Chapter 98. I’m Playing Smart

Layla’s POV

Ezra had a way of looking at me that made my defenses falter. In the quiet moments, when his eyes softened and his voice dipped low, I felt the weight of his presence pulling me in.

And yet, no matter how important solace I set up in him, there was a thing inside me that wouldn’t settle. A piece of my history still clung, untreated and sharp.

That piece was Orion.

Ezra had been hanging out with me a lot more recently. We never talked about anything happening between us, but it was clear that the connection was there.

Even with this new closeness, my mind was still far from free. There were some loose threads in my life that needed to be pulled, threads that led a string to Orion.

And if I didn’t start tugging at them soon, I knew I might lose my chance to find what I was looking for.

I had spent months learning to detach from him, peeling away the illusion of the man I once thought I loved.

But I couldn’t just walk a