Page 32 of Second Chance with the Enemy CEO (Second Chance Hockey Players #1)

Chapter twenty-four

Liam

I park in the driveway, staring at the house that used to feel like home but now it feels suffocating. The laughter from inside filters through the slightly open windows. I walk in to find my mum and sisters, Linda, and Lillian, seated in the living room, giggling about something.

“Look who’s here!” Lillian exclaims, spotting me.

“Liam,” my mum, Sharon, greets, smiling warmly. “What a pleasant surprise.

“Not likely,” I reply curtly, my tone sharper than I intended. “Is Dad here? I saw his car out front.”

As if on cue, my father, Charles, appears at the top of the staircase with my youngest sister, Cara, beside him.

His booming voice carries down the stairs, warm and jovial.

“Well, if it isn’t my son who treats this house like a museum - only visits when he feels like it. What brings you here today, Liam?”

I wait until he sits before I speak. “Good. Now that everyone is here, we need to have a family meeting. There is something I need to address.”

The room falls silent. My father leans back, a curious frown on his face. “What’s this about?”

“This question and conversation is five years too late.” I look directly at my mother, then at Linda and Lillian. “I want you to tell me the truth, no beating around the bush. Did you give Hazel a hard time when we were dating? Belittle her? Make her feel like she wasn’t good enough?”

Their expressions tighten, but none of them say a word.

“Fine,” I say, shifting my focus entirely to my mother.

“Mom, I am going to ask you some questions. One, is it true that you were the one who offered the money to Hazel, twice, for her to leave me, and not her coming to ask you for it? Two, did you tell her that she is not good enough for me and threaten her? Did you tell her there was someone better for me?”

Her eyes widen, but she recovers quickly. “What kind of nonsense is this, Liam?”

“Don’t Liam me.” My voice rises, sharp and cutting. “Tell the truth.”

“I don’t know where you’re getting this from…”

“Tell me the truth, dammit!” My shout reverberates through the room, and my mother flinches. Everyone is staring at us now.

Finally, she sighs, her shoulders slumping. “Yes. Fine. Yes, I did. There, you happy now?”

The air leaves my lungs.

“What?” My dad’s voice booms, his shock palpable. He springs up from the chair, his face darkening.

I just stare at her, barely able to find the words. “Why? Why would you do that? To me?”

Mum folds her arms defensively. “I did what I thought was best for my son.”

“Best?”

“She wasn’t right for you, Liam,” she says defensively. “A poor orphan girl? She did not belong in this family.”

“Belong?” I repeat, the word tasting bitter. “You thought you had the right to decide that for me?”

“Liam…”

“No!” My voice cuts her off. “Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

“Liam…“

“So, let me get this straight,” Dad’s chair scrapes as he shoots to his feet again, walking close to Mum. “You mean to tell me you drove that girl away? The girl your son loved. Are you out of your mind, Sharon?” He thundered.

“Oh no, no, no. Do not pin her leaving town on me Charles, she did that on her own accord,” she says, shaking her head and glaring at Dad.

“You had a role to play, regardless,” Dad says. “Have you forgotten you were poor before we married? Or does that part conveniently slip your memory?”

“That’s different!” Mum snaps, glaring at him. “I was not a gold-digger! She was, Charles! She eventually cashed the cheque!”

“She didn’t!” I yell, standing now. “She never cashed it! You would have known that she never cashed the cheque. She kept it all this time. So, don’t you dare stand there and call her a gold-digger!”

The room is suffocating with tension, but I turn to Lillian and Linda.

“You both…, my dear sisters… you were part of the whole thing, weren’t you.

For goodness sakes, I tell you about her, every time, even before we started dating, and you always say you are happy to have her in the family, she’s a nice girl, and whatnot, but behind my back, you disliked her so much to want to drive her away from me, right? ”

“Liam, we…”

“Lillian, you were the one who told me Hazel was cheating on me. Did you see it happen with your own eyes?”

Lillian stammers. “Well, no, but…”

“Talk straight!” I shout. “Answer the damn question!”

“No,” she admits quietly.

“Then who told you?” I demand.

“Carmen,” she says hesitantly.

Cara snorts. “Carmen? Your best friend Carmen? The same Carmen who has been in love with Liam for ages?”

Lillian’s face flushes red. “Yeah, so? Carmen’s better for him than Hazel ever was.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “Wow! Let me ask you something else. Did you Photoshop the pictures of Hazel? The ones of her with those other guys?”

Lillian freezes, glancing at Linda.

“What are you talking about? Pictures do not lie,” Linda says weakly.

“Oh, don’t they?” I take a step closer. “You see, before coming here, I had those pictures analyzed. And guess what? They are fake.”

Their eyes widen.

“Shocked I still have them?” I ask, my tone is icy. “I kept them to confront Hazel back then. Funny how life works, isn’t it? So, I want to know who did it.”

Dad steps in, his voice calm but laced with anger. “Linda, answer him. Did any of you photoshop the pictures?”

Linda does not respond immediately, but under the weight of everyone’s gaze, she crumbles. “Yes,” she whispered, “I did.”

My chest tightens. The weight of their betrayal crashes over me. My knees feel weak. “Why?” I demand, my voice breaking. “Why did you all do this? What did she ever do to you? What did I ever do to deserve this from my own family?”

Mum steps forward, her voice softening. “Liam, we did it for you. We did not want you wasting your life on someone who was not good enough for you.”

I shake my head, backing away like their words are poison. “No, on the contrary, I was not good enough for her. And you just… You did not do it for me. You did it for yourselves. You cost me the woman I loved. You tore us apart for no reason, and you lied to my face for years.”

“You are my family. You are supposed to support me, to be happy for me. Instead, you destroyed the one thing that mattered most to me. You ruined my life.”

Dad glares at my mother and sisters, disgust etched into his features.

“You have done enough damage. I cannot even look at you right now.”

I turn to leave, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.

“Liam, wait,” Mum pleads, reaching out to me.

I stop at the door, my back to them. “Do not contact me. I do not want anything to do with you. Not Mum, not Linda, not Lillian.”

Without another word, I walk out, slamming the door behind me.