Chapter 4

Liam stared at the completely frozen Blair, her voice cutting through the entire banquet hall:

"Have you ever heard of a rapist... who's a woman?"

A woman?!

The Hayes family's long-lost son, missing for eighteen years... was actually a woman?!

Camera flashes lit up the room like broad daylight. The entire banquet hall descended into a madness unlike anything it had ever seen.

The knife slipped from Blair's hand and clattered to the floor. Her eyes rolled back, and she dropped like a stone.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes stood frozen, like they'd been struck by lightning. Their whole understanding of reality shattered into pieces.

And in the corner of the room.

Dorian watched the girl on the stage — half her shirt undone, wild and untamed — as the madness and possessiveness in his eyes finally broke loose completely.

He crushed the wine glass in his fist in one sudden motion. Blood seeped through his fingers, but he didn't even notice. He just stared at Liam, a sick, burning smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Caught you… Liam."

The dinner party scandal wrapped up in the most chaotic way possible.

The Kingsley University forum crashed again. Liam had gone from "scumbag playboy prince" to "the queen every girl would kneel for" without missing a beat.

[First I doubted her. Then I got it. Now I'm literally her dog. Step on me!]

[Girl in disguise exposes a two-faced snake — wait, is this an actual girlboss power fantasy or real life?!]

[I always said she was too pretty to be a guy. Turns out she's a girl! I'm officially declaring it — Liam is my one and only wife!]

Inside the Hayes family, though, it was like a magnitude-8 earthquake had just hit.

After the initial wave of shock, disbelief, and full-blown existential crisis, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes bounced back at impressive speed.

"Honey! We have a daughter! We finally have our sweet little girl!" Mrs. Hayes cried, slapping her thigh in excitement.

"Exactly! We have to make up for everything we missed! Get that racing car bed out of here — tear it down and replace it with something pink!" Mr. Hayes declared, waving his hand.

And so began Liam's personal hell.

Her room was transformed into a sea of pink. Lace, bows, Barbie dolls — everything you could imagine.

Her wardrobe was stuffed with designer princess dresses, every single one screaming cute.

Liam lay sprawled across the pink princess bed, feeling like a tough guy who'd been forcibly squeezed into a tiny frilly dress. She had absolutely zero will to go on.

Knock knock.

A rap on the door.

Dorian wheeled himself in.

He was wearing a white knit sweater today, looking completely harmless — but Liam knew that if you cut this guy open, he'd be rotten on the inside.

He glanced around at the sea of pink and let out a soft laugh. "Looks like my little sister is very pleased with her new room."

Liam rolled her eyes. "Which eye of yours sees me being pleased? And by the way — who exactly is your sister?"

Dorian maneuvered his wheelchair to the side of the bed, then suddenly leaned in, planting both hands on either side of her, caging her between himself and the mattress.

He was dangerously close. Liam could even catch the faint, cool scent of him.

"If not that, then what do I call you?" Dorian's voice dropped, low and rough, laced with a thread of dangerous playfulness. "How about… elder sister?"

Liam's heart stuttered, but her expression didn't crack. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him toward her until their noses nearly touched.

"Dorian, don't play games with me." Her eyes were sharp as a blade. "You've known I was a girl this whole time, haven't you?"

From the first time he'd said her hands were too soft, to the comment at the dinner party about her waist being too slim — this guy had been watching her little act the entire time!

Dorian didn't deny it. He let her grip his collar, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Yeah, I've always known. So what? What are you going to do to punish me?"

He drew the word out deliberately, his voice warm with something tender and unsettling.

Liam let out a cold laugh and released him, shoving his wheelchair back with her foot.

The chair rolled backward, but Dorian stayed perfectly composed in his seat, his smile only deepening.

"Go get help if something's wrong with you." Liam climbed off the bed. "Don't come here losing your mind."

"But you're the only one who can cure me." Dorian watched her walk away, his voice dropping to barely a whisper.

Push and pull. Tension cranked all the way up.

Liam knew — she'd just been zeroed in on by a mad dog.