"I can't wait to see what kind of kid you'd have with that bitch." Serena spat out, her words way out of line.

Something Charlotte would never say.

Liam's heart sank for a moment.

Seeing Serena's face, he was so sure she was Charlotte.

But the moment she spoke, doubts crept in.

It was like he didn't know Charlotte at all.Content © copyrighted by .

He wondered what he'd been doing all those years when Charlotte looked up to him.

Did he ever really look at her?

Despite...

Despite Vincent's gossip about his past with Charlotte and Chloe, Serena's hatred felt over the top for someone who's supposed to be just an outsider.

Liam's gaze grew intense as he prodded softly, "Why the hate for Chloe?"

He kept quiet, hoping Serena would reveal something in her anger.

But Serena simply hit back, "You don't know? Chloe killed Charlotte's sister. Her sister was dating my husband's favorite brother. Before we tied the knot, Vincent even snuck me back home to make sure his brother was cool with it from beyond the grave."

"Chloe took my brother-in-law from us and wrecked my husband. Why wouldn't I hate her?"

With her reasons out, Serena's face scrunched up even more disdainfully.

"What are you playing at, Liam? Cozying up to a murderer, someone so vicious?"

Liam had no comeback.

Honestly, he wasn't kind to Chloe. She was struggling, hanging on just for the kid.

This was his subtle way of punishing her until he could get proper revenge.

"Chloe's out in a house in the sticks, no maids, doing it all herself. The supplies I send are only enough for the kid. If she wants to eat, the kid goes hungry. I'm not nice to her; she's getting what she deserves..." "Sure, sure, Chloe's roughing it, and Charlotte's probably better off as fish food," Serena mocked.

She glared at Liam, "Don't you dare call me by my name. You're not seeing Charlotte in me!"

"So what do I call you?"

"Just call me Mrs. Blackwood," Serena said with a huff. "Get it straight, pal, you're drooling over someone else's wife." Right then, Ethan, led by the butler, came running over, a little bundle of joy crashing into Serena's arms. "Mommy! I found you!"

After hanging out with Serena for a bit, Ethan noticed Liam hanging back. "Oh! You!" he shouted.

He waddled over to Liam's feet, looking up at him with effort. "Did you cry today?"

That question caught Liam off guard, but it also cleared away his gloom the second he saw Ethan's face.

He crouched down to be at eye-level with the little guy. "No, buddy, I'm feeling good today," Liam assured him with a grin. "Really? Then no jelly for you from Mom. How about a hug from me instead?" Ethan offered, arms outstretched toward Liam.

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Liam was surprised, but he reached out, ready for that hug.

Just then, Serena chimed in, "Ethan, do you know this uncle's name?"

Ethan stopped, looking confused back at his mom. "What's his name?"

"Liam," Serena said, with a sly look in her eye.

Suddenly, Ethan seemed to remember something, and his look turned sour.

"Liam! Dad told me about you, and said you're not nice! A real villain!"

"I..." Liam was at a loss for words.

With Vincent already on bad terms with him, plus the whole mess with Chloe, it's not like he'd have anything good to say about Liam in front of his wife and kid.

And even though it was just a kid's blunt honesty, it felt like a punch to Liam's gut, as if... as if his own kid had turned against him.

Serena had figured she'd laid into Liam so hard he wouldn't dare show his face again.

But the next morning, her butler's handing her an invite to see Chloe's kid, straight from Liam himself.

She almost laughed out loud at that.

She thought about dragging Vincent along, but he was busy, and with Ethan being the new kid on the block and sticking to her like glue, she ended up taking him with her.

As luck would have it, it started to pour and of course, someone had taken the umbrella from the car earlier. The driver kept going on about getting a new one, or they'd be drenched.

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There wasn't a store in sight, let alone a supermarket.

Serena kept telling the driver they'd find a way.

And when they pulled up to that lonely house way out in the sticks, there's a guy standing there with a massive umbrella?

"Well, Liam's got some manners, I'll give him that," she said to herself, a bit surprised to see such thoughtfulness.

As she stepped out with Ethan, they were instantly under the protection of the umbrella.

She began to thank the person holding it, but when she looked up, it wasn't a butler but Liam himself.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, a frown creasing her forehead.

"I'm the one who invited you," Liam said, his voice a bit low as he glanced at the wary pair. "It's chilly, and the rain's not letting up. Don't want the little one to catch a cold, do we? Let's go inside." Serena let it slide because of the cold and walked with him under the umbrella.

Under the umbrella, the rain seemed kind of cozy, like they were a little family unit.

Liam and Serena, side by side, Ethan nestled in her arms trying to grab raindrops...

For a split second, they could have passed for a happy family, the kind Liam had always wanted.

The air was cool, but Liam's eyes were hot, and he had to swallow hard to keep the tears back. He'd lost it all.

All those feelings he had, thinking Serena was Charlotte, now seemed like a betrayal.

Once they were inside, Liam closed the umbrella quietly as Serena, couldn't wait a second longer, burst in shouting for Chloe, "Where's that bitch at?!"