Stella

I know I shouldn’t have pressed Zack about Jimmy’s death. After all, Stella has no right to know anything about Jimmy, maybe Nora doesn’t either, but I still wanted to know. I mean, he was one of my very best friends at one point. After sending Zack an apology text, I leave the café and head back to the hotel. I’m ready to get my banking card and get out of this town and to a simpler life. Liam continues to blow up my phone until after I get back to the hotel. He was upset to find out I wasn’t at the airport with Vivian and I'm sure me hanging up on him didn’t make matters any better. I shouldn’t have answered the call, but I needed an excuse to get away from Zack's questioning.

Once back to the hotel, I continue to check my phone for a message from Zack but it never comes. I hate the feeling of disappointment I get every time I look at my phone and there’s no message from him. The loneliness begins to creep in and I almost decide to answer Liam on his 100th time calling, but instead, I decide to call it a night and go to sleep.

The next morning, I’m on my way out of the hotel when the hotel manager stops me. “Ms. Saint-Clair,” he calls. “You got mail delivered this morning.” He rushes over to where I stand and hands me an envelope.

“Thank you,” I tell him, giving him a small smile. He returns it before turning and returning behind the front desk. I look down at the envelope in my hand before flipping it over and pulling it open. My bank card has finally arrived. I feel myself grin as I place the card and its envelope in my purse and continue out of the hotel.

On the drive to the coffee shop, my phone won’t stop ringing. I pull into a parking space and after looking around for Zack's car, dig my phone out of my purse, knowing it was Liam. To my surprise, though, it was my parents. I furrow my brows and dial them back. I haven’t heard from them since the day I showed up at their house and demanded my inheritance.

“Hello?” A deep voice answers.

My brows furrow even further. “Liam?”

“Hey, baby,” Liam coos into the phone. “Guess I don’t need to tell you where I am.”

“What are you doing at my parent’s house?” I ask him.

“You weren’t answering my calls,” he tells me. “Figured I’d come to visit my in-laws, maybe they knew where you were.”

I sigh into the phone. “I told you I needed space.”

“And I gave you space. You’ve been gone for weeks, Stella. It’s time to come home,” he replies firmly.

I hang my head. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. “I’m on my way. I’ll meet you at my parents’ house,” I tell him.

“Okay,” he replies. “Stella?”

“Yeah?” I reply, feeling a tightness in my chest.

“I love you,” Liam tells me.

I don’t reply immediately. “I love you too.”

I sit in my car in the parking space for several minutes before I start the car back up. I wasn’t ready to leave California because I hadn’t got my answers from Zack yet, but after yesterday, I’m not sure if I’ll even see him again. The loneliness makes me want to run back to Liam, and it’s why I eventually pull out of the parking space and head back to Huntington Beach.

When I finally pull up to my parents’ white house, I sit there like I had weeks ago, attempting to gather the courage to face them – and now, Liam – again. I dig my engagement ring out of my purse and slide it back down on my finger before stepping out of the car.

The maid recognizes me this time, and there’s quiet chatter in the house. Liam and my parents’ sit in one of the rooms. My mother throws he head back in a laugh and the sight is nearly enough out me in shock. As soon as they notice me, however, my mother frowns.

“Stella! Why didn’t you tell my Liam was in town?” She asks.

I open my mouth to reply, but before I can, Liam stands up. “Forgive me, Mrs. Saint-Clair. Stella wasn’t away until I was already here, I wanted to surprise her and come to visit you, of course.”

“And what a pleasant surprise it was,” My mother grins as Liam approaches me.

He gently places his hand on the small of my back and kisses my cheek. “I missed you,” he tells me.

I smile. “I miss you, too. We should…we should get going,” I tell him. Liam being in town was enough, I didn’t want to spend the day with my parents, too.”

“Of course,” Liam grins.

“Oh, Liam, do you have to leave so soon?” My mother asks sadly.

Liam grins. “Unfortunately, so, we’re flying back to Manhattan tonight.”

“Tonight?” I ask, a little loudly. Everyone in the room ignores me.

My mother stands, and Liam hugs her. “Well, don’t stay away too long, do you understand me?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he tells her. “It was nice seeing you, Mr. Saint-Clair.”

“Always a pleasure, Liam,” my father tells him, shaking his hand. “We must get together soon for a golf game.”

“Of course, when we get back to Manhattan I’ll check my schedule and we will plan a trip sometime.”

My mother glares at me. “Goodbye, Nora.”

“It’s Stella,” I correct. “I’ll wait in the car, Liam.”

I’m halfway to the car when Liam catches up to me. “I don’t know why you’re so rude to your parents, Stel. They’re not that bad.”

“They’re toxic, Liam. You don’t know what it was like growing up with them,” I tell him, heading over to the driver’s side, Liam follows.

“Well, you turned out fine,” he tells me. “Plus, she just wanted to call you by your birth name. I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“The big deal is my name isn’t Nora because I’m not Nora anymore. Nora didn’t fit into this family, Liam. Nora isn’t the girl that you love or would have ever thought about loving. When I was shipped off to that boarding school, Nora died and Stella was born.”

Liam rolls his eyes. “Jesus, Stella. You’re so dramatic.”

I open my mouth to reply but Liam puts his hand out, asking for the keys. “Liam, I know these streets better than you. It won’t kill you to let me drive.”

“Well, aren’t you feeling feisty today,” Liam raises his brow, as he walks over to the passenger side of the car. “Have you eaten yet? I’m starving.”

I shake my head. “No, but I know a place, come on, get in.”

I drive us to a nice restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway. We get out of the car and Liam grabs my hand as we walk into the restaurant.

“Welcome to Duke’s,” the hostess smiles as we enter. “What’s the name for your reservation today?”

I shake my head. “Sorry, no reservation. My name is Nora Saint-Clair, I was hoping you could squeeze us in.”

The hostess’s eyes grow wide and she nods. “Of course, Ms. Saint-Clair. Will it just be two of you today?”

“Yes,” I grin.

She smiles back nervously. “Okay, right this way and thank you for joining us today at Duke’s!”

“Oh, so you don’t mind using that name when it benefits you, do you?” Liam mumbles in my ear as we follow the hostess.

I roll my eyes as we reach the table. Liam pulls back my chair for me and we sit down. As soon as we’re seated a man walks up to us. “Hello, and thank you for joining us today at Dukes for lunch. My name is Robert and I’ll be taking great care of you today, Ms. Saint-Clair. What can I start you off with to drink?”

“I’ll take a glass of your best wine, please,” I tell him. Though, what I could really use is a couple of shots of Jack Daniels.

“I’ll just have a water,” Liam tells him.

The waiter thanks us and walks off. I shoot Liam a look. “What, no beer or liquor today?”

Liam shakes his head. “Stella, I haven’t had a drink since you left. I told you, I’m serious about making changes if it means you’ll still have me.”

I stare at him for a moment before looking down at the ring that still rested on my finger. “Okay. I want to have the wedding here, though.”

“Here?” Liam asks, raising a brow. I nod. “Why?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know, but a beachside wedding sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

“Baby, if we’re going to have a beachside wedding we might as well go somewhere nicer than this? What about Turkey or Greece? They have a wonderful beach in Spain.”

I shake my head. “No. Here.”

Liam gives a look I know all too well, the “I wish you would do things my way” look. “Stella.”

“If…if we can get married here, I’ll set a date for next month.”

“Next month?” Liam asks, raising his brow.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot in the last couple of weeks,” I lie. “If you’re serious about being sober, I would love nothing more than to marry you.”

The waiter returns with our drinks. He asks if we’re ready to order and we tell him we need a few more minutes. After apologizing for making us feel rushed – he didn’t – he disappears.

“Okay,” he tells me, looking through his phone. “How about on the 4th of September?”

I nearly choke on my wine. “Liam, that’s three weeks away. I was thinking more like the end of the month. I haven’t even found a dress, we have to send out invitations and find a venue…”

“Stella, you always did stress about things. We will hire a planner that will do all of that for you. All you have to do is pick some colours and a dress,” he tells me. “Vivian can help you with all that when we get back to Manhattan.”

I shake my head. “I want to stay here,” I tell him. “Until after the wedding, so I can help plan and…stuff.” It’s the best lie I can come up with, so he will let me stay in California. Once he goes back to Manhattan, I can try to get the rest of the story from Zack before disappearing for good – or at least until Liam forgets about his bride-to-be and moves on.

Liam disapproves. “No. Stella, our life is in Manhattan. You’ve already been away for too long. You have responsibilities there.”

“I understand that,” I tell him. “Maybe I can do some of that work here, just for the next couple of weeks. Please.”

Liam still doesn’t look happy, but he gives in. “Fine,” he replies.

Robert walks up and nervously asks us if we’re ready to order and we are. I order a salad with grilled salmon – and another glass of wine – and Liam orders a steak. When Robert walks away Liam speaks up again.

“So, are there any department stores around here?” Liam asks.

“Uh…yeah, there are a few malls. Why?” I ask him, confused.

Liam shrugs. “If we’re going to be staying here for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to need more clothes than the ones on my back.”

“Wait, what?” I ask him.

“I didn’t bring any clothes because I wasn’t expecting to stay here but a few hours,” he tells me, except that’s not what I was referring too. I didn’t mean for him to stay here with me.

I open my mouth to protest but realize if I fight it, it may look suspicious. “Yeah,” I tell him, deciding to talk to him about it later, “I’ll take you after we eat.”

“Excellent,” he smiles.

Hours later, Liam has a handful of bags and we’re headed out of the mall when I decide to stop into one more. “I’m going to wait out here,” Liam tells me, sitting on the bench. I nod before walking into the store. A pair of jeans catch my eyes and I’m searching for my size when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I assume it’s Liam and I wait for him to ask me why I'm looking at jeans, but it’s not.

“Nora?” I hear softly behind me.

My heart stops and I turn around slowly. A beautiful blond girl is staring at me with wide eyes. I look around, searching for Matt or anyone else that she may be with, but Valary stands alone. “Um…” I start, trying to think of any way to get out of this. “It’s…Stella,” I force out.

Valary looks like she’s seen a ghost and doesn’t respond immediately. She opens her mouth to reply but before she can, we’re joined by another.

“Val! I told you to wait by the dressing rooms. I need a second opinion on this lingerie…Stella! Hey!”

“Gena,” I smile, glad there’s a buffer between Valary and myself. I shoot a sideways glance to her, hoping she’s forgotten about the last five seconds, but she’s still staring at me.

“What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since the party!”

This catches Valary’s attention. “She was at your house? With Zack?”

Gena gives Valary an odd look. “Yeah, I met her at the bar the day before. What’s wrong?”

Valary stares at Gena for a moment and then she looks at me. Her suspicion worries me, but I can’t think of anything to tell her to ease it. “I…I’ll be back,” she says before walking away. She looks over her shoulder at me as she turns the corner and disappears from view.

“Sorry about that,” Gena says, shaking her head.

“It’s fine,” I tell her, but it’s not. I have a feeling in my gut that Valary was on her way to call Zack. How many times does Zack have to be told that Nora is back before he realizes who I really am?

“Wow!” Gena exclaims. “Did you get engaged? That ring is beautiful!” Gena grabs my hand and admires my ring.

“Thank you,” I tell her.

“Is he here? Can I meet him? Oh, you should come over to dinner tonight!”

“What?” I ask, shaking my head. There is no way I can see Zack again, not after Valary recognizing me. “Oh, Gena, I wish I could, but my fiancé and I are going back to Manhattan tomorrow.”

Gena pouts. “Come on, Stella. It would be so much fun to double date with you and your man! Please come to dinner, I’ll have Zack make his spätzle!” I give her an odd look. “It’s a German dish,” she adds.

“Spätzle sounds wonderful,” I hear behind me and I suppress a groan. “Hi, I’m Liam. Stella’s fiancé.”

Gena grins and takes his hand as he extends it. “Gena,” she says. “So, you’ll come then?”

I know Liam never rejects an invitation because it comes off rude, so I know his answer before he says. “Of course,” he tells her. “Stella and I would love to join you tonight.”

“Yay!” She claps and hugs me. I force a smile as I pull away from her. “Okay, come by at seven, okay? I should go find Val. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Sounds great,” I tell her and she walks off.

I spend the next several hours dreading every second that ticks by. Did Valary call Zack and tell her what she saw? Would he believe her? Liam walks out of the bathroom wearing a light blue button-down shirt, with a black tie and khakis. I open my mouth to tell him Zack and Gena weren’t necessarily the type you needed to wear a tie around, but know it wouldn’t matter.

“Are you wearing that?” Liam asks, raising his brow.

I’m still wearing the clothes I dressed in this morning, a blouse and cropped slacks. “Yeah,” I tell him, though I’d much rather be wearing one of the Vengeance University shirts hiding in my closet.

Liam looks unimpressed. “You should wear a dress to dinner, Stella.”

“Liam,” I start but know it’s pointless. Liam is already digging through one of the bags.

He pulls out an emerald green pleated dress I bought today. “I wish you would have gotten this in red. You look better in red.”

I sigh, sticking my hand out for the dress. “I liked the green,” I tell him.

He hands it to me and I get off the bed and head to the bathroom. “Since when do you leave the room to change?”

I don’t answer him and instead, I shut the door behind me. I strip off my clothes and pull on the dress. It’s tight around my stomach but then subtly flares out. I double check my makeup and hair in the mirror before opening the bathroom door. Liam stands there, leaning on the frame.

“You know,” he blocks my way from exiting the bathroom, “You have yet kissed me since I got to California and now you’re refusing to change in front of me.”

“We kissed at my parents’ house,” I tell him.

“No, I kissed your cheek.”

I purse my lips together. “We’re going to be late, Liam.”

“Okay,” he says, moving out of my way.

I head into the room and slip on a pair of black heels and grab my clutch. When I head to the front door, however, Liam grabs my waist and pushes me gently into the wall. His hand caresses my face and before I can move, he kisses me. I kiss him back swiftly before pushing him away.

“Liam, it’s rude to be late,” I say firmly, and before he can reply, I head out of the room and towards the elevator, Liam following me silently.



I take a deep breath as we pull into Zacks driveway. The walkway is lit up, and a couple of lights are lit in the house. When I came here for the party, there was so much going on that I didn’t get to appreciate the beauty of the house, but it really was breathtaking.

“What did you say this guy does again?” Liam asks as we get out of the car.

I shake my head. “I didn’t but he’s in the…music industry,” I tell him.

“Hmm,” Liam grabs my hand as we walk up to the house.

Gena answers the door seconds after I ring the doorbell, wearing a black dress. “Hey, guys! Come in!”

Liam thanks her and leads me into the doorway. “You have a beautiful home, Gena.”

“Thank you,” she beams. “Zack is upstairs getting dressed. There’s actually a change in plans, Zack made reservations at my favourite restaurant – on us, of course!”

“Oh, no, we would never ask you for you to pay for our meal, Gena!” Liam tells her.

Gena opens her mouth to reply, but before she can Zack starts walking down the stairs. “Babe, have you seen my red bowtie?”

The sight of Zack makes my heart skip a beat. He’s wearing a black button-down shirt and is in the process of rolling up his sleeves, revealing his colourful tattoos, as he makes his way downstairs.

“Sorry, babe, I sent it off to the dry cleaners this morning with a few other things,” Gena says.

“That’s alright,” he says, noticing Liam and myself standing next to Gena. “Hey,” he says to me, then immediately turns his attention to Liam. “Hey, dude. I’m Zack.”

“Liam,” Liam replies, shaking Zack's hand.

“We should get going,” Gena says, grabbing her purse.

I peel my eyes away from Zack and nod. “Of course, Liam and I will follow behind you.”

“Nonsense!” Gena exclaims, linking her arm with mine. “You’ll ride with us. I’ll sit in the back with you and the boys can get acquainted up front.”


Gena and Zack walk to the driver’s side of Zack's car and Liam and I walk to the passenger side. “Not exactly the type of guy I thought he would be,” Liam mumbles as he opens the door for me.

“Don’t be so judgy,” I tell him before getting in the car. Liam shuts the door and then gets in the front seat.

As Zack starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, an old Metallica song Zack and I used to listen to all the time comes on the radio. “So, uh, what kind of music do you like, Liam?” Zack asks.

“Oh,” Liam replies, “I don’t listen to music.”

I can’t see Zack's facial expression, but I know it’s one that reads ‘what the fuck’. He turns down the volume and continues down the street.

“God, Stella, I just can’t get over how beautiful this ring is. Zack, look at this ring, isn’t it beautiful?”

“I’m kind of driving right now, babe,” Zack answers, looking at us through the rearview mirror.

“Men never appreciate the beauty of a diamond, anyway,” Gena smirks. “You did a great job though, Liam. Did you choose it by yourself or did you have help?”

“Thank you,” Liam replies. “Stella’s best friend, Vivian helped me pick it out.”

Gena opens her mouth to reply, but before she can, Zack interrupts her. “Hey, babe, can you call Mastro’s and confirm our reservation?”

“Did you do that earlier?” she asks.

“Yes,” Zack answers. “But it never hurts to call again.”

Gena frowns, but when I notice, she smiles and mouths “Men” before rolling her eyes. I giggle. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

Notes

Title credit: Three Days Grace "Right Left Wrong"