Brave Bold Belle (ft. Liam Payne)

Chapter 33 - Walls

      Time passes by faster than I could’ve ever imagined. It’s like as I’m so aware of my time with Liam running out this is slipping through my fingers and I can’t stop it. And it terrifies me because I don’t know what it’s going to happen. I know what I feel for Liam, I couldn’t stop it before it was too late and now I’m in this hole. If I hadn’t developed feelings for him I wouldn’t be in this predicament now. And no matter how I feel about him, the whole contract and the lies are still as conflictive as when I didn’t accept my feelings for him.

In a blink of an eye, Christmas and New Year pass by and Liam continues on tour. We still talk every day. He keeps sending me books, some that we didn’t even buy together but that I actually wanted to read, which makes me suspect he stalks my Goodreads account. He hasn’t had a break since the Holidays so I’ve gone to meet him in some cities. So far I’ve visited him in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague. I was drooling in the last one and so happy that I couldn’t stop giggling and kissing Liam for taking me there. That was our mushiest weekend, and that happened two weeks ago. We’ve been so great together, having fun and completely oblivious to the contract, except when I’m on my own and I look at the calendar, knowing how little left we have of this show.

After being with Liam I understand why some actors end up dating after pretending to be lovers for so long as the shoot the film or anything else. Confusing real life and pretence is so easy when you do it for a long period of time and at some point it’s not even pretending anymore. I should’ve been more careful, I should’ve been colder to him, but not there’s no way to fix that. The contract ends in one month and I keep falling for Liam.

What am I supposed to do?

“Belle, you’ve done such a wonderful job,” Simon tells me walking by my side after running into him on my way to met Dad and Ariel. “Your father was so right at suggesting you for this job. You definitely brought Liam back and we’re all grateful.”

I don’t know what to say because I know I wasn’t the one who brought him back. Maybe I was the one who yelled at him constantly until he decided to stop being a jerk and take control of his own attitude. I think it was mostly when he realised what he did to his family.

“And are you happy? In one month you’ll be back to your life without having to deal with paparazzi and dating a celebrity. You must be tired,” he continues and I shrug.

I only see paparazzi when I’m with Liam and it isn’t that bad. We just smile politely, let them get some pictures and then ignore them as we continue our date. Liam tells me that if he ever took me to The States it would be different. As the showbiz is more massive there, paparazzi are more ruthless.

When I’m not with Liam I encounter fans and they are fairly nice. Sometimes they ask to take a picture, sometimes they just ask me to tell Liam that they love him, and I do. So I haven’t had such a bad time and it’s not like I pay any attention, though. I don’t have time to spend on the Internet, which is where the worst kind hide, so I don’t have to deal with haters. I also don’t even bother reading the articles about us or whatever someone else is saying. I just listen to Havi’s reports and these are never hurtful. So all in all, the only problem at first was Liam and now that we’ve finally found common ground, that’s not an issue. Yet at the same time, that’s exactly the issue.

“Yeah, back to my old life,” I mumble and Simon pats my back.

“We know it’s been a burden for you, but you’ve done really well and it’ll be over soon. You won’t have to see Liam again.”

Those words would’ve sounded so sweet five months ago. Hell, four months ago I would’ve cried of sheer relief after hearing those. But now? Now they hurt and I have to press my lips together to keep myself from saying something I shouldn’t in front of the CEO. In one month I won’t have a reason to see Liam again, it’ll be over. What forced us to be together will disappear. It would become a choice, a choice that makes me uneasy due to our previous history.