The CHEF from Burhan & Sons

Chapter 11 - Liam

It's a wonderful Saturday morning, I feel so energetic partly because Amy is on her way. I've missed her so much; it's been a crazy week. The Burhans' had three events and all that meant double everything. I was happy Val was back though, she made things super easy for me. She handled all the desserts; I handled the main course leaving the appetizers with Mia. Mia's becoming awesome at making appetizers so we gave her the chance to prove herself and she did without breaking a sweat. We are proud of her.

I debated if it was ok for me to tell Amy that things almost got out of hand when I agreed to dance with Val and I ended up almost kissing her and with a boner. I rushed out of the bar before I could embarrass myself. Even though we talked about it on Monday Val promised me it was ok.

It felt like I betrayed my girlfriend. She has been nothing but understanding. I mean even Tate told me the same thing when I told him that Amy was ok with the fact that I still had feelings for someone else. I've been trying to avoid thinking about my feelings because it didn't feel fair to her. I remember when she promised me that even though she would be angry with me at times she won't go anywhere. That alone gave me the strength to forget the whole predicament.

There was a knock on the door, it was almost 4 pm, and even though she was late, I was still excited that she had arrived, I knew we can make use of the time we had perfectly. I rushed to the door and opened it with a huge smile that fell the moment I saw her puffy eyes.

"Amy? What's wrong baby?", I asked. "Can I come in?", she asked keeping her voice straight but failing terribly. I opened the door wider allowing her to walk in, she sniffed and by the time I closed the door and faced her, she had tears in her eyes. I swallowed hard after realizing she only had her purse, no sleepover bag.

My heart started beating fast. "Amy... What's going on?", I asked nervously. "How was Joe's?", she asked and I felt blood rushing away from my face. "It was ok, I mean, I told you I was hanging out with Mia and Val", I said hoping that's where everything would end. "I know, I just... Jeff saw you guys there and he said you looked cozy with Val and I thought... I thought something happened", she said avoiding my eyes. Fuck! I was the reason that she was crying. I had to come clean, no matter the consequences. She promised she wouldn't leave me so the least I could do was be honest with her.

"Something did happen... well, almost happened. She asked me to dance with her and I almost kissed her. I left as soon as it happened. I didn't cheat on you Amy, I swear", her knees hit the ground the moment I finished my sentence. She held on to her stomach like she was feeling pain. I kneeled in front of her trying to hold her but she pushed me away.

"This is not right Liam; I can't do this. I thought I could but I can't... I'm sorry", she said and started crying. It was the most painful thing I've ever seen. It made me feel like I was the most selfish man in the world. "I'm sorry Amy. I'm so sorry. I love you. Nothing happened I swear. Please believe me baby", I said, unable to recognise my own voice. She took a deep breath and then wiped her tears away. "I know", she said then stood up.

"It's over Liam, I love you but I'm sure love is not made to hurt but to embrace and if you can't forget Valerie then it means that I'm not the one you're meant to be with. Don't come to my house, I'll have Jeff bring you the things you left at the house. I hope you find happiness someday and free yourself from her", she said, then patted my shoulder like I was some friend she was advising.

I pulled her by the wrist making her turn in surprise. "No Amy, I'm not ready to let you go. You can't do this come on; we can work things out", I begged and she smiled weakly.

"Am not a toy Liam. Let go of me right now", she demanded. I was startled by her voice; it was full of anger like she just snapped. "I'm a human being and I have a heart, the one that I gave you but you decided to tap into it when you felt like it, well guess what, when you had time out and went cuddling with your crush, I was home thinking of you. It's nice to see that I was the only one in this relationship that loves unconditionally", she said then walked out of the apartment slamming the door in the process.

I had nowhere to go but I knew I had to go somewhere otherwise I was going to lose my mind. I just lost Amy. I needed to be with someone who wouldn't ask me any questions. I needed to pull myself together.

I released a breath and then knocked on the door. Sandy opened it and when she saw me, she hugged me and then took my bag, directing me into the mansion. "Babe, who is it?", Tate asked from god knows where. She took me up the stairs to one of the guest rooms. "I'll talk to Tate, have some rest. I'm here if you need me, ok?", she said and I nod. When I was alone, I dropped myself on the bed and just stared at the cealing I pulled my phone out and unlocked it and her grey eyes decorated my home screen. I couldn't believe what just happened.

The door was opened again and this time it was Tate. He had a bottle of bourbon with two glasses. He sat on the chair that was next to the bed and poured the toxin into the glasses. He gave me a glass and I drowned it in one go but he didn't say anything.

We kept doing the same until I started telling him about everything I loved about my Amy. He just listened, with no judgment or comment, I knew it was his way of being there for me; all I could do was appreciate the fact that he didn't chase me away even though I did when we last met. He was being a big brother, that was the one thing that made him better than Mark. He had a heart and he wasn't afraid to show it.