After returning from the prison visit, Layla attended a eting with an important client. Finally back in her office, she sank into her swivel chair, letting out a quiet sigh of relief. She pulled out her phone, glancing at the screen. "Lucius should have landed in Spain by now," she murmured to herself, and her fingers hovered over the call icon just as his na lit up on the screen.
A smile softened her features as she answered, lifting the phone to her ear. "I was just about to call you. Have you and Roger arrived safely?" she asked.
"Yes, we’ve checked into the hotel," Lucius replied in his usual calm tone.
"Good. You should get so rest then," Layla suggested gently.
"It wasn’t a long journey," he assured her. "I’m planning to head out soon to take care of what I ca here for. The sooner, the better."
She nodded. "You’re right. Just be careful," she said, a hint of concern in her voice.
After a brief pause, Lucius’s tone turned serious. "Did you speak to Seraphina? Did she finally admit to the truth?"
Layla’s gaze hardened slightly. "Yes. She confessed why she switched us—it was all to spite my mother, an act of revenge," she recounted. "My father was there too, so I overheard their conversation firsthand. Let’s just say... I didn’t leave quietly." She felt a rush of satisfaction, recalling the sting of her slap against Seraphina’s cheek.
She hesitated, then sighed. "I’m sorry for dragging you into my family’s endless chaos. Just focus on your work. This drama never seems to end," she murmured, half to herself.
"Layla," Lucius’s voice was steady, reassuring. "Don’t let them walk all over you. You know what you need to do to stand your ground."
Layla smirked, raising a brow, her tone laced with amusent. "You an, pointing a gun at them?" she quipped, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Lucius laughed lightly. "Of course, not, Wife. Your hands aren’t ant to touch such a dangerous weapon," he affird.
"Hmm."
The two talked for a while before the call ended. Layla placed her phone on the desk when Aiden walked in. "Orabela is here to see you," he inford her.
At first, Layla felt no inclination to see Orabela, but a flicker of curiosity changed her mind. "Send her in," she told Aiden with a resigned nod.
Aiden stepped out, and within monts, Orabela entered the room. Layla’s eyes quickly noted her sister’s swollen face and reddened eyes—signs of a sleepless night and, perhaps, a troubled conscience.
"I didn’t expect you to co here," Layla remarked, gesturing for Orabela to sit.
Orabela, however, remained standing. "Neither did I imagine I’d ever stand before you like this," she replied, her voice strained. "Please... don’t let them throw out of the house. I know I’ve been jealous of you all along and wished you would just disappear. But... I understand now the depth of my mistakes."
Layla’s expression remained cold. "I have no intention of forgiving you," she said in her tone. "Despite everything our parents put through, I held on to the hope that you, at least, would treat with decency. But you’ve always seen as soone you could belittle and manipulate. If you think I can simply forget all of that, you’re wrong. Not to ntion, you even eyed my ex shows how much you despised ." Her voice softened only slightly. "Now that you have your answer, you can leave."
Orabela’s shoulders sagged as fresh tears gathered in her eyes. "How was I supposed to treat you well when Mom always said you were the daughter of a mistress?" she choked out. "She told to stay away from you, to see you as less than family. I was just a child, Layla. I didn’t know any better—I did what I was taught."
Layla held her gaze with nothing but disappointnt. "And when you started getting brain, you still chose to trample over my dignity. Do you think I’ll just forget the trauma you caused during school and the college? The sha I felt every ti people whispered ’mistress’s daughter’ behind my back, the way you laughed at with your friends—right up until I got married." Her voice was sharp, each word carrying the weight of long-buried pain.
Orabela swallowed hard. "I admit what I did was wrong. But Layla, a person’s conscience doesn’t easily change when it’s been shaped from childhood."
Layla gave a bitter chuckle, her eyes darkening with contempt. "You’re all the sa, blaming everyone else for your own choices. I almost pitied you because of what Seraphina did to you, but I see now that would be wasted sympathy."
She waved a dismissive hand, turning back to her desk. "Just leave. I have work to do. If you need soone to beg, go to the mother who filled your head with all this, not . As much as I hate you, Orabela, I hate her just as much."
Layla focused her attention on the desktop while Orabela walked out of the office. She went straight to the ho. However, upon reaching there, she heard Miriam talking to Darius.
"Turn everything fine," Miriam said.
"What do you want to do?" Darius asked.
"We considered Orabela as ours. Send her far from here," said Lady Agatha.
"Mother, I can’t do that," Darius said.
"Why?" Lady Agatha frowned at him.
"She is my daughter and so is Layla. I can’t run away from the responsibility I carry for them. Why do you think I treated Layla so badly? Because I knew you would demand to send away Layla sowhere far. Years ago, I made mistakes but I don’t want to make them anymore. So, you both don’t tell what I’ve to do," Darius asserted and left for his room.
Orabela realized within a day, Miriam’s all love disappeared for her. And her grandmother also started despising her. ’I won’t let them throw away.’
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