I deftly sidestepped his touch. “Let’s go to the bedroom. I have a few questions for you.”
I asked our nanny, Julia, to watch Mia and led the way upstairs. Even if I set aside my suspicions about Liam and the teacher, why on earth had he told the school our daughter came from a single-parent family?
What was he planning? Some sordid plot to kill his wife for the insurance money, like in the movies? I could handle a fight head-on, but this kind of scheming… it was just revolting.
Liam didn't seem to register my mood. The moment the bedroom door clicked shut, he wrapped his arms around me from behind, his lips pressing against my neck. “Honey, it’s been too long. Did you miss me?”
I forced a brittle smile. Judging by his reaction, at least nothing had happened with Sophia in those two hours.
“Stop it. I need to ask you something. Why doesn’t Mia recognize me? What exactly has been going on for the past two months?”
A flicker of confusion crossed Liam’s face as he replayed our daughter’s behavior. “She probably just feels a bit distant since she hasn’t seen you. Give it a few days, she’ll be fine.”
I stared at him. “Is that really it? Then why does everything in this house feel so wrong? Are you hiding something from me?”
Liam’s arms tightened around me. “You just got back, honey. You’re exhausted. Don’t overthink things. You need to rest.”
I pushed his hands away. “No. I need to get to the bottom of this. If you won’t tell me, I’ll call the preschool owner myself.”
I grabbed my phone to make the call. Liam lunged, snatching it from my hand. “No, don’t call!” he yelped, a flash of pure panic in his eyes.
I didn’t press him. My cold silence was enough to make him spill the parts he was willing to share.
“When I was enrolling Mia, I had to fill out a questionnaire. Considering our family, I thought it was better to be low-key, so I just put down that she was from a single-parent home.”
“If you want to know what’s going on with Mia, let me handle it. Just talk to her teacher directly. There’s no need to bother the owner.”
Though I was still swimming in doubt, his explanation was plausible. From the day Mia was born, I had planned her entire life, from preschool to college.
I had invested a fortune to acquire this international preschool, even giving it its name. I’d secured a coveted spot for her, but because she was so young, I didn’t want her to be singled out or exploited. So, I’d never publicly revealed my ownership.
Liam and I both had our own investment portfolios to manage. This preschool had seemed like such a minor detail that it never even occurred to me to mention it to him.
Eventually, I’d almost forgotten about it myself.
