Chapter 401

Layla’s POV

The thought of being in this house without her felt unbearable, but I held onto her promise. She would come back. She had to.

As I lay back down on the bed, hugging the pillow tightly, I whispered to myself, “She’ll come back. She always does.”

But deep down, I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was about to change.

***

Maddy’s POV

The door was just a few steps away, but each step I took felt heavier than the last. My hand tightened around the strap of my purse as I tried to steady my breathing. 

Leaving Layla behind in this house felt wrong, like I was abandoning her in a place that didn’t feel safe.

As much as I tried to reassure myself that she would be fine, a knot of doubt twisted in my stomach. Jason seemed like a decent man, but his grandfather... No. 

I couldn’t think about that now. I had to keep moving, or I’d lose the resolve to leave at all.

I reach