My True First [18+]

Chapter 40

The following morning, I woke up in an empty bed half an hour before my alarm.

Having dressed hastily, I padded to the kitchen. Liam was sitting on a chair with a cup of coffee in his hand, reading something on his phone.

"Good morning," I said, making him shove the phone in his pocket too fast.

"Morning, Sky. Did you sleep well?"

"Very." I smiled. "What about you?"

"Not really," said Liam. "I have to be at the office earlier today. Amelia will take Tim to school in half an hour. He's already taking a shower."

"Okay." I nodded and couldn't help noticing how tired Liam looked. His usually bright eyes seemed dull, and he was frowning without realizing he was doing it.

"You'll get wrinkles." I smiled, running my fingertips across Liam's forehead. His features relaxed for a short-lived moment, but there was no smile and no kiss.

I noticed his lack of affection because it'd been a while since I had to deal with the detached version of him. The letter must have affected Liam way more than I thought. I clung to that thought because thinking that he was back to ignoring me was too painful. It would hurt me infinitely more now that we'd become close.

"Have you tried calling the attorney again?" I asked to have a conversation about something. Maybe this way, I would manage to lighten up the mood and pull Liam out of his sadness.

Liam nodded. "I did. I left a voice message, asking them to get in touch with me. I also looked up the town and the guy. He really is an attorney, but he doesn't have a website. That's weird, you know? Even small businesses have one nowadays, and he's a lawyer."

"Maybe he's not good at technology and stuff?"

"That could be it," said Liam. "He signed his name on that letter using an ink pen. The only silver lining is that the place the letter was sent from is beautiful. There are lakes and forests. No tourism, though. I didn't find any hotels in that area."

"Maybe there's a castle in the woods, and you're the owner," I joked. "That guy'd better hurry up and let you take legal possession of the property."

Liam finally chuckled. "Yeah, I cannot leave my land unattended for a long time. Well, I have to run now."

"Liam," I said, making him pause as he rose to his feet. "Are we okay? You're kind of cold this morning."

"Just tired," Liam said, his hazel-green eyes softening when he focused them on my face. "We're good, sweetheart. I'll call you later. Good luck with your lectures today."

After pecking my lips and grabbing his stuff, Liam was out.

I left the apartment after Amelia picked up Tim and walked to my university, grateful for the good weather that cheered me up some.