"Tell me why you never came back to me."
I froze.
No, this can't be happening...
Kayden's eyes brimmed with tears. This powerful Alpha, this ruthless business titan... right now looked like a wounded child before me. He suddenly released me and pulled a small notebook from his suit jacket. Old and worn, corners frayed.
My eyes widened in shock. That was—
"Your diary," Kayden said softly, cradling it like a precious treasure. "Your diary from ages fifteen to twenty-five."
How did he have my diary? My belongings should have been disposed of after I "died."
"You claim you're not Layla." Kayden opened to a page—my youthful handwriting staring back at me. "You just wrote in front of me. Shall we get a handwriting analysis? I could never mistake Layla's handwriting. These seven years, day and night, I've read this over and over."
"Mr. Kayden appeared at the training grounds today. All the girls were talking about him, but I only dared hide behind a tree and peek. My heart pounded so fast, like it would leap from my chest..."
"I made another bouquet, this time with the prettiest camellias, tied with silk ribbon. I never had the right to give it to Mr. Kayden, but maybe, someday..."
"I felt that pull, like an invisible thread extending from my heart, connecting to him. We really are fated mates. If he would marry me, how wonderful that would be..."
Memories crashed over me like a tidal wave.
All the past I'd forced myself to forget—ten years of secret love, my stolen glances and private joy, the coat I treasured, the flowers I never gave... it all backlashed now, devastating me. Intense heartbreak and fierce joy seized my heart simultaneously.
He read my diary. He kept my diary. He knows I loved him.
"Layla, I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness." Kayden clutched the diary, knuckles white. "I know I hurt you, humiliated you, pushed you over the edge..."
"But I'm begging you..." His tears finally spilled over. "As Layla, give me one chance to at least tell you what I truly thought seven years ago."
Were those... tears?
Kayden Blackwood was crying for me?
Seven years of suppressed love finally ignited in this moment, after that single tear, consuming me completely.
Kayden. Kayden. How desperately I wanted to throw myself into his arms. I wanted to tell him I was Layla, I loved him, I loved him hopelessly. I wanted to bite his lips, taste his tears, I wanted—
"Kayden, what are you doing here?"
Both Kayden and I turned.
A stunning woman approached, dressed in an elegant Chanel suit and limited edition heels, wavy hair cascading perfectly over her shoulders. She smiled, naturally linking her arm through Kayden's, then turned to me and extended her other hand.
"Hello, I'm Victoria. Kayden's fiancée."
Chapter Eleven
Layla
The word "fiancée" drove into my heart like a blade.
I froze. All thoughts fled.
"That's not—Ella." Kayden instinctively tried to pull his arm free. He'd used my other name with such care, but I was in no mood to thank him. "Victoria and I—"
"It was the old Alpha's dying wish." Victoria cut him off, her tone somewhere between gentle reminder and threat. "It's only a matter of time, isn't it?"
