Consequences

Chapter 47: Sinister Intent

BIBI'S POV:

My heart thundered in my chest, relentless and deafening, like a war drum sounding the call to battle. Desmond's chilling words replayed in my mind, each syllable a dagger slicing deeper into my resolve. He was going to destroy Liam. The man I cared for more than I dared admit, the man whose stolen memories had left him hollow and adrift, was teetering on the edge of losing everything. His essence, his very soul, was under threat from Desmond's twisted plans and sinister intent.

Fear and desperation churned inside me, twisting my thoughts into a tangled mess. What could I do? How could I protect him from the storm that was already closing in? My footsteps echoed down the dimly lit corridors as I wandered, searching for answers I didn't have. Panic clawed at my chest, every half-formed idea dissolving into futility before it could even take shape. And then I saw it-his door.

It loomed ahead, a threshold that seemed to radiate both hope and dread. I slowed, my breath hitching as I approached. My hand hovered over the cold metal of the doorknob, trembling with a mixture of fear and determination. I needed to be with him. To protect him, to guard him from the insidious plans Desmond had woven around him like a web.

But I couldn't just barge in and spill the truth. Liam was already so lost, his mind a battlefield of conflicting truths and half-remembered lies. If I pushed too hard, if I said the wrong thing, I could shatter whatever fragile trust he had left. Without that trust, I was nothing but another threat, another manipulator. And if Desmond succeeded in turning him against me? I didn't even want to imagine it.

My fingers curled around the doorknob as the resolve surged through me. I couldn't falter now. Every step, every word, would need to be calculated, deliberate. One mistake-a careless slip, a single wrong move-and I'd lose him. Worse, Desmond would win.

I swallowed hard, pushing back the rising tide of panic as I pictured the worst. Desmond sculpting Liam into a weapon of destruction, stripping away what little humanity he had left. Or worse, discarding him entirely once he'd outlived his usefulness. The thought sent a chill down my spine, but it also ignited something fierce in me. I wouldn't let that happen. I couldn't.

The metal felt icy beneath my clammy palm as I tightened my grip. My chest tightened with fear, but my mind burned with determination. Whatever lay on the other side of that door, I would face it. For him. For the man who didn't even realize how much he meant to me.

Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob and stepped inside without even knocking for once.

The scene before me short-circuited my brain like an overloaded fuse box. There he was, Liam, standing fresh out of the shower with nothing but a towel slung criminally low on his hips. Water dripped lazily down his chest, tracing the sharp, defined lines of his abs before vanishing into the towel that hung onto him for dear life. His damp hair clung to his forehead, a few rebellious strands framing his face-a face that currently wore a mix of surprise and mild alarm.

My eyes? Oh, they had minds of their own. They betrayed me, traveling from his wide, startled brown eyes to his plush, inviting lips, and then further down to the broad expanse of his torso. My gaze lingered on the shimmering trail of water-seriously, how was it legal for someone to look this good?-before sliding lower still.

And there it was - The Holy Grail.

I wish I could just pull off his towel and throw him to the bed.

You're no better than a man, Bibi.

"Damn!" The words escaped my lips before I could even think to stop them. Then, as if struck by divine clarity, I blurted out, "You make me wanna have a boner."