That's not what I meant.
I just...
"Layla, listen to me..." I stepped forward, trying to explain, even forgetting to use her alias.
"Ella Ross!" She backed away, voice rising. "My name is Ella Ross!"
I stopped, watching her.
Tears finally broke free from Layla's eyes. The composure she'd fought to maintain was completely shattered in that moment.
"I'm sorry." The words scraped from my throat, rough as sandpaper.
"I'm sorry, I didn't... I wasn't trying to insult Lucas." My hands clenched into fists at my sides. "I just wanted to talk to you. Alone."
"I already had Evan handle the news." The words came rapid-fire, seizing every second before she could turn away again. "He's contacting all the media, clarifying my relationship with Victoria, clearing up those photos. I'll issue a statement too, tell everyone you're innocent. I'll have the legal team track down whoever started the rumors. Ella, give me a chance to help you."
"That's enough." She cut me off, voice soft as a sigh.
But each word weighed more than a thousand pounds.
Layla looked up at me. The anger in those eyes had faded, the tears had stopped. All that remained was a bone-deep exhaustion that terrified me.
Like someone who'd struggled too long in a storm and finally had no strength left.
"I'm done," she said, each word clear and calm, calm as stating a fact. "Done with my beautiful life being turned into chaos by you. Done with your fake sincerity, each time with new excuses to manipulate me. I don't know what I'm supposed to expect anymore. I just want to live. A good, peaceful life. Is that so hard?"
My heart surged with unprecedented panic. Her eyes held no emotion toward me anymore—not even hatred, not even disgust... just still water, silent and dead.
"Ella—"
"Please disappear from my world."
What?
My heart skipped a beat.
No, no no...
I stared at her face intently, searching every micro-expression, trying to find any detail to prove—this was a lie.
Layla, you won't, you won't leave me, you're just upset—
"Completely. Forever."
The world silently shattered in that moment.
Like an ice sculpture melting in sunlight—at first, you don't notice the change, but when you finally realize it, it's already a puddle of water, impossible to piece back together.
I looked at her, this woman who'd loved me for so long, her resolve just as absolute as when she'd stood at the cliff's edge seven years ago.
I wanted to say something—that I'd truly changed, that I wouldn't marry Victoria, that I... loved her? But my throat felt blocked, all the words stuck there, unable to speak a single one.
None of it mattered anymore.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Lucas leaning against the wall, cigarette dangling from his lips, watching this scene with a half-smile.That expression seemed to say, "See that, Blackwood? Some things can't be bought."
My fists clenched tight, nails shifting to wolf claws beyond my control, piercing my palms. Warm liquid dripped between my fingers, drops hitting the ground.
