Liam was dead drunk. The girl he had made out with was long gone. He groaned as he sat on a stool at the club. He was the only one still there; however, the club ran 24/7, so they hadn't kicked him out yet. Someone sat next to him, ordering a glass of vodka. "You seem a mess," the man remarked.
Liam coughed violently. "You think?"
The man smirked. "Relationship, family, work? Which one's your issue?"
Liam scoffed. "All. Crazy, right?"
The man shrugged. "Not exactly. Some of us have been through worse. A party and a gallery are happening."
Liam scoffed again. "Just another display of wealth. I'd rather find a girl to spend the night with."
The man chuckled. "So you're cheating on your girl?"
Liam closed his eyes. "It's not cheating if she's only with you out of obligation. My life's messed up. Sometimes, I think that without my family and their money, I would be no one and have no one. Even if she stayed, it'd still be out of obligation."
The man raised an eyebrow, downing his glass in one gulp. "Then why don't you just let her go?"
Liam scoffed. "My parents want her alive and with me... for some reason. I'm their son, but I'm not even my father's heir or next of kin."
The man pulled out a card. "We should talk more often. Come to the gallery. It's on me, and it'll be masked. It should ease you from the drama... Bring your girl, your woman. It could be interesting."
Liam finally looked up to see the man's face, but he was already turning away. "Head back to your condo. Life... isn't perfect."
Liam was hesitant to attend the party with Mia. Mia had always been more of an elegant and prim person and wasn't ever one to feign emotions when there weren't, and she definitely prided herself too much to satisfy his worldly desires. She was just an accessory to add to his dress, nothing more. The only reason he was taking her along was because the fucked up bodyguard had insisted. He scoffed as he did his cuffs. At the gallery, he'd dump her at the first chance he got. He asked Stuart who had been standing at the door waiting for him to finish up, "It's a masked party right? I don't necessarily have to wear matching masks with her."
Stuart chuckled, "You seem too eager to distinguish yourself from her. It will only make your hatred more obvious."
Liam gnashed his teeth as he turned sharply, pinning Stuart to the wall. Bodyguard or not, no one had the right to talk to him that way. Besides, even though his parents trusted him, it was always wise to keep the facade high up. "And what makes you think I'd hate my wife?"
Stuart scoffed, pushing him away as he straightened his suit, "You couldn't possibly have made it any more obvious. Lemme guess, either she has something you want or your family doesn't let you get rid of her or... she's a prick to your ego cause she doesn't like you and you can't accept it."
Liam slowly got up from the wooden side table Stuart had smashed him against, "How dare you? I'm Liam Edwards, the sole heir to the Edwards family..."
Stuart cut him short, giving him a hand for support, "The easiest way to do this is to stop putting on defence mode. Number one, I'm not someone you can treat anyhow at your wish, I'll hit you back if you try to. I refrained today cause I've warned you. Number two; we both know that you're not the sole heir to nothing. I know a lot about you, and your dad wouldn't give out that much if he cared even an ounce. I've been through that shit so the more reasonable you are with me, the smarter you're getting. I can't kill you, but I can beat you up until things go blurry and nothing will happen,... so are you in or do I have to prove it to you?"
Liam wiped the blood off a slight cut on his lip as he cursed, "Damn that hurt! Fine, I'm in. Now, can we go get my wife?"
Stuart chuckled, "I also know that she's not your wife, at least not yet. Probably betrothed to the son of the King of the Edwards empire."
Liam called out as he stormed out, "If you've not realised dufus, I AM the son of the King of the Edwards empire." He banged the door to his suite behind him.
Stuart chuckled. If only he knew.