Page 57 of Billionaire’s Ruin

“Gosh…” my voice rose before I could stop it. I never yelled at Liam. “Since when did you become so petty? I can’t believe you.”

“Petty, huh?” His mouth tightened. ”You think I care if he sleeps around with other women? I don’t.”

My breath hitched. Fuck. Liam said “fuck.”

He never swore.

“I’m sorry,” he added quickly. “I didn’t mean it. Please don’t be mad.”

Something salty burned at the corner of my mouth. Tears. I hadn’t even realized I was crying. God, maybe he was right. Maybe I was emotional.

“Calm down now, sweetie,” he whispered, voice softening.

“Liam…” The name trembled out of me. “I don’t know what to do. Please—” help me. The last words never made it out. But I knew he heard them anyway.

He straightened, the doctor mask slipping back into place. “Listen carefully.”

A bobble-like nod escaped me, ridiculous but automatic.

He took a deep breath before continuing, “Give me thirty minutes to sort out the hospital. After that, we’ll talk further about Kai. Think about whether you want Lincoln in this or not.”

Instead of watching the seconds tick by or pacing around the car park like a lunatic, I headed to the café near the main entrance.

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. A familiar name. I used to stop by one just like it whenever I visited California—back when life felt simpler, predictable, when coffee was just coffee.

Without thinking, I ordered a regular latte. My voice sounded too calm, too casual for how knotted my insides were.

I watched the barista work—how she carefully poured the milk, then fumbled with the steaming wand, nearly dropping the espresso cup and splattering the counter. She gave a small, embarrassed laugh, and I almost smiled back. Almost.

Upstairs, lying in his Royal Suite, was Dannie.

My fake husband.

The man who had saved my life.

And then there was Kai Li.

Not my fake husband.

Not my anything.

But his life… his life mattered.

And there was nothing I could do. No resources. No power. No right.

Unlike Lincoln—who had security teams, bodyguards, private investigators at his disposal—I was just a doctor sitting in a café, waiting for her coffee.

Liam made it sound like I had a choice, but I knew better. If Kai was in trouble, Lincoln would already be on it.

He’d find a way to get involved, whether I wanted him to or not.

The question that twisted in my chest was… Should I put myself in that situation again?

He was going to marry Lucy.

He was someone else’s soon-to-be husband.

He was never mine, anyway.