Chapter 17%
For the next few days, Layla’s quiet villa was disrupted by the constant arrival of gifts.”
Bouquets of rare orchids. Handwritten letters in velvet–lined envelopes. Boxes of chocolates from Switzerland. A diamond necklace she’d once admired in a passing catalog.§
All of it delivered with crisp notes signed in Brent’s name.
But each item, no matter how beautiful or expensive, was returned unopened.“]
Layla didn’t even flinch anymore when the doorbell rang.
She would simply instruct the staff, “Return it. I don’t want anything from him.“”
Brent learned about it all–every rejection, every unopened parcel sent back with cold indifference. At first, he thought she was just angry. That she would cool off. But as the updates from his informant came in, the truth settled into his chest like a knife twisting deeper each day.
Layla was moving on. And worse–she was smiling.
Zack was in nearly every update. Sitting with her at breakfast. Laughing with her by the lake. Wrapping a scarf around her shoulders as they walked home in the breeze.
They looked… content. Close.
Brent stared at a photo that had been discreetly snapped from a distance. Layla’s head was tilted back, laughing at something Zack had said, her eyes sparkling with a kind of joy Brent hadn’t seen in her for years. A joy that had never been his to witness lately.
His grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles turned white.
“She’s mine,” he muttered. “She was always mine…”
As rage simmered behind his eyes, soft arms suddenly wrapped around his waist from behind.”
“Brent…” Celeste whispered, leaning into his back, her cheek against his shirt. “You’ve been so cold lately… you barely even look at me.” He stiffened. “Don’t do that.”
She blinked, startled, and pulled back. “Why not?” Her voice trembled. “You said… you said you’d always choose me.>>
That even if I got married to someone else, you’d still be mine. That you would be my lover-”
“I was wrong!” Brent snapped, turning to face her. “I was blind, Celeste. I let myself get swept up in your games and pity, but the truth is- what I felt for you was obsession. It wasn’t love.”
Celeste’s eyes flooded with tears. “You don’t mean that…”
“I do,” Brent said, his voice quiet but firm. “It took losing Layla to see it. But now that I have–now that she’s slipping away–I can’t lie anymore. I loved you once… or maybe I thought I did. But it’s always been her.“>
“You can’t do this to me,” Celeste choked out. “You can’t just throw me away like I’m nothing!”
“I’m not throwing you away,” he said, softening only slightly.
“I’m setting you free. I’m not the one you should be waiting for. And you deserve someone who wants you wholly, not someone who still dreams of another woman every night.”
She shook her head violently. “No! You said we’d be together. You said-“0
“Enough, Celeste.” He pulled an envelope from the desk and handed it to her. “This is the address of the man I’ve arranged for you to meet. He’s kind. Intelligent. From a respected family. And he’s not in a coma, like the one Father originally chose.”
Celeste’s lip trembled as she opened the paper. “I won’t go.“}
“You will,” Brent replied coldly. “Because this time, I won’t indulge your tantrums. I won’t be here to hold your hand or clean up the mess after you cry. I’ve done that long enough.”
She threw the envelope on the ground and stormed out in tears.
Brent didn’t chase her.!!
Instead, he picked up the phone and called one of his staff.
“Keep sending the gifts to Layla. I don’t care if she returns them. Just keep sending them.”
“But sir, she’s already-”
“I said keep sending them.”
Later that night, as he sat in his father’s study, his father entered, pouring himself a glass of brandy. “So,” the older man started, taking a seat across from him, “you’re not staying for Celeste’s engagement ceremony?”
Brent didn’t look up. “No. I’m leaving tomorrow.”
His father raised a brow. “Going back to Layla?“}}
“Yes.”
There was a long pause before his father sighed and set the glass down. “You really think she’ll take you back? After everything you’ve done?”
Brent’s eyes darkened, but his voice stayed calm. “I know I don’t deserve her. I know I destroyed the best thing in my life.“> “Then why go back?“!
Brent’s eyes darkened, but his voice stayed calm. “I know I don’t deserve her. I know I destroyed the best thing in my life.” “Then why go back?”
“Because I love her,” Brent said simply. “And because I’ll never stop trying to make it right.”
His father leaned back in his chair, “Sometimes, love isn’t enough, Brent. Sometimes, it’s too late. She’s moved on. You saw the pictures. That Zack kid–he’s a good man. He treats her well. Maybe you should let her go.“}]
“I can’t,” Brent said, his voice cracking. “I let her go once. I let her cry in silence for years while I chased someone who only knew how to manipulate me. I let her feel alone in a marriage that was supposed to be hers too. But not anymore.“>
He stood, clenching his fists at his sides. “I’ll do anything–anything–to win her back. Even if she hates me. Even if she never forgives me. I’ll fight for her until the very end.”
His father watched him quietly, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Then I hope, for your sake, it’s not too late.“%
Brent walked out of the room, his heart heavy but determined.}]
Whatever the cost, whatever it took… he would have Layla back. Even if he had to burn everything else to the ground.
