The Dismissal of a King:
The morning sun was a harsh, unforgiving glare against the peeling paint of Eliana's apartment. She had discharged herself against medical advice the moment the sun rose, limping out of the hospital before the "King" could return to suffocate her with more of his expensive kindness. Her head throbbed, and her wrist was encased in a stiff splint, but her hands were steady as she handed the small, precious bottle of antibiotics to Anita.
"Eli! Where have you been? I've been calling since midnight!" Anita cried, grabbing her friend's shoulders. "Your phone is smashed to bits in your bag. I thought you'd been kidnapped or worse!"
"I was hit by a car, Anita," Eliana whispered, sinking onto the edge of the mattress. "It was an accident. But he... he took me to the hospital. He paid for everything."
Anita's eyes went wide. "The person who hit you? Was it a hit-and-run? Did you get the plate number?"
"It was him, Anita. The man from the bistro. He said his name is Liam." Eliana leaned back, her eyes clouding with the memory of his arms holding her in the rain. "He stayed with me. He looked... worried. Not like a man who just hit a pedestrian, but like he actually cared if I breathed."
Anita froze, the name echoing in her mind like a heavy bell. "Liam? You mean... Liam Sterling? The heir to Sterling Holdings? The man who owns half of Victoria Island?" She paused,
"I don't know ,I haven't met laim sterling before but this man is rich and he possesses the aura of a rich and powerful heir "Eliana replied
Anita then let out a sharp, cynical laugh, shaking her head as she tucked the medicine into the cupboard. "No. No way, Eli. That's impossible."
"Why?" Eliana asked, her brow furrowing. "He said his name was Liam. He has grey eyes like a storm, and he—"
"Listen to me," Anita interrupted, sitting beside her and taking her hand. "Liam Sterling is the 'Iceman.' I've seen him at the club and some high class occasions Eli. He sits in the shadows like a statue made of marble. He doesn't talk to girls, I have even try talking to him in several occasions but he had never for once spare a glance at me ,he doesn't 'follow' people to hospitals, and he certainly doesn't have heart-to-heart conversations with waitresses from the mainland. That man probably just has the same name. Or maybe he's just some wealthy businessman's son playing a hero." She squeezed Eliana's hand firmly. "The real Liam Sterling doesn't have a heart, Eli. He has a ledger. Don't go filling your head with fairy tales about a billionaire savior. We have to focus on the rent and your mom. Men like that... they don't belong in our world, and we definitely don't belong in theirs."
Eliana looked down at her bandaged wrist, the warmth of Liam's touch still ghosting over her skin. Anita's words were logical—they were the safe, smart way to think—but they didn't match the fire she had seen in his eyes in the rain. "Maybe you're right," "maybe this laim isn't that laim sterling you know "Eliana murmured,
But as she closed her eyes, she didn't see a ledger. She saw a man standing in a hospital room, looking at her as if she were the only thing in the world that mattered.