Chapter 5 5

Maya left the restaurant, pulling her coat on.

Liam's friends, Marc especially, were trying to persuade him to stay for "just one more drink."

"Come on, Liam, loosen up. Maya won't mind," Marc cajoled.

Maya paused at the door. "No, really, Liam. Stay. Have fun."

She gave him a small, tight smile and walked out.

She needed air. She needed to be away from the suffocating hypocrisy.

She was halfway home in the cab when she realized.

Her small evening clutch was on the seat beside her.

But Liam's phone was in her coat pocket.

He must have slipped it in there earlier when he was "helping" her with her coat, probably to hide it from a call or text he didn't want her to see.

And then forgotten about it.

A small, stupid mistake on his part. A huge opportunity for her.

She told the cab to turn around.

She had to return it, of course. But first...

No. She wouldn't snoop. She already knew enough.

She would just return it.

But as she re-entered the private room at the restaurant, she stopped dead.

Ava Sinclair was there.

Bold as brass, laughing, holding a drink.

She was seated right next to Liam. His arm was casually draped over the back of her chair.

Liam was smiling, relaxed, a different man than the one who'd been performing for Maya all evening.

Marc and the others didn't look surprised at all. They were chatting with Ava as if she were a regular part of their group.

Then, Maya saw it.

Liam leaned over and kissed Ava.

A quick, possessive kiss. Openly. In front of everyone.

His friends just smirked.

Maya felt the floor drop out from under her.

They were playing some stupid drinking game.

"Truth or dare, Liam?" one of the women slurred.

"Truth," Liam said, grinning.

"Ever cheated on Maya?"

Ava giggled. Marc snorted.

Liam took a long sip of his scotch. "Define cheated."

Laughter all around.

"Come on, Goldstein, don't be coy," Marc said. "A little side action doesn't count if the main course is happy, right?"

"Something like that," Liam said, winking at Ava.

He glanced towards the door, a brief, almost imperceptible flicker of concern. "Just make sure the main course never finds out. Keep her happy, keep her in the dark. That's the key."

Ava stroked his arm. "She'll never find out, baby. You're too smart."

The casual cruelty of it, the utter disrespect, the complicity of his friends – it was all there.

Laid bare.

Maya backed away slowly, unseen.

Liam's phone felt heavy in her pocket.

She stumbled out of the restaurant, into the cool night air.

Her carefully constructed composure shattered.

The truth, in its ugliest, most brutal form, had hit her full force.

He wasn't just a cheater. He was a con man. Their whole life was a lie he actively maintained.

And his friends were his accomplices.

A sudden downpour started, a typical New York City cloudburst.

Cold rain lashed her face, mingling with the silent tears she couldn't stop.

She wandered through the storm, directionless, numb.

The city lights blurred.

The grand gestures, the kidney, the roses, the book, "Maya's Horizon."

All of it, a performance. A trap.

She had warned him. "If you ever lie to me, truly lie, I will vanish."

He hadn't believed her. He thought he could manage her, control her.

He was about to find out how wrong he was.