After they returned to the hotel, Liam turned to Noah, his frustration evident. "I need to calm down and collect my thoughts about the press conference," he said, his voice strained.

Noah nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Just don't get lost—in your head or in London."

Liam offered a brief smile before stepping away, leaving the hotel room. He needed the time to walk, to clear his mind and try to make sense of the overwhelming chaos that had followed the press conference.

He had barely spoken since leaving the venue. Noah, ever the calming presence, had asked a few times if he was okaon the cab ride back to the hotel, but Liam had waved him off with a half-hearted smile. He wasn't okay. Not by a long shot.

As he walked, Liam tried to focus on the steady rise and fall of his breathing, letting his thoughts drift away from the weight of the press conference. But it wasn't easy. Every step felt heavy, his thoughts circling back to what he had just experienced, what had been said in that sterile conference room—the questions, the insinuations, the way he had tried to deflect but knew deep down it was never going to be enough. The way the reporter had pressed, again and again, about the relationship between him and Noah. The uncomfortable, unspoken implications that had hung in the air.

It wasn't just the conference. It was everything—his life being pulled in directions he couldn't control. He had always prided himself on maintaining a polished, perfect image. Everything in his life had been about that image. His family had made sure of it.

A sharp flash of memory struck him—his father's voice booming in his ear, telling him to never let anyone see weakness, never let anyone see the cracks in the façade they had worked so hard to build. His mother's constant need for everything to be pristine, to present the perfect son to the world. There was no room for error, no room for deviation. And now this...

He stopped at a flight of steps in front of a cathedral and sat down heavily, resting his elbows on his knees, his head hanging as he stared at all the people passing by—all the people probably whispering to one another about him. The weight of his family's expectations, the pressure to maintain a perfect image, was suffocating. All of it, from his upbringing to the way they saw him now, felt like it was crashing down on him.

The rumors had already started to swirl in London. He'd overheard whispers in the office, seen the gossip spreading like wildfire back in New York. People were starting to piece together things that weren't even there. But now, his relationship with Noah—whatever it was—was becoming fodder for the London media, and he hated it.

They didn't know. They didn't understand. The truth was far more complicated, but it wasn't something Liam could share with anyone. Not his parents. Not the press. Not even Noah, who had become a source of both comfort and confusion.

The words his father had said years ago echoed in his mind: People will always see you through the lens of their own expectations. Don't give them anything to talk about. Control the narrative.

But the more he tried to focus on maintaining control, the more everything seemed to unravel. The rumors. The questions. The way people were already reading into his relationship with Noah.

"Why does it have to be like this?" he muttered aloud, his voice barely more than a whisper, carried away by the night air. "Why does it have to be so complicated?"

A few minutes passed in silence before he stood and walked around the cathedral, just the sound of his boots tapping on the concrete. He turned a corner, walking aimlessly, seeking nothing in particular but distance from his thoughts.

Liam thought about Noah.

Noah was the complete opposite of him in many ways—easygoing, open, unbothered by what people thought. Noah didn't need to control everything, and it frustrated Liam to no end. Maybe because it seemed so effortless for him, so free.

And yet, somehow, Noah had always respected Liam's boundaries, even when he could tell Liam was struggling. Maybe that was what hurt the most: that Noah had never expected more from him, but Liam was always expected to be perfect. Always expected to be the one who had it all together, who kept everything in line.

It was a constant balancing act, and now it felt like the ropes were fraying. The press conference had been a stark reminder of just how much everyone was watching, waiting for him to slip up.

He had tried to control everything. His image. His actions. His relationships. But now it was slipping away from him, piece by piece.

Liam's phone buzzed again. This time, it was Noah's name. He hesitated for a moment, then answered.

"Hey," Noah's voice came through, calm and steady as always. "You okay? You haven't said much since the conference."

Liam leaned back against the seat, letting out a heavy breath. "Yeah, I'm fine," he lied. "Just...thinking."

Noah paused. "About the conference?"

Liam stared out of the windshield at the darkened streets, the quiet hum of the car engine filling the silence. "I'm just tired of feeling like I can't control anything," he muttered, his voice quiet. "I can't stop this. These rumors... My family... They saw it, Noah. They saw the press conference. They're going to think the worst. They're going to start asking questions I can't answer. I can't let this—this chaos—get out of hand."

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. Then Noah spoke, his voice softer now. "I know it's a lot. But maybe you don't have to control everything. Maybe...you can just let things unfold."

Liam closed his eyes for a moment, his jaw tightening. "Let things unfold?" he repeated bitterly. "You don't understand. It's not like that for me. For me, it's always been about control. The right image. The right decisions. I can't let it slip."

Noah's voice was quieter now. "But maybe you can't control everything. Maybe that's okay."

Liam gripped the phone tighter, frustrated. "I don't think you understand," he said, his voice sharp. "This isn't just about me. It's about everything I've worked for. It's about what my family expects, what they'll think of me. It's everything, Noah."

"I get it, Liam," Noah said quietly, but there was a sadness to his words. "But sometimes, what you want isn't the same as what you need."

Liam felt a sting in his chest, a feeling he couldn't place, but he shook it off quickly. He couldn't let himself think about that right now.

"Anyway," he said quickly, trying to shift the focus. "I need to deal with this. I have to make sure the narrative doesn't get out of hand."

Noah's sigh was heavy on the other end. "Just be careful, okay? You don't have to do it alone."

Liam hung up the phone without another word, staring at the screen for a long moment before putting it down on the passenger seat.

The weight of the world felt heavy on his chest, and no matter how much he wanted to control it, he knew he couldn't. But as the dark streets passed by, the idea of trying to keep everything together, to protect the image that had been built around him, was the only thing that seemed to make sense. Even if it meant losing himself in the process.