Chapter 6: He Made Liana Carver Livid

Micah Baron typed out a text to Liana Carver and hit send: "It wouldn't be proper for me to go. I'll have Marshall Chambers pick you up." After work, he drove alone back to his parents' place. As he stepped through the door, his father pressed a bank card into his palm. "Micah, you're about to start a family, and I haven't managed to buy you a decent place for you two. This is everything your mother and I have saved over the years. It's enough for a down payment. You and Yao-yao should pick a place you both like. The mortgage will be heavy, but with our pensions we can help a little." A sour ache rose in Micah's chest. The card felt heavy in his hand. He didn't dare say he and Liana had already broken up, and he certainly didn't dare admit he had nearly squandered away the money from selling his grandfather's old family home. He tried to hand the card back. "Dad, Mom, that's your life's savings. I won't take it. You're at the age to enjoy yourselves. Please stop pinching pennies for me." Hugo Baron shot him a look. "Take it. Your mother hasn't been well lately. Don't let her worry." Micah tucked the card away for the moment. When he noticed his mother's pants were still the pair he bought her when he first started working, another wave of guilt pressed down on him. He ate dinner at home. That night, he didn't go back to the hotel; he stayed in his old room. Staring at the table piled high with wedding candy, he forced his emotions down. He had to find someone he could marry in a hurry, even if it was just for show. The wedding had to happen. On the other side of town, Liana had waited at her office for half an hour after work. She had thought Micah would come pick her up, even ducking into the restroom to touch up her makeup. Back at her desk, she saw his message. Her hands trembled with anger. What on earth did Micah mean by that? If he had said those words to her face, she would have flung her phone right at him. She sat at her desk and tried to steady herself, but the fury in her chest wouldn't settle. Micah had run out of chances. She would not forgive easily. He had told her to go find Marshall, so she would go. She called Marshall Chambers. He said traffic was backed up on his way over and told her to take the subway to his office. Liana bristled, then thought, If he wanted her at the office, wasn't that an acknowledgment that she was his girlfriend? Going to the office was fine; as the future Mrs. Chambers, she would have to show up sooner or later. That thought lifted her mood. She slung a bag worth several thousand dollars over her shoulder and squeezed into the subway. It was rush hour, the crush at its worst. She had not taken the subway in three years; ever since she and Micah had been together, he had driven her to and from work. No matter how busy he was, he never made her cram into the subway. She hugged her beloved bag close. The stale, sour smell in the train car turned her stomach, and the creepy guy behind her kept crowding her. She swore she would never take the subway again. She couldn't stand it-and neither could her bag, and her makeup was going to be smeared. After two transfers, she finally reached her stop. At the station exit, she called Marshall to ask for his office's exact address. He didn't give it. He simply told her to wait right there. She waited another ten minutes before his car finally rolled up. Sliding into the seat, her displeasure was written all over her face. She had thought he wanted her near the office so he could make their relationship official. Instead, he had left her to wait at the subway entrance. Micah never made her wait. He always arrived first. Marshall only glanced at her, said nothing, and drove straight home. He opened the door and put out a pair of women's slippers. "Princess, take a look at your future home." Her eyes lit up. The earlier annoyance vanished. She walked around the place and liked everything she saw. Money was a wonderful thing. Micah could never afford a place like this. Her choice hadn't been wrong. Marshall wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Yao-yao, long time no see. Did you miss me?" As he held her, his hands turned bold, sliding up under her top. Liana caught his wrist. "Marshall, I'm a little hungry. Let's eat first…" He looked straight at her. "If we eat first, can I have you for dessert?" Liana flushed and didn't answer. He nudged her into the kitchen. "Mrs. Chambers, get cooking. I'm starving…" Her head buzzed. He wanted her to cook? She had never cooked. At home, Micah never even let her set foot in the kitchen. She stared at him, incredulous. "Me, cook?" Marshall nodded. "It's just the two of us here. If you don't cook, who will?" "Marshall, I've never cooked. I don't know how." Disappointment flickered across his face. "Then I'll have food delivered. Until it gets here, how about we first…" His gaze turned heated. Under that look, Liana's whole body prickled with discomfort. She had come to reconnect, and it felt as though he had only one thing on his mind. "Marshall, don't rush. You will marry me, right?" Before she finished, he kissed her, scooped her up, and carried her toward the bedroom. He murmured in her ear, his voice low and rough. "Of course I'll marry you. I came back this time to marry you." He had taken only a few steps when a door opened behind them. He stopped and gently set her down. Liana turned and saw a society matron, jewels flashing, fury etched on her face as she stared them down. "Marshall Chambers, is there any limit to your fooling around? You're about to get engaged, and you bring some random woman home. If the Gu family hears, how are we supposed to keep our standing in Broadmoor?" Marshall scratched the top of his head, embarrassed. "Mom, why'd you just walk in without knocking?" Daphne shot her son a glare and shifted all her anger onto Liana. She strode over and slapped Liana hard. "Homewrecker. My son is about to get engaged, and you still try to seduce him. Take a good look at yourself. You think you can marry into the Chambers family? If you ruin his engagement, just wait and see how I deal with you!" Finger-shaped welts bloomed on Liana's cheek at once. She stood stunned. No one had ever hit her like that in her life. Her eyes were red and brimming as she stared at Marshall. More than the slap, what gutted her was his attitude. He watched his own mother hit her, didn't intervene, didn't say a word. As if she deserved it. Worse still, he was the one about to get engaged, and he had tricked her into coming home.