Saving Liam

Chapter 39: Fragile Threads

Back in London, life moved forward with deceptive normalcy. One Direction was buzzing with excitement—small shows, interviews, the beginnings of something huge. Liam thrived in the spotlight, smiling brighter than she’d ever seen, and Angelica was proud… but her heart felt heavier with each passing day.

Every time Liam held her hand or sent her a shy smile across the room, she wanted to tell him everything: about Amazonie’s premature birth, about the diary full of shifts, about her fear that the universe itself was bending under the weight of her choices.

But she couldn’t. If Liam knew, if any of them knew, the ripple could double. Secrets are safer than the truth, she reminded herself, even as it tore her apart.

At rehearsals, she watched the boys clown around. Harry tossed grapes at Niall, Louis teased Zayn into a rare laugh, and Liam—sweet Liam—kept them grounded. They thought Angelica was just “the mysterious Italian girl who cheered Liam on,” maybe his girlfriend, maybe his best friend. They didn’t know she was fighting to keep all their lives from collapsing into chaos.

Late one night, she sat at her desk in Monica’s London townhouse, her notebook open. She drew a spiderweb, each thread labeled: Liam. Deva. Leonie. Monica. Amazonie. Vincent. One Direction. Then she stared at the blank center.

If I tug the wrong thread, she thought, does the whole web fall apart?

Her mind echoed with Simon Cowell’s words from years before: Come back in two years. You’ll be a star.

Liam’s fate was secure—for now. But Angelica knew fate wasn’t the only thing at stake anymore. Amazonie’s sudden existence proved it. She was no longer just saving Liam. She was preserving reality itself.

And that terrified her.

She closed her notebook and whispered into the quiet, “I won’t let the timeline collapse. Not for him. Not for any of us.”

Her vow settled into the silence like a prayer. But outside, the city hummed, and somewhere in the distance, the ripple stirred again.