Ever After Awaits (Layla) novel Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Layla POV

The turnoff onto the football stadium’s access road lands like a punch to my gut.

I don’t say anything. I don’t need to. The second we pass the gate and the white paint–chipped sign that reads ‘PLAYER & STAFF PARKING ONLY‘, I already know where we’re going.

And why.

The late morning sun is too bright for the way my stomach twists in on itself, and the empty parking lot feels strange during the day. It’s quiet, sterile, and almost ghost–like, without the floodlights, roaring crowds, or blaring music. It just holds sunlit silence and the heavy echo of a memory I never wanted to

revisit.

Xavier parks the car without a word, and the engine clicks softly as it cools.

He doesn’t reach for me, he doesn’t even look over at me. And somehow, that makes this easier. I open my door and step out on my own, the gravel crunching under my sandals as I walk across the painted lines.

The specific spot comes back to me instantly, like muscle memory.

Hunter’s truck had been parked right here with the tailgate open. I remember our laughter. The kisses that made my head spin and my heart race. I remember the heat of Cade as he pressed against me, and the teasing in Hunter’s grin. The way AJ kissed my forehead like I mattered.

And then there was Xavier.

His hand was on my hip. His lips were on mine. Our kiss burned hot and sharp–a kiss that curled me open from the inside out, until he split it all apart with one cruel sentence.

‘I hope Mason kisses you like that when you’re with him.‘

I close my eyes as I remember the exact angle of my heartbreak. The way I stepped back from him without realizing it. I remember how my chest felt too tight, and how my voice disappeared entirely.

And now I’m back here. And I’m stronger.

I hear his footsteps behind me before I turn around. He then stops a few paces from me and waits with his hands at his sides, with tension in every line of his body.

“You could’ve just taken me somewhere nice,” I say, not looking at him. “A pretty overlook. A park. Coffee and a speech. But instead, you brought me here.”

“Because this is where I broke something else,” he says quietly. “And you deserve more than a pretty speech.”

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Chapter 134: Layla POV

I finally look at him, and I notice he looks exhausted and present at the same time. Like this moment has been living inside him, too, for far longer than either of us would like to admit.

“You know what the worst part was?” I ask, my voice even. “It wasn’t what you said. Not really. It was that, for a second, I actually thought it meant something. The kiss. The look in your eyes. The way you touched me. I let myself believe it was real.”

He flinches at my words, but I don’t stop. “And then you pulled the rug out from under me. You turned the softest thing I’d felt in a long time into a weapon.”

“I know.”

“Do you? Really?” I ask, as I step towards him now. “Because that night, I went home with your words in my bones. And the worst part was that I didn’t even get mad. I blamed myself. For trusting you. And for wanting more.”

He doesn’t interrupt. And he doesn’t move. He just watches as I continue. “You made me feel like a fool. And I let you. Because I thought maybe if I gave you enough time, you’d see me.”

His voice is like gravel when he speaks, “I saw you. And that was the problem.”

I blink, surprised by his words.

He takes a step forward, just one. “That night, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I was trying to punish myself. And I used you to do it. That’s not an excuse. It’s just the truth. You were getting under my skin, and I didn’t know how to handle it except by making you bleed.”

My breath catches at his words, not because it hurts, but because it’s honest.

He gestures around us. “This is the place I made you question your worth. So I brought you back to tell you that you were never the problem. I was.”

The silence between us that follows isn’t awkward. It’s full. Full of all the things we never said and everything that’s changed since then.

I then take a few slow steps closer and stop just in front of him. “Do you want to know what I remember most about that night?”

His throat bobs, but he nods.

“The look on your face after you said it. You weren’t proud of your words. You looked…terrified. And I think maybe, just maybe, that scared me more than your actual words did.”

His eyes close briefly, like he’s swallowing back something sharp.

“You hurt me,” I continue. “But you didn’t break me. And I’m not here so that you can undo what happened.

ARA

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Chapter 134: Layla POV

I’m here because I want to decide for myself what comes next.”

His gaze meets mine then, and it’s steady. “Whatever that is… It’s yours, Layla.”

I nod, then take the final step forward and rest my hand lightly on his chest, noticing his heart is racing at a thunderous pace underneath my palm.

I don’t kiss him. And I don’t pull him closer. But I do let my fingers stay there a second longer than necessary. “I don’t know what this means yet,” I whisper. “But I’m not walking away.”

His breath shudders out. “Then I’ll stop giving you reasons to.”

And for now, that’s enough.

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