Page 155 of Mafia Billionaire's Surprise Baby

I snort. “Prolonged captivity. That’s what we’re calling it?”

“It’s kinder than another term.”

I shut my eyes. “Maybe we don’t need to work with kindness here, Liam.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer it, though?”

I open my eyes.

Liam shuffles and pulls his legs up closer to his chest. I can tell from the way he’s flexing that the muscles in his legs are thick.

Again, normally I’d be attracted to him.

But I just… I can’t.

There’s nothing when I look at him. Nothing that makes my blood beat or my heart thump or anything even remotely close to attraction.

It’s like looking at him through a wall. On one side, there’s this knowledge that he’s an attractive man, and I can see that. I can see what he offers, and anecdotally, I know that he’s a nice human being.

Or at least, one of the nicer ones in the world that I occupy.

But I don’t feel him. I don’t experience him in any way. All I can feel for Liam is a kind of halfway appreciation of him as a human being.

I definitely don’t… care for him like Sal.

My heart skips. I had a very different word in mind, but my brain deleted it right away.

“I’d make you my consort, love,” Liam adds.

“Don’t say that,” I say quickly.

He tilts his head. “What?”

“The L word.”

“Lo…”

“That one,” I cut him off.

Liam shrugs. “If it’s that important to you, I’ll do it,” he says.

I nod.

“I wouldn’t keep you away from the world that we live in, Gia. I know what an asset you are. I know what I have with you.”

He might.

But that’s not what I want to be seen as. Sal never saw me as an asset.

Sal saw me as… I’m not sure.

But around him, I feel worshipped.

Not tolerated.

A future with Sal though? It’s impossible. More so now than ever before. Liam isn’t going to give me up, especially if his vision for this is long term.

If I escape, I’m going to start an incident.