Chapter 32 In a Foul Mood
Liam, who looked sulky, did not speak a word with Amber throughout the whole journey. After passing two junctions, he pulled up by the roadside. "Get out of my car," he ordered.
Amber could not believe what she just heard. "Is he doing this to me in the middle of a highway?" she wondered.
The sky darkened earlier than usual during winter, and it was snowing outside. To her utter dismay, Liam, who had always prided himself on perfect manners, was abandoning her in the coldness. Liam did not even bother to look at her. He fixed his eyes on the ground which was covered with snow while drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
It was obvious that he was running out of patience, and he was sick of having Amber near him.
Feeling humiliated, Amber bit her lower lip and got out of his car without asking him any questions.
She saw no point in staying there and being an eyesore to him. It was silly of her to have harbored the wishful thinking that they might have a future together! She could never understand how the mind of rich people like him work, so it was probably best that she steered clear of him as soon as possible.
Liam's car roared off right after she left. Deeply irritated by his action, Amber whirled around and glared at his car resentfully.
"Liam Croft, you're a douchebag!" she cursed in her heart. At the same time, she felt a lump in her throat.
"Why did I even fantasize about having a relationship with him before this? What's wrong with me? How can I forget that Mia Cavendish is his rightful partner? He's a man with a respectable status and background, and I'm nothing. All we have between us is just a deal. When it comes to an end, we'll become total strangers!" she thought.
Liam watched Amber's reflection in the rearview mirror until it vanished out of his sight completely.
Then, he put the pedal to the metal to accelerate his car. He kept all the windows open to allow the wintry wind to surge into his car, but it did little to unclutter his mind.
"Ethan, let's go for a drink." To give Ethan a phone call, Liam stepped on the brake abruptly to slow down his car, producing an ear-splitting screeching sound.
Inside a dimly lit bar, Liam downed a glass of wine and stared blankly at a wall painting in front of him.
"Hey, it seems like you're up for a change in your lifestyle!" With his jacket hung over his shoulder, Ethan paraded over with an impish grin on his face. He leaned toward Liam and gave him a suggestive look. Liam, who was unfazed, maintained an icy stare at him in silence.
Ethan retrieved his hand from Liam's shoulder and flashed him a roguish smile. "Why're you staring at me in this way? Did you just have an epiphany that you're more into men than women?" That comment was the last straw. Finally, Liam grabbed a bottle of wine from the table and gently knocked Ethan's head with it.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Ethan sprung away from him and asked, "What inspired you to ask me out tonight, Mr. Croft?"
"Just drink and stop talking." Liam filled up a glass with wine and handed it to Ethan.
In the meantime, Ethan eyed the half-empty bottle of wine in front of Liam suspiciously. "Something's out of place here. As far as I know, you always have perfect self-control when it comes to drinking. It isn't normal for you to have finished half of that bottle before I'm even here. Tell me, what's bothering you?"
Staring at the half-empty bottle, Liam was not in the mood to answer his question.
The longer Ethan studied his expression, the more convinced he became that something was amiss. "Why are you looking so down in the dumps? I'm sure it isn't about your company. Has Mia decided to dump you?"
"If you're going to ramble on for the whole night, you might as well leave right now." Liam threw a spiteful look at Ethan.
Ethan was right-Liam had always had incredible self-control and had never let his emotions show. However, he was a different man when he fired several senior employees of his company because of Amber. Without him realizing it, Amber had slowly become someone important enough in his life to affect his mood and emotions.
At that thought, Liam took a swig of the wine again. He loathed the feeling of losing control.
He always despised those who could not control their emotions well, thinking they were no different from morons. But now, he had started acting like one of them because of a woman he barely knew! It had been the first time Liam felt disappointed in himself in the past thirty-one years of his life.☐☐☐☐