After a pause, he narrowed his eyes again and added, “If you don’t tell me, then don’t even think about going to bed.”
Fine Caprice said with a grumpy pout, “I thought you didn’t like me, so | didn’t want to force you into an arranged marriage just because your mother said so.”
Something stirred in his eyes, and he seemed visibly affected to hear this.
After a while, he made a face and began stroking her chin with his fingertips. He declared, “Nobody can force me to do anything | wouldn't want to do, and that includes my family.”
Then again, he knew that his family never forced him into doing anything.
He lowered his head and leaned closer toward Caprice, his voice soft yet firm. “My mother only went to talk to your mother about the engagement after receiving my permission.”
Caprice felt something stir inside her. Her eyes brightened. She blushed and asked shyly, “Does that mean that you like me?” “Of course, why else would | want to be engaged to you?”
“But...”
“But what?”
She spoke bluntly, “You’ve been keeping your distance from me the last two years. It’s like you refuse to be intimate with me.
Liam was silent. He seemed too stunned to elicit a word at all. It seemed like what Caprice said had caught him off guard.
Caprice stole a look at him. “Why are you not saying anything?” Was it because she was right?
Before Liam could answer, she pressed the matter. “If you said you liked me, then why wouldn’t you let me hug you or even get close to you at all?”
Liam pursed his lips and expressed weakly, “Caprice, do you remember what happened two years ago? It was before | started to keep my distance from you.”
It had been so long. How was she supposed to remember? All she could remember was that there was a certain turning point when Liam suddenly refused to be intimate with her anymore. “| don’t remember,” she spoke frankly.
He looked at her and said softly, “There was this one morning when you suddenly showed up at my house. | was still in bed at the time. | remember you immediately snuggled in bed with me.”
She was starting to recall this scene he spoke of. “What about it?” It was a regular occurrence back in the day. She would snuggle in bed with him and even have him hug her like a pillow.
“Caprice, | was twenty-four at the time, so | was an adult. As for you, you were seventeen and no longer a child.”
Chapter 1912
Chapter 1912 If only she knew how much he had to restrain himself at the time!
He had known ever since he was a child that he would marry Caprice one day, but he could not allow himself to cross the boundary with her while she was still underaged.
He peered at her intently.
Caprice seemed befuddled. “What about it?”
Of course, she knew he was an adult. All she wanted to do was to snuggle with him and get closer to him. Liam was silent. He noted the naive look on her face and made an expression.
This was the first time he had to explain the dynamics of what happened back then. Suddenly, he realized he could not find the right words to explain it.
Caprice stared at him with a beaming look in her eyes.
All she could think about now was that he and Heather were not dating and that he had feelings for her this entire time. She was grinning from ear to ear and could not stifle the urge to sit closer to him.
“Liam, can | sit closer to you now?” she asked softly and warily. It had been a long time since she got to hug him. Something gleamed in Liam’s eyes. He moved his left arm and rested it on the couch behind Caprice.
Caprice was seated on his left and when she saw this, thus she took it as permission to nudge herself toward him, feeling the heat of his thigh against hers. Then, she wrapped her arms around his body and pressed her face toward his chest.
Thump, thump. She could hear his heartbeat pounding. His heart was beating restlessly. This was the sensation that he had long craved. Caprice let her fingers dance on his chest.
She was oblivious to the way that Liam was looking down at her. There was a scarlet glow in his eyes. filled with hunger like a predator eyeing its prey.
“Have you had enough yet?” he asked suddenly after some time passed. His voice was hoarse.
Caprice looked up and asked perplexedly, “Liam, why is your voice so raspy? Are you sick?”
“No.”
“What's with your voice?”
Liam made a face. He ignored her and asked again, “Are you done hugging yet?”
Caprice certainly had not had enough, but since Liam had to ask her twice, could this mean that he had enough already? Perhaps he needed something to drink because his throat was feeling parched.
Upon realizing this, she removed herself from him. “Yeap.”
She tried to rise from the couch.
Before she could fully pull herself away from him, she felt his hand grabbing her. She gave him a flustered look.
In an instant, his face came within inches of hers. His voice turned into a primal deep growl, “Now, it’s my turn.” With that, his lips pressed against hers.
Bang!
It was as if something detonated inside her head. She suddenly felt dizzy. This was all too sudden, and she felt disorientated.
She had never felt such a soft sensation on her lips She could feel his breath beating on her cheeks. Her eyes were wide open with shock and she stood transfixed by what happened.
When Liam finally let go of her, he noticed her flushed expression and gently stroked her forehead to summon her back to reality. “Caprice?”
Phew.
Caprice came back to her senses. She reacted by drawing a breath.
Liam watched her silently.
After managing to compose herself at last, she buried her face in his chest again. He...he... how could he suddenly kiss her without warning?
She had only wanted to hug him and get closer to him. Her heart was pumping away like the pistons of an engine, and her face burned.
She grabbed onto Liam’s clothes tightly and stayed in that position for what seemed like forever.
Liam smiled with satisfaction. He put an arm around her and said in a low, doting voice, “Caprice, how long are you going to hide from me?”
“|... wasn’t hiding!” She yelped while still pressed against his chest.
Chapter 1913
He gently caressed her hair. “Look at me.”
She took a deep breath and looked up.
Her blushed cheeks, which were the shade of ripe tomatoes, immediately came into Liam’s view. He was briefly startled by the sight, then he began snickering.
Caprice felt embarrassed and groaned, “What are you laughing at?!”
She looked up, just like he told her to!
Liam grinned. “I'll tell you if you lift your head taller.”
There seemed to be some sort of magical effect to his words. Caprice craned her neck upward to face him just as she was told. Her face was fully in view now.
It was then that Caprice realized that she had fallen into a trap.
Alas, it was too late. Liam had lowered his head and locked his lips onto hers. He made sure to clasp the back of her head with his hand so she would not have the space to break free.
His domineering breath poured into her. She could not breathe, she began to struggle fruitlessly and whimper for air. Only then did Liam reluctantly let go of her, and there was a shine in his eyes like a predator's lurking in the dark.
Caprice recoiled at the sight, and her first instinct was to look for an escape. It was too late. She only managed to remove herself from his lap when she lost her balance and tumbled into the couch.
Liam pressed his weight on top of her.
He would not give her the chance to slip away. He pin her to the couch and cupped her face in his palms and stifled her breath with his kiss.
“Hmm...” Caprice whimpered.
Liam immediately released her, then he moved on to kissing her neck. Caprice grew wide-eyed.
As if an electric shock passed through her, she suddenly stiffened.
It was a territory of sensation that had never been trespassed before. She shrank, into herself and pleaded for mercy, “Liam, don't...”
‘Stop kissing me!
‘Let me go!’
She was too embarrassed about this!
Liam looked up and stopped kissing her.
When he saw how flustered she had become, he took a deep breath and suppressed all the excitement inside him.
He gently stroked her cheek with his fingers. After he managed to calm himself, he said, “Now, do you understand why I’ve been keeping my distance from you?”
Caprice pouted. “Yeah.”.
She remembered watching romance drama with Freya and the others in the dormitory. Whenever scenes of the protagonists kissing came up on the screen, the girls would begin to shriek in excitement while also feeling waves of embarrassment wash through them. Freya would always lament about how the directors should have shown the full scene on the screen.
She was now playing out the couch scenes with Liam. He must have wanted to do more than kissing with
her.
Two years ago, she was still underaged when she snuggled in bed with him. He was already an adult then and must have had the mind to restrain himself, which led to him keeping his distance from her eventually as a solution.
He suddenly ruffled her hair before stepping away from the couch.
She felt his weight lifted from her body.
She sat up and watched as he waltzed into the bathroom.
How could he just up and leave?
She asked suspiciously, “Liam, are you going to bed?”
“I'm going to take a shower,” he replied. His voice was raspy with a hint of lingering excitement.
As Caprice licked her lips and could still taste Liam on her lips, she blushed again. She got up and went back to the bathroom where she had just showered.
She went to the mirror to inspect her reflection and was greeted by the sight of a girl with her cheeks flushed red like ripe tomatoes.
Immediately startled, she quickly splashed cold water on her face. She stayed in there for a while and did not leave until she finally managed to cool down.
Liam had stepped out of the shower by the time she returned to the room. He changed into a set of pajamas and was sitting on the couch, sipping tea.
They made eye contact as soon as she entered. There was still a shadow of a bewitching smile hanging on the corner of his lips.
She felt like she was going to blush again. “Liam, I... I'm sleepy. I’m going to sleep first.” “Okay.” He said softly, “The bedroom is the first room on the right-hand side of the corridor.”
Chapter 1914
Chapter 1914 Caprice entered the bedroom he spoke of.
It was furnished roughly the same as his place in Westchester. It was very clean and tidy, and the room was conservatively furnished with just the essentials and nothing more.
After shutting the door, she climbed into bed and threw a blanket over herself.
Her heart was still beating rapidly.
She tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.
After some time had passed when she had finally managed to soothe her restless heart, her phone rang It was her father calling.
Hup!
She sat up abruptly.
Oh no, she forgot to go home!
She held the phone to her ear.
Before she could come up with a proper explanation, her father’s voice rang through the speakers. There was a distinct note of suppressed anger in his voice, “Caprice, are you with that Carter boy right now?”
Caprice was startled. “How did you know?”
John took a breath to compose himself. “He just called your mother and told her that something happened to you at the party tonight. He mentioned he took you back to his place.”
Liam called her mother?
She relayed the events of the night to her father, hoping to appease him. “I accidentally fell into the pool at the party, and it was Liam who pulled me out of the pool. | was completely drenched, and he was worried that | would get sick, so he brought me here back to his place.”
John asked sharply, “How did you fall into the pool?”
“| accidentally fell inside. | wasn’t paying attention,” she explained meekly.
She could not tell him that it was Heather who pushed her because it would drive him crazy. Besides, she had pulled Heather into the pool with her as well. However, she was the only one Liam bothered to save. Heather must be furious.
“How are you feeling right now? Did you catch a cold?” John asked with concern in his voice. Caprice assured him, “No, | took a hot shower when | got to Liam’s place, and I’m feeling fine.” “Alright, I’m going to pick you up right now.”
“Dad, I-
Before she could finish the sentence, John hung up on her.
She crawled out of bed and crept out of the bedroom.
Liam was not in the living room.
She approached the study and found him inside.
He was dressed in the same set of pajamas and was sitting on a chair with a book in hand. There was a piercing gleam in his eyes, a glow sharper than the table lamp. He read with a serious expression, his lips tucked, and he looked very charming even when reading.
She hesitated for a moment before calling his name, “Liam.”
Liam turned to her. “What's wrong?”
She decided to be blunt with him. “My dad just called me. He said he’s coming to pick me up and that he will arrive in a moment.” “Alright.” He promptly set his book aside, then he rose and approached her.
He gently tousled her hair before heading into the living room. He made a pot of tea and sat down on the couch, setting the freshly brewed pot of tea on the table.
Caprice sat down on the armchair adjacent to him. Although she was still feeling slightly flustered, she was in a much calmer mood compared to when he had kissed her just now.
She thought about the events of the night and asked him, “Liam, why were you at the party? Were you invited by the organizers as well?”
“Yeah.”
The organizers had invited him, but Caprice was the real reason he bothered to show up at all. “Are you going back to Westchester tomorrow?”
Liam cast a look at her.
The girl looked more petite than usual because she was sitting on a large armchair. She propped her chin on her arms and seemed to struggle to keep her eyes open at all. She must be tired.
“Hm,” he answered softly.
“Ah.” Caprice yawned and closed her eyes briefly.
Chapter 1915
Chapter 1915 She was only planning to get some shut-eye while waiting for her father. It did not take long before she dozed off and fell asleep.
She barely noticed that Liam had carried her in his arms back into the bedroom and settled her into bed. He made sure to tuck her in properly and covered her with a thick blanket.
Even in her sleep, she grinned from ear to ear. She must be in a very good mood.
Without realizing it, Liam found himself caressing her cheeks.
After feeling the soft texture of her skin briefly, he withdrew his hand and walked out of the bedroom. Then, he heard a knock on the door.
He went to the door and opened it.
Outside the door was a tall and elegantly dressed middle-aged man. He wore his pair of iconic gold- rimmed glasses, a piercing look shooting through the lens.
Liam greeted the man politely, “Hey Uncle Stockton. Please, come in.”
John regarded him without much affection. “Where is Caprice? I'll take her home.” “She fell asleep.”
John frowned disapprovingly. “Where is she now?”
“She's in the bedroom.”
He strode inside right away.
Liam led him to the bedroom where Caprice was sleeping.
The only light source in the room was a lamp in the corner painting the room with an ambiance of warm orange. Sleeping in the center of the bed was Caprice dressed in men’s pajamas. She was sleeping like a log with a rosy blush on her cheeks.
John surveyed the room when he entered.
He noted the tidy bedsheets. The room as a whole was very clean and presentable. He wagered that Liam had not done anything to her.
His tense expression eased as he threw a glance at Liam. Then, he walked out to the living room and took a seat by the tea table.
Liam sat across from him and poured him a cup of tea.
John took a sip from the cup before interrogating him, “Why did you go to that party tonight?” Liam answered sincerely, “I went because | found out about Caprice going.”
John remarked darkly, “You sure care a lot about her.”
“She’s going to be my future wife, so it’s only natural that | care about her,” Liam replied without the subtlest change of expression.
John seemed to struggle with his words for a moment. He cast a look at Liam and said crossly, “Liam, Caprice hasn’t agreed to the engagement.”
“She did not agree because there was a sort of misunderstanding back then.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?” John asked sharply, his eyes casting daggers.
Liam met his gaze head-on. “She thought | was dating somebody else already and was not interested in her.”
Bang!
John set the teacup back on the table with a degree of force His glare was hostile. “Liam, have you been involved with another
woman?”
“No,” Liam answered stoutly before continuing. “It was an employee and acquaintance of mine She spun a lot of stories behind my back and led Caprice to think that we were dating Her lies seemed especially credible because | have been carefully keeping my distance from Caprice over the last two years, which led to her thinking that | no longer had feelings for her.”
John seemed to calm down a little upon hearing this explanation.
It was a wise choice for him to keep a mindful distance from Caprice. He was an adult while Caprice was still a teenager, and who knew what he could have done to her when Caprice kept flinging herself at him?
There was another factor John was concerned about. “Is this person still working with you right now?”
Liam informed, “I fired her a month ago.”
John peered into Liam’s eyes and detected not a hint of deceit. It was only then that he dropped his suspicions He said with a note of finality, “Caprice will sleep at your place tonight. | will pick her up tomorrow morning.”
Liam poured him another cup of tea before informing him, “I'll send her back home first thing tomorrow morning. Don’t trouble yourself.”
John glanced at him while taking a sip from his teacup. He grunted and stated, “Take her home by eight tomorrow morning.” “Alright.” Liam nodded firmly.
With that, John put down his teacup, then he got up and went for the exit.
Liam watched him enter the elevator before closing the door. After that, he went to Caprice’s bedroom
He took another look at her with a gentle smirk on his lips. He closed the door gently with a thud before heading back to the adjacent bedroom.