"Liam?" Zayn looked confused as he stared at a nervous Liam, who was standing outside his door, his fingers enclosed in a fist, and his nails digging into his palm.
"Sorry for, uh, showing up like this. Unannounced" Liam said, looking anywhere but at Zayn.
"Are you okay? You look... you don't look too well" Zayn frowned.
"No" Liam answered truthfully as he shook his head. "I'm not okay."
"Hey" Zayn said softly, holding Liam's hand. "Come inside."
Zayn didn't let go of Liam's hand as they walked into his living room. He held onto it even when they sat down, but Liam nervously pulled it away, making Zayn's frown grow even deeper.
"Remember how I said that I wanted to talk to you about something Friday night?" Liam asked.
"Yes, what about it? You said it wasn't anything important" Zayn recalled.
"I lied" Liam said.
"Huh?"
"There are some things that you don't know… about me... Jesus, I don't even know where to begin" Liam let out a frustrated sigh as he rubbed his face with his hand.
"Hey," Zayn kept his hand on Liam's thigh reassuringly. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. It's okay. Just start from the beginning, yeah?"
"From the beginning" Liam muttered. "Okay."
"Okay, go on."
"Remember when I told you about my parents?" Liam asked, and Zayn nodded.
"What I didn't mention was that they're rich. Like really fucking rich. One percent... the type to eat dinner with the President rich."
"Okay.." Zayn furrowed his brows. "Why were you so nervous about this? I mean, it's not that big of-"
"My father owns Villette Group," Liam ripped the band-aid.
At first, Zayn just looked puzzled, wondering why his father's company mattered. It took him a few seconds to connect the dots, and his eyes widened with surprise as he finally realized what this meant.
"The last-minute investor.."
"Was me" Liam admitted.
When Zayn stayed quiet, Liam finally gathered the courage to be able to look at him. Zayn's face was blank apart from a slight frown, it was as if the weight of what Liam told him was still sinking in, and he was trying to decipher what it meant.
"Why?" was all Zayn asked.
His jaw was tightened, and Liam could see and feel the tension on his face and in the air around them.
"Because I believed in you, and I... I just couldn't see you lose your company. After working with you... I knew how much it meant to you. It meant everything, and I had the resources to prevent someone else from taking over so... I did it"
Liam explained. "It wasn't because I wanted to sleep with you or some shit like that. I mean, I did, but l invested solely because I believe in you and the work that we do."
"I meant... why didn't you just tell me? Why has it taken you so long to come clean?" Zayn elaborated.
"I was... scared," Liam admitted.
"Scared?" Zayn glanced at the other man, raising a questioning brow. "Scared of what?"
"Different things at different points of time," Liam sighed. "At first, I didn't think it mattered. I mean, you were just my boss. And then we became friends and I... I didn't want you to, I don't know, feel insecure about anything. It was dumb, I know, but I knew it would unnecessarily complicate our.. relationship.”
