Chapter 524: Chapter 524 Unbelievable Stupidity III
The phone rang.
Dickson stood there with the device pressed against his ear while Liam and Lilith watched him in complete silence.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
Nobody answered.
Dickson frowned and pulled the phone away to look at the screen before bringing it back to his ear.
"They’re probably asleep," he muttered.
Liam said nothing.
Lilith said nothing.
Dickson called again.
The ringing continued before eventually ending on its own.
He immediately dialed the second girl’s number.
No answer.
He switched back to the first.
Still nothing.
By the third minute, the confidence that had been holding his expression together had started cracking apart.
He wasn’t talking anymore. He wasn’t making excuses. He was simply standing there calling the same two numbers repeatedly while the atmosphere in the penthouse grew stranger by the second.
Meanwhile, Liam had gone to leaning comfortably against the kitchen counter with his arms folded across his chest.
The amused smile on his face hadn’t disappeared once.
Lilith stood nearby, occasionally glancing at Dickson before looking away as if she physically couldn’t handle the amount of stupidity standing before her.
At some point Vanessa had wandered into the penthouse after hearing voices.
She had arrived just in time to witness Dickson repeatedly calling women who had apparently discovered pregnancy within three days.
Vanessa blinked.
Then she looked at Liam.
Then at Lilith.
Then at Dickson.
"...Is this really happening?" she asked.
Liam nodded immediately.
"It is."
Vanessa stared at Dickson.
"I know you’re powerful and everything..."
Dickson slowly turned toward her.
"...but what exactly goes on in your head sometimes?"
Dickson looked offended.
"They sounded convincing!"
Lilith pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You believed they were pregnant after three days."
"They were crying!"
"You gave them money."
"They looked scared!"
"You brought them into another country."
"They said they were carrying my children!"
Vanessa looked genuinely fascinated.
"You know," she said thoughtfully, "I always wondered how natural selection worked."
Dickson pointed at her.
"Not you too."
Nobody felt bad for him.
Not even a little.
After another failed attempt at calling, Dickson finally lowered the phone and rubbed his face.
His embarrassment was slowly transforming into anxiety.
Then suddenly his eyes lit up.
"Wait."
He looked down at the screen.
"I have the receptionist’s number."
Liam’s smile widened slightly.
"Of course you do."
Dickson ignored him and quickly dialed.
The call connected almost immediately.
"Hello?" a professional female voice answered.
Dickson straightened up.
"Hi, do you remember me?"
There was a brief pause.
"I brought two ladies there this evening."
"Ohhhh," the receptionist said from the other side.
Dickson immediately relaxed.
"You remember?"
"Yes, sir."
A hopeful smile began appearing on his face.
Then the receptionist continued.
"The two ladies left already."
Dickson blinked.
"...Huh?"
"Yes, sir."
Her tone remained polite.
"They checked out."
The hopeful smile disappeared.
"G-Gone?"
"Yes."
Dickson tightened his grip on the phone.
"They packed out and left earlier."
The entire penthouse became silent.
Liam slowly closed his eyes.
Vanessa turned her head away.
Lilith stared at the floor.
Dickson looked like someone had unplugged his brain.
"...Sir?" the receptionist asked after not receiving a response. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"
Dickson opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
His shoulders dropped.
The fight left him completely.
"No," he finally replied quietly. "That will be all."
The call ended.
For a few moments, nobody spoke.
Dickson slowly lowered the phone and stared blankly ahead.
Then...
He turned.
His eyes met Liam’s.
"You were right," he said.
"I got scammed."
The smile that spread across Liam’s face was absolutely shameless.
There wasn’t an ounce of sympathy in it.
If anything, he looked happier than he had all evening.
He was basking in Dickson’s suffering.
Liam pushed himself off the counter and walked over before placing both hands on Dickson’s shoulders.
"You know what this means?"
Dickson looked defeated.
"What?"
"You are officially the dumbest person I know."
Dickson looked like he was one insult away from crying.
Meanwhile Lilith suddenly stepped forward.
"Cuzz."
Dickson looked at her.
"Hm?"
"Come help me downstairs. I need your help with something."
Dickson’s eyes widened immediately.
"Sure."
He answered so fast that Liam almost laughed.
"What is it?"
Lilith smiled sweetly.
"I’ll tell you downstairs."
Dickson nodded repeatedly.
He didn’t even care what she needed.
At this point, escaping Liam’s sight sounded like heaven.
The embarrassment alone was enough to kill him.
Without another word, he hurried behind Lilith as though following his salvation.
Liam stared at the two of them with a dumbfounded expression.
He watched Dickson walk past him.
Liam leaned slightly toward him and whispered softly.
"You are unbelievably stupid."
Dickson frowned.
"Huh?"
But Liam had already straightened up.
Dickson didn’t understand.
He didn’t even try to.
He simply followed Lilith toward the elevator.
The elevator doors opened.
Lilith stepped inside.
Dickson followed behind her.
The doors slowly began closing.
Dickson stood there completely unaware.
Meanwhile, Lilith’s sweet smile hadn’t changed once.
Click.
The elevator doors shut.
Silence settled over the penthouse.
Liam stared at the closed elevator for several seconds before finally turning toward Vanessa, who had moved to stand beside him.
"You do know Lilith is going to go whoop his ass, right?" Liam asked.
"And the idiot doesn’t even know."
Vanessa nodded immediately.
"Definitely."
The two of them looked toward the elevator again.
Neither made any move to help.
Several floors below, an innocent fool was probably standing beside his cousin wondering what kind of help she needed.
Liam folded his arms and shook his head.
"I almost admire it."
Vanessa tilted her head.
"Admire what?"
"The confidence," Liam replied.
"He got scammed, lost money, got used as an international taxi service and is currently walking toward his execution with absolutely no survival instincts."
Vanessa covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing.
"You think he’ll survive?"
Liam thought about it seriously.
Then he nodded.
"Probably."
He paused.
"But he’s definitely coming back with bruises."
Vanessa finally burst out laughing.
And somewhere beneath them, inside a descending elevator, Dickson suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"...Cuzz?"
Lilith slowly turned her head toward him.
"Yes?"
Dickson scratched his cheek.
"...Nothing."
For some reason...
He had a very bad feeling about this "help" she needed.
——
Liam stared at the elevator doors for another few seconds before finally shaking his head.
Vanessa chuckled softly beside him. "You are enjoying it."
Liam turned his head toward her, the corner of his lips lifting into a grin.
"I absolutely am."
Vanessa rolled her eyes at him.
"You really are a terrible best friend sometimes."
"Excuse me," Liam said, placing a hand dramatically over his chest. "I gave him advice. He ignored it."
"You laughed at him."
"I laughed while giving advice."
Vanessa couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. Even after being apart for days, watching Liam casually bully Dickson somehow made everything feel normal again.
The silence that followed wasn’t awkward.
The penthouse suddenly felt much quieter after Lilith and Dickson left. The city lights beyond the glass windows illuminated the room in soft shades of gold and white, painting reflections against the polished floor.
Liam suddenly turned around fully to face Vanessa.
She had changed since he last saw her.
Not physically.
Vanessa was still beautiful in that effortlessly striking way she always had been. Her blonde ponytail framed her face neatly, her blue eyes remained sharp and expressive, and even dressed casually she carried herself with a confidence most people couldn’t imitate.
But standing there alone with him now, there was something else in those eyes.
Something softer.
Something he hadn’t paid enough attention to.
Without hesitation, Liam spread his arms wide.
"Come here."
Vanessa blinked.
She looked at him.
Then at his open arms.
Then back at him again.
"...That’s it?" she asked.
"What?"
"That’s your greeting?"
Liam grinned.
"I think it’s a pretty good greeting."
Vanessa didn’t open her arms.
She simply stood there looking at him.
Liam ignored that detail completely.
He stepped forward anyway.
The next thing Vanessa knew, Liam’s arms had wrapped around her tightly.
"Hey!"
She barely got the word out before her feet left the floor.
"Liam!"
He lifted her as though she weighed absolutely nothing.
Vanessa instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders to steady herself.
"You’ve gotten stronger," she muttered.
Liam smiled.
"You noticed?"
"I noticed because I’m floating."
Despite herself, Vanessa’s lips twitched upward.
Liam finally lowered her back down slowly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
He looked down at her face.
She looked back at him.
Then Liam leaned forward and kissed her softly.
It wasn’t rushed.
It wasn’t hungry.
It was brief.
Gentle.
A simple kiss that carried the affection he’d neglected to show properly these past few days.
When he pulled back, his voice softened.
"How have you been?"
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Liam blinked.
"...Vanessa?"
No response.
She wasn’t smiling anymore.
The softness from moments ago disappeared completely.
Instead, she simply stared at him.
Liam’s confidence immediately dropped.
"Eh?"
Still nothing.
His grin faded.
"...Did I do something wrong?"
Vanessa slowly raised her head.
The look she gave him made Liam instinctively straighten up.
"Did you do something wrong?" she repeated.
Liam swallowed.
"...Maybe?"
"You were away for days."
Liam opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Vanessa continued.
"Did you call me?"
Silence.
"Did you ask how I was doing?"
Silence.
"Did you ask how my day went?"
Silence.
Liam scratched the back of his head.
"...No."
Vanessa folded her arms.
"You vanished."
"I..."
"You fought monsters."
"...Yeah."
"You almost died."
"...Probably."
"And somehow," Vanessa said, narrowing her eyes at him, "you couldn’t spend one minute asking whether I was okay."
Liam didn’t have a response.
Because she wasn’t wrong.
He’d been so caught up in everything happening around him that he’d simply assumed everyone would understand.
But standing here now, looking at Vanessa’s expression, he realized how unfair that assumption had been.
He stepped closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Then he lifted a hand and gently placed it against her cheek.
"I’m sorry."
Vanessa’s eyes flickered.
"I mean it," Liam said quietly.
"I wasn’t ignoring you because I didn’t care. I just... got caught up in everything."
He sighed.
"It won’t happen again."
His thumb brushed lightly against her skin.
"I promise."
Vanessa stared at him for several long seconds.
Then...
She rolled her eyes.
"You better not."
A small smile finally appeared.
"I missed you crazily."
Liam smiled immediately.
"I missed you too."
Before he could say anything else, Vanessa suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt.
Then she pulled him down.
Liam’s eyes widened.
The kiss caught him completely off guard.
It wasn’t soft like his.
It was immediate.
Passionate.
Driven by days of bottled-up emotions that Vanessa had been carrying quietly.
The frustration.
The worry.
The loneliness.
The relief of finally seeing him standing safely in front of her.
All of it came pouring out at once.
Liam froze for half a second before relaxing into it.
His hands instinctively settled around her waist, pulling her a little closer.
He could feel the tension slowly leaving her.
When they finally separated, Liam looked genuinely surprised.
Vanessa stared back at him before suddenly reaching down and removing his hands from her waist.
Liam blinked.
"...I thought you forgave me?"
Vanessa looked at him.
Then at his hands.
Then back at him again.
The seriousness lasted exactly one second before amusement appeared in her eyes.
Without a word, she guided one of his hands to her butt before looking up at him with a small smile.
"I am dying for your touch."
