"He forced himself on me," I say and something clenches my chest painfully. I don't dare look at Liam. Not even a bit. "He . . . he assaulted me."

Rape is the right word, Kira. He raped you, whether you try to say he didn't over and over again or not. He did it! I ignore this voice in my head by shitting my eyes tightly.

Liam stands up abruptly and my eyes follow him as they are on autopilot. His chest thumps up and down as he pants, holding his in a confused manner. My heart booms in fear, worry, and anxiety on what he'll say or do now.

"He—" Liam starts but nothing comes out of his mouth as intended. He runs a hand through his hair, seemingly pained, angry, and extremely frustrated. "He did that to you?" he asks.

I only nod. Saying that he pushed his tongue inside my mouth while pinning me down with every strength in his body feels so hard, let alone explaining how he ripped my clothes and thrusted me once, then twice, until I lost my mind and turned into a crazy animal.

"No, I didn't let him do it, Liam. No, he didn't." I shake my head profusely, trying so hard to deny that what happened that night is still a scar on my body and mind. "It didn't happen. I know Dr. Snape says it did, I know it didn't. I hit him. I hit him so hard and he stopped. Trust me."

Liam's angered look turns into a pitiful one as he watches my hysteria consuming me, turning me into a crazy woman who mumbles things she wants to believe in.

"Kira," he calls while squinting before me. I gaze up at him, tears pooled in my eyes that I blink once and they fall down. "It's alright. Mhhh? It's okay." He carefully takes my hands but the image of blood and sounds of Jeremy's cries make me wince back.

"I had to defend myself, that's all. I hit him with a candle holder and he quit violating me. So I stopped it, right?" I ask Liam. I don't want to feel more disgusted than I already am, so please tell me it wasn't. "Tell me. Do you also think—"

"It wasn't your fault, Kira," Liam interrupts. My eyes frosts, a tiny respite piercing through me. "Please stop hurting yourself now." He sits down next to me, taking a deep breath afterwards.

"But he's still here, Liam. He's always been here! You saw what happened earlier, right?" I cry.

I tried once or twice to have sex with a guy and I'd always feel that way. One of the reasons why I found safety in being on my own until now. I'm not a fucking virgin! I'm just a spoiled good.

"Look at me." Liam tilts my head until our eyes meet. "It's over. That night is over. You hit that bastard and he stopped, right? Then you did what you could and it's okay now."

I feel his arm scooting me closer until my head rests on his chest. More tears fall down, and memories flashback vividly. How he came over me, and the horror that followed when I knocked him out of my body like a savage.

"When I saw blood dripping from his head I thought I killed him. I watched him lying on my bed, and I was holding the candle holder, trembling, and I thought I'm a murderer," I blurt out, letting it all out.

What was I supposed to do, huh? He was hurting me. I wanted to kill him, Liam. I was this close to—To really kill him with my own hands.

"When did that happen?" Liam asks, his fingers skittling through my hair.

My body relaxes slowly to mirror his soothing caress.

"Almost three years ago," I answer. "It was the day we finished our finals. Sam was out to party, and I was home, inside our little flat that we rented together. She was dating Jay, as she calls him, but realized the bastard was after me. He only dated Sam to get closer to me."

"Bastard," Liam breathes, and I gather the tension in his muscles that was slowly fading.

I was very relaxed on the couch with a large popcorn bowl on my lap, watching my usual rom-com movies. It was around nine when I heard a knock at the door, but I wasn't expecting a soul Sam she had her own keys.

I still had to check anyway, for sometimes some other classmates would drop by for mundane reasons: looking for Sam, or asking for some school materials, or simply to say hi. I was surprised to find Jeremy, however, for he was supposed to be at the party with his friends.

And then I realized he was drunk. I knew right away something was off. I got defensive, and he started coming hard on me, claiming he loved me, he always did. He begged me to accept his love, and he'd leave Sam right away as he had no feelings for her but me.

"It was horrible," I say dryly, for I have to finally accept this and move on. "We fought, we argued, but he was too powerful and so I managed to get me in bed." My heart rate increases and my breath intensifies. "I felt so helpless. So humiliated. I hated the feeling of any guy touching me from that day on."

Any guy, until I met you.

Liam sighs heavily, and his fingers pause for a moment, creasing my scalps no more until he manages to ask, "Did you report him to the authorities?"

I let out a small laugh.

"The authority? What for? Who would've believed me? It was going to be his words against mine. First he's from a very influential family, and I'm just a pauper and a loner. Within a blink of an eye I would've probably turned into a slut who wanted his money and decided to make up the story," I say bittersweetly, and it's exactly what Jeremy told me that night.

Sighing, Liam asks, "And how did you even meet him?"

I pull back from his arms and sit straight. He does the same, eyes on me.

"I worked as a swimming instructor at his family's resort. One day I found a guy floating on the pool and I presumed the water had had him, so I ran to save him."

"And then?" Liam urges, no smile or joy in his face.

"Well . . . I just pulled him out of the pool, and to my disgrace I realized he was only pranking me. He was fine and well, and just took advantage of my adrenaline to play dead," I tell Liam, skipping the part where I gave Jeremy a mouth-to-mouth.

"Oh, and you started dating?" Liam snorts, and for the first time I'm detecting sarcasm in his words; so unlikely. Or is it . . . jealousy? I mentally smile. "Did you date him, Kira?" he insists profusely.

"Dating? No!" I laugh heartily for change.

"Oh, you think I'm funny now?" Liam rolls his eyes.

"No, I think you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous."

"Yes, you are," I insist. We joke for a while, and I find the tension totally over. Moreover, the burden I've been carrying around about this story gets off my shoulder.

"So, you became friends with him?" Liam continues.

"No, I've never been friends with him. Maybe acquaintances and I might have had a tiny little crush on him though, at the first sight," I confess.

"Oh?" Liam's distaste is apparent as he utters this. Oh boy!

"After our first meeting, Jeremy kept forging coincidences just to bump into me by the resorts," I proceed, and he listens attentively. "It started making me sick, because it was like stalking. He somehow got close to Sam through Veronica, one of their friends in common, and ended up dating."

"That's very low," Liam remarks.

"Very low," I reply. "When he told me he's dating Sam to get closer to me, I tried to warn Sam about him. I just couldn't tell her the reason why, and it's my biggest mistake. Always. Thinking that I'm protecting her by hiding things."

Liam makes no comment on this. While playing with my hair, he asks, "Does she know about this?"

Just the thought of that makes my heart sink into the pits of my stomach. "I called Sam that night. I needed her badly, but she didn't answer my calls. How could she? She was busy partying." A rueful laugh leaves my lips. "She didn't come home that night. She was probably wasted so she stayed with her friends. When she returned the next day I was away. I had to leave for a while and it's how I decided to keep it to myself. I stayed in San Francisco for a few days as it's where I used to live with my family."

"God," Liam murmurs. A small silence prevails until he says, "Your friendship is a bit questionable when I think deeply about it—especially with the pack of friends she hangs around with. But I understand where you both come from."

I shrug.

"I honestly never saw eye-to-eye with her friends. I know Sam and I are very different, but we still put up with each other, because we always believed we had to; at least I did. She's that one sister you're sharing blood with, so whether they are sweet or not, good or bad, they're still your blood and there's nothing you can do about it." I take a deep sigh. "Well, I'm not a saint, Liam, I've got my shortcomings. Too many of them, but she also took me as I am."

"I see," Liam mutters, and I keep quiet for a good while, contemplating everything.

"I wonder if I was the reason for all of my misfortunes," I think out loud. "Could it be—"

"Hey, forget about him now," Liam snaps quietly. "He's a bastard and none of that was your fault, do you understand me?"

"Hmm." I nod, staring at him with a faint smile.

I've waited long enough to hear this.

"And if Samantha is really your friend, then she'll come around and understand you. A true friend would wish nothing but the best for the other, I believe. I'm not great in that friendship arena, too, but I wouldn't want to see Malik suffer for something I'm capable of fixing." He stares at me seriously, and it melts my heart.

"Thank you." I hug him so tightly.

Kissing my forehead, he says, "You have nothing to thank me for, I'm glad you told me this."

Having this man by my side, I feel like I've hit a jackpot.

I gaze up at him, his eyes the color of a cool summer day on the beach, and my smile widens. I'm in love with this man, my Liam, and I mentally thank God I met him.

"Do you want some wine?" I whisper, my voice soft and trouble-free, embracing the feeling of safety by being right next to him.

"Depends." He smiles. "Are we getting drunk?"

Woah! Is he trying to beguile me so early in the evening? The devil in me pops her head through the door, a flirtatious smile on her face.

"In love?" I utter, and he nods.

"Yes, let's get drunk, Ms. Jones." He's currently ever-playful, such a sexy sight to behold.

"We shall see, Mr. Darcy." I get up to fetch the bottle. "Drunk in loooooove," I sing, and he chuckles softly. "And some movie?" I ask after grabbing a wine bottle and glasses.

"Movie, huh?"

"Yeah." I place the two glasses on the coffee table and beckon him to deal with the bottle as I wander toward the television set. "What kind of movie do you like?" I ask him amid the TV setting.

"Action?" he replies vaguely, and I frown at it.

So original, Darcy. I wasn't expecting a 'rom-com' as the answer.

"Action? Who's your favorite actor?" I ask as something tells me that he doesn't watch movies at all.

But who doesn't watch movies in this era?

"Well, it's hard to have one favorite actor, don't you think?" he says while pouring the wine.

I burst out laughing. "Let me guess, you also like Sylvester Stallone, Jean Claude, and—" I pause to look him in the eyes, and to my surprise he's smiling sheepishly. "Oh Lord, am I right?"

"I do like them, but how do you know that?" he seriously asks.

Seriously?

"Oh, come on, Liam." I laugh again. "It's obvious someone like you would prefer their childhood actors. And they're so 90s." I continue with the setting.

"So, now you think you know me, don't you?" Liam remarks, and I'm unsure whether he's teasing or not.

A little. But I'd love to know more, to unwrap all the mysteries of Darcy. I really want to know him.

"I don't need your résumé to realize how many times you've watched Indiana Jones, and the fact that you don't know who Chris Hemsworth is." I keep making fun of him, and he laughs amused.

"Who is he? I mean, that Chris Hemsworth fellow." He's now sipping the red wine, slowly.

This cowboy! He can't be serious, can he? Is there anyone in this generation who doesn't know the new king of Asgard?

"Some insanely good-looking actor with a very deep and sexy voice," I respond teasingly. "Oh, and he has a brother named Liam," I add, a bit provokingly.

"Really? Do you like him?" he asks like a child.

I can't believe him.

Sighing, I answer, "I do, but I've got a way better catch than the God of thunder." I reach for Liam's lips and do what I love doing to them, and the feeling is mutual apparently.

I want this to be our fresh start. The new beginning.