Liam led her down a path Helena had never walked before, even though she had been frequenting that park for months. It was a narrow trail, hidden among dense bushes, that led to a small, secluded clearing. A stone bench was positioned beneath an ancient willow tree, its leaves forming a kind of natural curtain.
"No one comes here," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "It's… safe."
Helena looked around, her heart pounding. She was completely alone with him, far from anyone. She should have been terrified. But instead, she felt a strange calm, as if this place had been made for them.
She sat on the bench, keeping a safe distance as he joined her.
"So?" She crossed her arms. "Are we going to do this your way, or am I going to have to extract the information from you?"
Liam smiled slightly, but the tension didn't leave his shoulders.
"Before I tell you everything…" he took a deep breath. — I need to make you a proposition.
— A proposition?
— Have dinner with me. Tonight.
Helena blinked, disconcerted.
— Are you serious? You bring me here, promise to finally explain this whole... madness, and invite me to dinner?
— Yes.
— Why?
— Because what I need to tell you... — Liam turned to her, and the intensity returned to his eyes. — Will change everything. And before that happens, I want a normal night. Just one. Where you get to know me as a man, not as... what I am.
— And what are you?
— Accept the dinner and I'll tell you. After dessert.
Helena should refuse. She should demand answers now, right there. But there was something in the way he looked at her — a vulnerability she hadn't seen before, as if he were asking for something he rarely asked for.
— A normal night — she repeated, skeptically. — Do you think we can have that after everything?
— I don't know. — He was honest. — But I want to try.
— What if I say no?
— Then I'll tell you now, right here. — Liam leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. — But I'm warning you... it won't be easy to hear. And you'll need time to process it. Maybe it's better to be sitting in a restaurant, with food and wine, than alone in your apartment, trying to understand what's real.
She hated to admit it, but he was right.
— Where?
A slow smile formed on his face — not triumphant, but relieved.
— There's a place. By the river. Quiet, private. I'll pick you up at eight.
— You don't know where I live.
Liam just looked at her.
— Oh, that's right. — Helena let out a humorless laugh. — Of course you know.
— Can I pick you up or would you prefer to meet there?
She thought for a moment. The idea of him showing up at her apartment door, officially entering the most private space she had, was disturbing and strangely intimate at the same time.
"Give me the address. I'll go alone."
If he was disappointed, he didn't show it.
"As you wish."
Silence settled between them. Helena looked at her hands in her lap, trying to organize the whirlwind of thoughts.
"I shouldn't be doing this," she murmured. "Everything about this screams that it's a bad idea."
"I know."
"Then why does it seem... right?"
Liam turned his face to her, and there was something burning in those golden eyes.
"Because it is."
"Are you always so sure of everything?"
"Of yourself?" He didn't look away. "Always."
The air grew thick between them. Helena felt her whole body aware of his closeness—of the heat, the smell of earth and something wild, the way his chest rose and fell with each breath.
"I need to get back to work," she said, but didn't move.
"I know."
"Liam…"
"Yes."
"If what you're going to tell me tonight is so bad that I need to run away…" she met his eyes. "Will you let me go?"
The question hung in the air for a long moment. Helena saw something pass across his face—an internal struggle, as if different parts of him were at war.
"I'll let you go," he said finally, but there was pain in his voice. "But I'll follow you. At a distance. Just to make sure you're okay."
"That's not letting me go."
"It's the best I can offer."
At least he was honest.
Helena stood up, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. Liam stood up too, and for a moment they stood there, very close, their eyes locked on each other.
"Eight o'clock," he said softly.
"Eight o'clock."
She started to turn, but he gently held her wrist. The touch sent an electric current through her arm.
— Helena.
— What?
— Wear whatever you want. — His eyes scanned her face with unexpected tenderness. — You look beautiful no matter what.
Her face flushed. It was a simple compliment, but coming from him, charged with such intensity, it made her stomach churn.
— I... thank you.
She left the clearing quickly, her heart pounding erratically. When she reached the park's main trail, she looked back.
He was still there, standing under the willow tree, watching. Always watching.
But This time, there was something different about the way he looked. It wasn't just predatory or possessive.
It was hopeful.
________________________________________
At seven o'clock in the evening, Helena was in her room, surrounded by clothes strewn on the bed.
"This is ridiculous," she murmured to herself, discarding yet another dress. "It's just dinner."
But it wasn't. And she knew it.
She finally chose a dark blue dress, simple but elegant, that accentuated her eyes. She tied her hair in a loose bun, letting a few strands fall around her face. She put on lipstick—something she hadn't done in months.
When she looked in the mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself. There was something different in her eyes. There was still fear, uncertainty, but also... life. For the first time in years, she seemed awake.
Her cell phone vibrated. A message from Liam with the restaurant's address and one more line:
"I can't wait to see you."
Helena held the phone to her chest, taking a deep breath.
She was about to have dinner with a man who openly admitted to having followed her for years. A man who knew intimate details of her life without ever having been invited. A man who promised answers that would change everything.
She should have been terrified.
But as she grabbed her purse and keys, checking her makeup one last time in the mirror, Helena realized that what she felt was something entirely different.
Anticipation.
For the first time in so long, she wanted to know what would come next.
Even if it was scary.
Especially because it was.
________________________________________
to be continued...