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Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Pervert
Lana had barely stepped out of the house, her bare feet brushing against the cold pavement as she rushed after her father, when Liam suddenly jumped off his balcony.
It happened so fast that his brain barely had time to process it.
One moment, he was standing there, watching her, and the next—he was in the air, plummeting down from the second floor.
The impact was harder than he expected, his feet hitting the ground with a solid thud, and for a split second, he felt a sharp jolt run up his legs.
What the fuck?
His eyes widened as he stood there, frozen, realizing exactly what he had just done.
He didn’t even think before doing that.
What if he had broken a leg?
Hell, what if he had snapped his ankle or landed the wrong way and ended up embarrassing himself for life?
For a moment, he just stood there, shaking his head at his own stupidity, before finally regaining his senses.
Focus.
Shoving those thoughts aside, Liam quickly straightened up and began following Lana, keeping a safe distance so she wouldn’t notice him.
And the reason was simple—
He wasn’t about to let a defenseless girl walk around all alone at night.
Lana was beautiful, too beautiful.
That kind of beauty could attract the wrong kind of attention, and he wasn’t about to let anything happen to her.
Of course, there was another reason why he was doing this—
Liam smirked slightly as he whispered to himself, "One day, some fool is gonna try something stupid... and when that day comes, I’ll beat the living shit out of them."
The thought alone made his fingers twitch.
He hadn’t had a real fight in a while, and frankly, he missed it. Two days ago was when he fought last, that was too long.
Lana continued walking ahead, completely unaware that she was being followed.
Her father had somehow managed to drag himself a few streets away, barely able to walk in a straight line.
Every few steps, he stumbled, nearly collapsing into the pavement, but Lana was quick to grab onto him, pulling him up despite his weight pressing down on her.
Liam watched silently, his expression unreadable.
This girl...
She was really wasting her time.
Her father was a lost cause, a shameless drunkard who didn’t deserve the effort she was putting in.
Yet, she still cared.
She still tried.
Liam sighed as his gaze lingered on her struggling figure.
He thought about her career, about who she was outside of this mess.
Lana wasn’t just some random girl—
She was a model, and a rising one at that.
She had only recently joined the industry, yet in such a short amount of time, she had already surpassed many of her competitors.
Her beauty wasn’t just for show—it was powerful.
Millions of people followed her on social media, constantly praising her looks, her grace, her confidence.
And she was making serious money from it.
Yet, despite all that success, here she was—taking care of a man who didn’t deserve her kindness.
Liam’s jaw tightened slightly.
"Shameless bastard," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing at the drunken man.
If Lana and her mother were doing just fine on their own, why didn’t they just let this guy walk away?
He was nothing but dead weight, holding them back with his pathetic drinking habits and reckless behavior.
But instead of cutting him off completely, Lana kept chasing after him, kept dragging him home like some lost pet.
Liam didn’t get it.
He didn’t think he ever would.
After a few minutes of struggling, Lana finally managed to get her father back to the house.
Liam watched as she pushed the door open, carefully guiding the stumbling man inside before disappearing behind the walls.
And just like that, it was over.
Liam sighed, turning back toward his own house.
There wasn’t much of a fight tonight—at least not like before—so he figured he might as well head inside.
As he walked up the stairs and stepped back onto his balcony, he noticed that his apple was still sitting there.
Picking it up, he took one last bite before casually tossing the remaining piece away.
Then, just as he was about to go inside—
The door to Lana’s house opened again.
Liam paused.
And when he looked down, his smirk immediately faded.
Lana stepped out, but this time, she wasn’t chasing after anyone.
Instead, she quietly walked to the side of the porch, sat down on the cold ground, hugged her knees to her chest... and began crying.
It wasn’t loud sobbing or dramatic wailing—
It was silent, almost like she was trying to hide her pain from the world.
Her shoulders trembled slightly as she buried her face against her arms, muffling the small, broken sounds that escaped her lips.
Liam just stood there, watching.
For some reason, the sight of her like that made his chest feel... strange.
Like an invisible weight was pressing down on him.
Should he go down there?
Should he comfort her?
For a moment, his body tensed, ready to move.
But then he stopped himself.
This wasn’t his problem.
He had no reason to get involved.
So instead, he simply stayed where he was, silently watching as Lana sat there, crying under the dim glow of the streetlights.
And for some reason...
He felt guilty for just standing there.
---
Liam stayed on the balcony, his arms resting lazily against the railing as he continued watching Lana.
She remained on the porch, her body curled up as she buried her face between her arms, the soft tremors of her silent crying barely visible in the dim light.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
Liam didn’t move.
He didn’t know why he was still standing there, but something in him refused to go inside until she did.
The night air was cold, and the occasional breeze sent a sharp chill down his spine.
But he ignored it.
His eyes stayed locked on Lana, observing every small movement, every little sigh, every tiny shiver that ran through her body.
"How long is she gonna stay out there?" he muttered under his breath, shifting his weight slightly as his leg began to feel numb from standing too long.
Just as he was about to turn away, she finally moved.
Lana lifted her head, wiping her face with the back of her hand before letting out a small, shaky breath.
Then, with a deep inhale, she slowly stood up, stretching her stiff limbs before walking back toward the door.
Liam remained still, watching as she disappeared inside.
The door closed.
The porch light flicked off.
And just like that, she was gone.
Liam let out a long sigh before finally stepping away from the railing.
His limbs felt stiff, and his body was colder than before, but the biggest problem right now was something else entirely.
His damn eyes were closing again.
"What the fuck?"
Liam cursed loudly as he rubbed his face aggressively, trying to fight off the heavy drowsiness that was suddenly crashing down on him.
Didn’t he just sleep?
Like, seriously—he literally just woke up a few hours ago!
Why the hell was he feeling this sleepy again?
His body swayed slightly, and he stumbled a little as he forced himself to walk toward the door.
As soon as he got inside, he leaned against the wall, his head tilting back as he gritted his teeth in frustration.
Was this the system messing with him?
Or was this just a natural thing?
His brain felt heavy, his limbs felt sluggish, and no matter how hard he tried to stay awake, his eyelids kept dropping.
Liam groaned loudly, pushing himself off the wall as he staggered toward his bed.
"Fuck this..."
He collapsed onto the mattress, his body sinking into the soft fabric as he let out a long, frustrated sigh.
His mind barely had time to think before darkness took over, dragging him into sleep before he could even fight it.
