The raise of Maureen Smith and her Good Luck System
Chapter 145: defending Liam from his family

Chapter 145: defending Liam from his family

Seeing him buying a bunch of drinks and drinking beer alone in the classroom, Maureen said with some confusion,

"Do you not want to hang out with Liam’s mother? If you don’t, why don’t you just refuse?"

Demon shot her a glance, "You think I wanted to do this?"

On this night, perhaps due to his despair, Demon ended up spilling his guts after having a bit too much to drink.

What Maureen heard was his side of the story.

Strangely enough, he bore an uncanny resemblance to the departed Liam’s elder brother when he was eighteen.

For all these years, Liam’s mother had been using him as a way to live in her dream.

From Demon’s few indirect words, Maureen caught a glimpse of the thirteen-year-old Liam.

She saw how Liam had to fight his way out of a literal dogpile, bruised all over, being shoved back and forth beyond the caution tape, and questioned about where his brother and father were.

She also saw how powerlessly he watched his own mother take another man as a replacement for the departed, completely abandoning him.

She saw how, under pouring rain, before he could even break free from his traumatic experience, Liam was taken to the police station for a statement, repeatedly recounting his nightmare under the harsh lights. ...

Flashbacks of cold-tinted, oppressive images flew by like a carousel.

Demon’s words were only simple narrations, void of any descriptive vocabulary.

Maureen passed a sleepless night.

The part of her heart she kept for Liam seemed to hum softly.

Throughout the night, every single detail in relation to Liam flooded her mind from start to finish, every image as vivid as daylight—the youthful laughter, the fitful fury under the sky.

She thought she knew Liam well, but there were many things she didn’t know.

Now, after careful thought, many things have become clear.

Why, when he sees a dog, does he seem to transform, his eyes plummeting into a nightmare in an instant?

Why does he always have trouble falling asleep?

Why does he often bear injuries on his body?

Maureen tosses and turns, recalling the wound on his neck from that time, a glass cut, a few centimeters long.

Although tiny and shallow, how much pain must there have been at the moment it was cut open?

The scar on his body has already healed, but at this moment, it is torn out by its roots in Maureen’s heart.

Maureen’s heart hurts deeply. Maureen cannot alleviate her distress.

That night, Maureen spent most of the night crying till she was a mess.

She missed a video call from Liam, she couldn’t pick it up in her current state, for fear that she would immediately burst into tears upon answering, and that Liam would likely rush over within the hour.

She only managed to send back a blurred message through her teary eyes, saying she had gone to sleep and will see him at school tomorrow.

The saddest thing is, all these wounds have passed, and the one standing in front of her now is eighteen-year-old Liam, who, relying on his self-healing ability, has already recovered from his wounds.

However, Liam, who struggled to escape on that winter night when he was thirteen, can no longer be comforted by anyone.

Maureen cannot travel back in time, cannot hold Liam’s hand at that time. Maureen’s heart aches messily.

She kept her eyes open, staring at the ceiling as the light outside gradually brightened.

All she wanted was to see Liam as early as possible.

=========

The next day was the weekend.

As expected, Maureen’s eyes were swollen like walnuts.

She applied cold water for a long time to no avail so she had no choice but to head back on the coach.

Liam was tall and stood out in the cold wind. She spotted him waiting for her at the school gate right away.

As soon as he saw her get off, Liam took her luggage and noticed something was different about her.

"Have you been crying?"

Liam asked keenly, glancing subconsciously at Richard who was not far away.

Richard got off the bus with his luggage, looking back at him with a cold face.

At the slight hint, Liam was set off, his eyebrows rising immediately.

Maureen quickly pulled him aside and explained, "I didn’t cry.

It’s just that I ate hotpot yesterday and it was too spicy.

It made my tears fall and I’m not very good at handling that.

When I woke up this morning, my eyes were swollen."

Liam was skeptical, but he knew people in the training camp and had not heard about anyone bullying Maureen like last time.

Could it really have been the tears caused by eating hotpot? Maureen said, "Let’s not talk about this.

Weren’t you saying that we are going to eat at your grandfather’s old house today?"

A few days ago, during one of their video calls, they talked about how Liam’s grandfather had come over and had a quarrel with Liam, leaving on bad terms.

It was only after the incident that Liam realized his grandfather meant no harm to Maureen.

Liam, although stubborn, was willing to admit his mistake, so he apologized to his grandfather.

His grandfather’s anger finally subsided and he invited them both to have a meal.

So, Maureen followed Liam there.

Mr. Boris is driving.

Liam realized on the way that something was off about Maureen today: "You’re a bit weird today—"

"What’s wrong?"

Liam glanced at Maureen who was constantly on him, hands always ready to hold him, eyes always on his face, and an entire person always clinging to him.

His handsome face turned a bit red: "You’re unusually clingy."

Maureen: "..." Maureen didn’t want to say anything at the moment; she just continued to bury her head into his chest and quietly embrace him.

The Williams mansion is big, almost like the kind of courtyard Maureen only saw on TV.

It is comparable to some old sites of a traditional palace .

Normally, Maureen would be in the mood to appreciate it.

However, today she just wanted to go back and curl up in the warm quilt and sleep with Liam.

It was too cold, the breath exhaled turned into frost.

Maureen was led by Liam into his grandpa’s study.

After sitting for a while, the chef prepared the meals, and the three of them went to eat.

Today was rather rare as Liam stayed calm and peaceful with his grandpa, possibly due to Maureen’s presence.

He even played a few sets of chess.

However, they hadn’t eaten a few bites when an unexpected guest arrived.

The beautiful woman Maureen saw outside the training camp last time, who was Liam’s mother, who arrived.

As soon as Liam’s mother arrived, the atmosphere visibly turned stiff.

grandpa and Liam were both like touchy explosives initially, and Maureen was in between trying to mediate.

Now the air was even more tense.

The old man, seemingly not fond of Liam’s mother, said with an icy expression, "What are you doing here for no reason?"

Liam’s mother smirked and glanced at Maureen.

"I came to see what the girl Liam’s mother is dating looks like.

I remember that his brother didn’t have a girlfriend before his death, yet he has one."

Liam’s face turned grim.

"Do you have to stir things up at this time?" "I came to visit you, and you guys see that as stirring things up?

Do you all wish I were dead?" Liam’s mother said in disbelief.

She then turned and looked at Maureen with an abnormal tone, "You, what’s your name?" Liam fixed his gaze on her, the tension apparent in his demeanor.

On usual days, he could tolerate her ridicule in front of him, but he would never allow her to drag Maureen into it.

He coldly dropped his bowl and Spoon onto the table, a marked chill washed over his handsome face.

His face was shrouded in hostility and fury unlike his usual self, his eyes locked onto his mother.

"What do you want to do?" Maureen, subconsciously, glanced at Liam.

Liam extended a hand and tightly held hers beneath the table.

He didn’t look at her, but his meaning was clear - Maureen, don’t be afraid.

Their fingers tightly intertwined.

Maureen’s heart felt as if it had been pinched, yet also cradled with extreme delicacy, it made her feel unbearably sore.

At that moment, she understood why Liam never mentioned his family.

It was indeed a quagmire.

He was afraid of being rejected by her.

Or rather, he was afraid that she would blame and abandon him once she knew the truth. "What else can I think of? Didn’t I say it?

I came to see your girlfriend." His mother gritted her teeth in anger at Liam’s protective gestures towards the girl.

She was stuck in the past; why could Liam and the old man move forward?

Why? Liam said nothing, took Maureen’s hand, and prepared to leave, saying to the old man,

"We’re leaving." His mother was immediately provoked and burst into anger: "You, stop---"

However, before Maureen could hear the rest, Liam suddenly pulled up the hood of her down jacket.

Liam raised the hood and put it on her head.

In the cold wind, he covered her ears with his warm hands.

He looked into her eyes, not wanting her to hear a word.

He was even more afraid of her hearing those malicious slanders.

He covered Maureen’s ears, waited for his mother to finish venting, and then, with a stern face, pulled Maureen away quickly.

Liam led Maureen towards the courtyard gate, but Maureen suddenly stopped, pushing away his hand that was holding hers.

At this moment, Liam felt like his breath was about to stop.

He looked at Maureen in disbelief, feeling as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.

He almost thought that Maureen was creating a barrier with him because of his mother’s words.

But in the next second, he saw Maureen turn around.

Maureen stared at Liam’s mother, and Liam’s mother was perplexed by his behavior, frowning in response.

Maureen said with a pause between every word, "Aunt, this is moral kidnapping."

Liam’s mother angrily retorted, "Who are you—" "It’s because he is burdened with too many emotional obligations, that’s why Liam doesn’t have a sense of belonging in this world.

You don’t love him anymore, yet, he hasn’t stopped loving you.

That’s why even when you became ill, he didn’t forcefully send you to the sanatorium; instead, he allowed you to vent your emotions on him for five years."

The old man, Liam’s mother along with Attorney Daniel nearby, looked at Maureen in shock.

"But did you forget..."

Maureen’s eyes gradually turned red; tears fell one after the other.

She felt wronged for Liam and wanted to cry out.

But she held back. She was determined to finish what she wanted to say.

"Have you forgotten that even if he could bear it, he is just a child?

When he is under tremendous pressure that you can’t see, when he has sleepless nights, did any of you notice?

You thought he was heartless and cruel, and you relentlessly wanted to force him to reminisce the past with you, to wallow in sorrow.

But how do you know he’s not sad?"

"Liam is this type of person, you don’t love him anymore, but he has never despised you. He just doesn’t love himself."

Deathly silence. The chilly air turned Maureen’s tears into ice.

Perhaps it was Maureen’s tears that shocked them, or maybe it was because of her words, but complex expressions appeared on both Liam’s mother and his grandfather’s faces.

"If you don’t want him, I do."

Maureen, pulling Liam, headed out.

She rarely felt this much sorrow.

After her grandmother’s death, the day she knelt in the ancestral hall, she thought that was the last time she’d ever felt so crushed.

Yet now she felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

Part of her regretted not embracing Liam sooner, and rushing towards him in public.

At the same time, she was relieved that it wasn’t too late.

For several minutes, Liam was unresponsive.

He froze, staring blankly at the figure of Maureen as she guided him forward.

His mind was blank, heart racing.

He knew ’Little Mask’ was crying, for she kept raising her hand to wipe away tears.

He had rarely seen Maureen cry; once when she was drunk and again now.

Liam swallowed, feeling a warm sensation envelop his heart. Most times, this place, this home, for Liam represented chaotic darkness.

He didn’t know what the next second would bring, or if he could find sleep when night fell.

Then he met ’Little Mask’.

She held onto him, saved him, and helped bring light into his life. She was the only one who stood by him.

Sometimes, she didn’t even need to do anything; her mere presence was enough to warm him.

They continued on, leaving the courtyard. Maureen wiped away another teardrop.

She didn’t want to cry, but the tears were overwhelming, seeping down to her neck and causing her to shiver.

"So that’s why you were crying," Liam’s hoarse voice came from behind.

"Come here," Liam turned her towards him, his eyes red, using his thumb to wipe away her tears.

"Your eyes are red," Maureen observed.

Liam smirked, his handsome face defiant and unbothered, denying it as ever,

"It’s the cold, let’s get in the car and go home."

Maureen managed a weak smile, but a moment later, she broke down crying again in his arms.

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