Betrayal

Chapter 26

"This cake is amazing", Mia said as they were busy decorating Liam's cake. They had to do it after working hours so that he wouldn't find out. It was hard to hide things from Liam so they had to involve Claire in the surprise so that she could distract him most of the time. It was working so it gave them enough time to work things out. "I hope he will like it because we don't have time to make more adjustments", Valerie replied as the two stepped away to look at their creation properly. "Is everything else set?", she asked Mia who nod her head confirming. Since his birthday was on a Saturday which was their day off, they decided that Claire would call him, and tell him he was needed at work and with that they will be able to surprise him.

"He has entered the building. Everyone hide!", Mia said with excitement making people hide while Valerie switched off the lights. It didn't take long for them to hear voices out of the door. It was Liam teasing Claire, as usual, something along the lines of Claire not being able to resist his charms. It made Valerie giggle. When they opened the door she switched on the light and everyone shouted "Happy Birthday!!", Liam's face was priceless and Mia made sure she took a picture of him. "Fuck! Guys this is amazing", he said walking in. They sang for him, then he cut the cake and gave it to everyone. People gave him presents then it was Mia's turn. She gave him a t-shirt that had a picture of them with 'best boss ever', written on the back. It was Valerie's turn she handed Liam the box and watched nervously. "No you didn't...No fucking way!", he said when he saw the box, his face was covered with shock making Mia move closer to see what Liam was looking at. "Is that a Dalstrong Knife roll?", Mia asked. Liam finished opening the box and removed the black leather bag from inside the box. "It's Dalstrong Vagabond Knife Roll the original set. It has a full and top-grain Brazilian leather roll bag. And you see these...these are the eighteen colossal knives from the Dalstrong gladiator series", he was so busy explaining and Valerie watched as other coworkers were in awe at what Liam was saying. She was lost, all she knew was that they were good-looking knives and the leather bag was so soft and professional. She bought it for him because he always complained about not having a bag to put his knives in so she thought why not get him a bag and matching knives. "Is that a good thing?", the suspense was killing her so she had to ask. Liam's attention went to Valerie and she saw something in his eyes that disappeared right away. "Valerie, thank you. This is the best gift I have ever received from anyone", he said pulling her in a hug. She releases a breath making him chuckle. He held on a little longer then pulled back.

"We should go to Joe's", Mia said when they were leaving the building. "Yes sure, I just need to tell Zain. Just a second", Valerie said stepping to the side. She called but there was no answer so she sent him a text. "Let's go show the birthday boy how to have fun", she said making them smile. It was a Saturday but at Joe's, it was as if it was a Friday night. So packed and alive. Valerie and her gang joined the live crowd and danced the night away. It was close to midnight when they left and since they were using Liam's car it was his job to take them home. They started with dropping Mia off then followed by Valerie. "I hope you had a good time Birthday boy", she said as she removed the seat belt ready to open the door. He held her hand as if trying to say something making Valerie turn to meet his gaze. "Valerie i-", he was about to say something when the door was opened from the outside by a serious-looking Zain. "Papa bear!", she said pulling him in a hug. He hugged her back but his eyes were still on Liam. "Liam", he said shortly. "Zain... Good night Valerie and thank you", Liam said as if in pain, he closed the door driving off before Valerie could answer. "What was that about?", she asked Zain while playing with his hair but he didn't reply. He just carried her into the apartment.

"What are you guys up to?", she asked the lovebirds who were watching TV cuddled on one another. "Movie night!", Yolanda said snuggling into Rayan. "And this guy was in it too?", she asked referring to Zain. The lovebirds nod their heads not moving their attention away from the screen. She ran her fingers on Zain's back and felt how tense his muscles were. She remembered the hurt in Liam's voice before he stormed out. He was in pain. She wondered if he really did have feelings for her. She was brought back to reality when Zain placed her on the ground and started removing her clothes. She remained quiet allowing him to do what he wanted. She was pulled into the bathroom where he washed her body silently. The way he was doing it was different though, it was as if he was looking for something. "Zain, I did not cheat on you", she said trying to get his attention but he did not say anything. He moved on to drying her body and putting her in her pajamas. They lay in bed quietly both facing the opposite direction. She knew he was mad at her but this time around she was too tired to think of how to deal with him. She knew deep down that to fix the problem she had to talk to Liam and make him open up, that way everyone would have peace of mind. She also needed Zain to trust her otherwise he would always have issues with any man that she became close with.