Chapter 4

Lying in the quiet hospital room, with Nurse Miller moving about silently and the twins sleeping nearby, Sarah' s mind drifted back. Back to five years ago, to her first day at Liam' s family-owned corporation, Reynolds Enterprises.

She had been a fresh-faced graduate, full of nerves and ambition, assigned as a junior assistant in the CEO' s office. The CEO at the time was Liam' s grandfather, a kind, elderly man who had put her at ease immediately. Liam, however, was another story. He was the Vice President then, the heir apparent, and he seemed to view her as nothing more than an inconvenient piece of furniture.

He would walk into his grandfather's office and his eyes would slide right past her, as if she were invisible. If he needed something, he would address his grandfather, even if she was the one who had the file he needed.

"Grandfather, I need the quarterly projections for the European division," he' d say, his voice clipped.

"Sarah has them right here, Liam," the old man would reply with a gentle smile.

Liam would then turn to her, his expression impatient, and hold out a hand without a word. She would quickly pass him the folder, her heart thumping with anxiety. He made her feel small, incompetent, and utterly out of her depth.

His grandfather, on the other hand, was her protector. He' d often keep her in his office after Liam left.

"Don' t mind my grandson," he' d say, his eyes twinkling. "His bark is worse than his bite. He' s been under a lot of pressure since his father passed. He just needs to learn some people skills."

The old man took a liking to her. He praised her work, included her in high-level meetings to take notes, and told her she had a bright future at the company. Under his mentorship, she began to gain confidence. But her interactions with Liam never improved. He remained distant, critical, and dismissive.

The constant feeling of being disapproved of wore on her. She started to second-guess herself, to feel like an imposter. The confident graduate faded, replaced by a nervous young woman who dreaded the sound of Liam' s footsteps in the hallway.

She decided she couldn' t take it anymore. She needed to get away from his suffocating presence. She saw an opening for a project manager in a different department, a lateral move with no pay increase, but it was on a different floor, far from the executive suite.

She told Liam' s grandfather about her decision, framing it as a desire to gain experience in a new area. He looked at her with sad, knowing eyes.

"Is it because of Liam?" he asked gently.

Sarah couldn' t bring herself to lie to him. She nodded, her gaze fixed on the floor. "I don' t think I' m what he' s looking for in an assistant. I... I think he' d be happier with someone else."

"My dear girl," he sighed, "Liam doesn' t know what he wants. He' s just a boy playing at being a man. But if this is what you feel you must do, I won' t stand in your way. Just know that my door is always open to you."

He approved the transfer. Sarah felt a huge wave of relief. She would be free. She started packing up her desk on a Friday afternoon, hoping to slip away without seeing Liam at all.

She was just placing the last of her personal items in a box when the door to her small anteroom office opened. It was Liam. He stood there, leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed. He had never come into her personal office space before.

"Running away?" he asked, his voice low and laced with something she couldn' t identify. It sounded like accusation.

She jumped, startled. "Mr. Reynolds. I... I was just finishing up."

He took a step into the room, his presence filling the small space. He looked at the box on her desk.

"I heard you requested a transfer. To the marketing department." He said the word 'marketing' as if it tasted foul. "You think that' s a better use of your talents? Coordinating promotional campaigns for soap?"

"I thought it would be a good learning experience," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

He let out a short, sharp laugh that held no humor. "Don' t lie to me, Sarah. You' re not a good liar. You' re running away because you can' t handle a little bit of pressure. Because you think I' m mean to you."

His directness was like a splash of cold water. She was so stunned she couldn' t even form a denial. He had seen right through her.