I Fell in Love with a Monster

“Well, look who finally has time to join us.”

Liam shifted his gaze away, responding with a calm “Mm” before reaching for a cue stick.

“Care for a game?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

As he passed by, Liam gave me a slight nod, nothing more than a polite acknowledgment.

I let out a quiet breath, guessing he probably hadn’t heard anything earlier.

Not long after that, he left for an overseas expansion project, and I pushed the whole encounter to the back of my mind.

But now, hearing his slightly raspy voice over the phone brought it all back.

A flicker of unease crept in.

Still, this was an opportunity I couldn’t afford to waste.

Ignoring the fact that Nathaniel was still standing right beside me, I spoke up.

“Mr. Reid.”

A sudden blast of music drowned out my words.

At the same time, something seemed to have gone wrong on Joanna’s end.

Her anxious gaze kept darting toward Nathaniel, silently pleading for his attention.

He hesitated for a moment.

Then, with a cold “You better watch yourself,” he finally let go of my wrist and walked toward her.

I didn’t bother sparing them another glance.

Without looking back, I made my way straight for the exit.

As the music faded, the voice on the other end of the call spoke again.

"The proposal you submitted for the collaboration with the Reid Group was well done."

I blinked in confusion.

"A while ago, my secretary mentioned that you were hoping for an opportunity to seek my advice."

There was a brief pause, probably because he had run out of ways to keep up the pretense.

Then, in a quieter tone, he added, "I’ll be back the day after tomorrow."

Then, silence followed.

That proposal had been from six months ago.

And the comment Liam’s secretary referred to was nothing more than polite small talk at the end of our collaboration—both of us understood that perfectly well.

Yet, Liam chose those excuses and even called me.

I froze for a moment.

The restlessness and unease I felt earlier suddenly settled as if something had finally clicked into place.

I couldn’t hold back a smile, my eyes curving with amusement.

Then, deliberately, I changed to a more familiar form of address.

"Alright, I’ll be waiting for you, Uncle Liam."

A loud clatter came from the other end of the line as if something had been knocked over.

Feigning innocence, I asked, "What’s wrong, Uncle Liam?"

"Nothing."

His voice dropped a few notes, deeper than before.

"It’s late. Get some rest."

I picked up on the shift immediately.

Liam sounded noticeably colder than before.

I paused.

Did he not like being called that?

…

Because of what happened with Joanna, Nathaniel completely blocked me from every possible contact.

It seemed like this was his way of teaching me a lesson.

I didn’t dwell on it.

Without hesitation, I blocked and deleted him in return.

Then, I accompanied Liam’s secretary, Alec Lee, to the airport to pick him up.

The flight was delayed, and by the time it landed, it was nearly 3 a.m.

Liam must have come straight from an event—his hair was slicked back, revealing the sharp angles of his brow bone.

He wore a perfectly tailored suit, every inch of it meticulously fitted, from the collar down to the cuffs, exuding the precision of fine craftsmanship.

At first, he didn’t even notice me.

Handing his tablet to Alec, his voice was cool, edged with exhaustion.

"Go over this contract again—"

Then he stopped abruptly.

His gaze landed on me, and for once, he looked genuinely caught off guard.

"Naomi?"

"Mr. Reid, long time no see."

I greeted him with a smile.

Standing face-to-face, there was a brief moment of awkwardness, but it quickly faded.

Because, surprisingly, Liam looked even more unsure than I was.

He instinctively withdrew his hand, giving a faint, almost hesitant “Mm,” though he tried to mask his uncertainty.