Page 14 of Don't Date Your Nemesis

“What’s the worst that could happen now?” I said, feeling much better that I had relieved my anger on a certain medalist.

Really? What’s the worst thing that could happen? I kiss Liam? Ha!

5

I DESERVED IT

LIAM

The party continued around me as if I hadn’t just been assaulted with baked goods by a woman who haunted my childhood and apparently my adulthood too.

And the source of my current annoyance wasn’t Deepika. No, my annoyance was currently wearing the same golden dress as Deepika and giggling at literally every word coming out of her trashy boyfriend’s mouth.

Diya Sharma.

“Oh my God, Yash, you’re so funny!” she squealed, touching his arm like he had just invented comedy.

Yash, Deepika’s ex-boyfriend, was objectively handsome in that generic leading-man way that made me instantly distrust him. I had seen his films during long plane rides to competitions, usually when I couldn’t sleep and needed something mind-numbing.

The man couldn’t act for shit. I had seen better acting in cat food advertisements. By the cats.

Which made it extra annoying that Deepika had been in two of those films, and every time she was on screen, I couldn’t look away. There was a magnetism to her, a raw honesty in the way she inhabited a character that made everyone else look like they were playing dress-up.

And I fucking hated that I noticed. I hated that even now I could remember specific scenes. I hated that I hated Yash’s terrible acting even more, because it made her look better by comparison.

Noticing her talent in the film was infuriating, since I was supposed to hate her.

“Liam!” Valentina appeared at my elbow, phone in hand, barely suppressing a grin. “You need to see this.”

She turned her screen toward me, and there it was. The video footage of the Great Cupcake Incident, already uploaded and going viral.

The video had everything. The champagne throw in perfect slow motion. My ‘accidental’ bump sending Deepika into the dessert table. Her face covered in frosting, looking like a very angry and very beautiful accident victim. And then the cupcake, red velvet with cream cheese frosting, hit me square in the face.

The comments were already flooding in:

@RomanceLover2026: This is the sexual tension I NEED

@ShipperQueen: They’re going to kill each other or kiss and I’m here for BOTH

@SportsGossip: Olympic Swimmer vs. Hollywood Rising Star: THE FEUD WE DIDN’T KNOW WE NEEDED

“Your ship name and hashtag Liamika is already trending,” Valentina said, giggling. “You two are everywhere. Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and someone already made an edit with ‘Enemies to Lovers’ music.”

I pretended to gag and closed my eyes. “Kill me now.”

“Oh, come on. It’s kind of cute,” she said, patting my shoulder. “Listen, I’m going to head out. I have a shoot at six, and this party is…” she glanced at Diya, who was now practically sitting in Yash’s lap. “Getting weird.”

“Thanks for coming,” I said sincerely, giving her a side hug.

“Thanks for the viral moment. My follower count is already up,” she said, kissing my cheek. “Good luck with... whatever this is, and give me updates, because I ship Deiam too.”

She winked and left me alone with my ruined Tom Ford jacket draped over a chair, my shirt slightly damp from champagne, and the lingering smell of frosting in my hair even though I had already washed it off.

I wasn’t surprised when Deepika walked back into the party a few minutes later.

Marcus Reynolds was at her side, looking amused, and she had somehow cleaned most of the frosting off, though her hair was still slightly damp and her golden dress had visible stains. She held her head high, greeting guests as if she hadn’t just committed assault with pastries, accepting compliments on her dress with a smile that didn’t quite reach her dark eyes.

She didn’t look at me and didn’t even glance in my direction.