Chapter 74: Don’t Let Go
Julian stood alone in the rain, drenched and trembling Layla, unable to bear watching any longer, rushed to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly as tears streamed down her face.
“Please don’t do this,” she pleaded. “Take care of yourself. If you don’t, no one else will. You’ll get sick if you keep this up. So what if she doesn’t want to be with you? Look at me! I’m always here for you.”
For as long as Julian had been standing in the rain, Layla had been right there with him. Both of them were soaked and shivering, but Layla refused to leave.
“From the moment I got together with you, I never once thought about leaving. I really love you. I don’t want to break up. Please, let me stay by your side. Chloe doesn’t care about you. If she did, she wouldn’t have just walked away like that.”
Layla poured out her feelings, but Julian wasn’t listening. In his mind, there was only Chloe. He was still haunted by the things Chloe had said earlier, realizing she knew everything about him and his affairs. Regret gnawed at him, but he didn’t know how to fix it.
“Move!” he snapped, still lost in his thoughts, ignoring everything Layla had said.
Layla clenched her teeth, determined not to leave him. If Julian refused to go, she would stay with him, no matter how long it took.
Julian, however, was completely oblivious to her actions. Immersed in his own world, he didn’t care about what Layla was doing or saying. His eyes remained fixed in the direction where Chloe had disappeared He wished desperately for her to turn around and look at him–just one glance. If she did, he would run to her without hesitation and never let her go.
He couldn’t bear the idea of losing Chloe. For so many years, she had always been soft–hearted toward him. Even after learning about the other women in his life, she had forgiven him countless times. Why couldn’t she just forgive him one more time? Why was she walking away so coldly, as if he meant nothing to her?
Julian’s body shook with the weight of his emotions pain, regret, and desperation swirling together, pushing him to the edge. He couldn’t accept that things had come to this.
As his emotions reached their peak, Julian suddenly collapsed. His body convulsed once, and then his eyes rolled back as he fell to the ground.
Layla screamed in terror as she rushed to catch him, cradling his limp body.
“Julian, Julian, please don’t scare me like this! What’s wrong? Please, wake up! Don’t leave me!” she cried, her voice thick with panic.
Frantically, she ran to the road to flag down a car, knowing she couldn’t move Julian by herself. A driver, seeing her distress, stopped and helped her get Julian into the vehicle before speeding off.
Layla didn’t dare take Julian to a hospital. If anyone found out what had caused him to collapse, it would raise too many questions. Whether or not it had anything to do with her, she knew it wouldn’t end well for her. Without hesitation, she instructed the driver to take them to Julian’s villa.
Once they arrived, Layla hurriedly changed Julian out of his wet clothes and made him some cold medicine, terrified that he might fall ill. But with Julian unconscious, he couldn’t take any of it.
Despite her own exhaustion, Layla tirelessly took care of him, forgetting that she, too, had been out in the rain for just as long. She was soaking wet and shivering, but she didn’t stop.
When Julian’s personal doctor arrived after Layla’s call he was stunned by the situation. He couldn’t
believe that Julian had once again pushed himself to the point of illness. The doctor quickly set up an IV drip for him.
By the time everything was done, it was late into the night. Julian’s face, though still pale, showed some signs of improvement. Layla, exhausted from the ordeal, fell asleep beside him. She was lightly dozing when she heard Julian muttering in his sleep, which startled her awake.
“Chloe… Chloe, please don’t leave me. I was wrong. Please, give me one more chance. I won’t hurt you again,” Julian whispered in his dream, his voice filled with desperation.
Layla couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. The words he spoke now, in his sleep, were his true feelings.
All along, he had never truly wanted to let go of Chloe, even though he was the one who had initiated their breakup. He was filled with regret now, but what did it matter?
Chloe and Julian no longer had any relationship. There was no chance she would give him another opportunity to reconcile.
Earlier that day, when Julian told Layla they were breaking up, it had been her worst fear coming true. She had fought so hard to be with him, and now, just because of Chloe, he was ready to throw it all away.
Layla couldn’t accept it. Why was it so easy for Chloe to get everything she wanted, while Layla struggled for every scrap? Chloe did nothing, yet everyone adored her. Meanwhile, Layla’s efforts felt like a cruel joke, as if none of it had mattered.
But Layla wasn’t about to let it all fall apart. She wouldn’t let everything she had worked for amount to nothing.
As she lay there beside Julian, her resolve hardened. If Julian couldn’t forget Chloe, then Layla would make sure that Chloe never came near him again. She would ensure that Julian never had a chance to reconcile with her.
Layla’s eyes darkened with determination. Julian needed to know what it felt like to betray Chloe, to live with the guilt of hurting her.
With this thought, she slipped into Chloe’s clothes and gently shook Julian awake.
Julian, still dazed and disoriented from his fever and the dim lighting in the room, couldn’t tell if the figure before him was Chloe or Layla. All he recognized was the familiar scent of Chloe’s clothes.
Believing the woman in front of him was Chloe, Julian pulled Layla into his arms and held her tightly, refusing to let go…
“You’ve come back. You’ve finally come back. You’ll give me another chance, won’t you? I swear I won’t let you down this time.”
This time, he would never let Chloe go.
