Chapter 8 #2
Exhaustion washed over me. Alone at last, I could drop the mask and allow myself a moment of weakness. I slid down the wall and sat on the floor, arms wrapped around my knees.
I couldn't even define what I felt for Kayden anymore. Hatred. Fear. The desperate need to escape. Did I really see him as nothing but a stranger? I couldn't lie to my own heart.
The hatred came from love. The fear came from love. The need to run came from love. But I couldn't love again. I couldn't be that naive girl from seven years ago who'd believed love was everything, who'd given all her courage and paid such a terrible price.
I wouldn't make that mistake twice.
I pulled out my phone and called Anna.
"Ella?" Anna's voice came through. "Where did you go? The gala ended ages ago..."
"Anna." I cut her off, forcing out the difficult request. For Kai's sake. For my own.
"I need your help with something."
"What is it? You sound strange..."
"I want..." My voice shook. "I want to leave Baltimore. With Kai. As soon as possible."
Silence on the other end.
"What happened?" Anna's voice turned serious. "Ella, what's going on?"
"I can't explain." Tears were already sliding down my cheeks. "But I have to leave. Anna, please check what flights are available. Anywhere. The farther the better..."
"Wait, wait, wait." Anna interrupted. "Ella, calm down. Leave Baltimore? Do you understand what that means?"
"I know."
"You have over a dozen active projects!" Anna's voice rose. "All under contract! If you leave now, the penalty fees alone..."
"I'll pay them."
"Ella, we're talking millions in penalties!" Anna was almost shouting now. "You'll be ruined financially!"
I let my head fall back against the wall and closed my eyes.
She was right.
All the projects I'd taken on over the years were long-term contracts with brutal penalty clauses. If I broke them all now, the combined fees...
I'd lose everything.
The studio. My reputation. Everything I'd worked so hard to build.
"Besides," Anna continued, her voice gentler now, "running away won't solve anything. Just tell me what happened. Maybe I can help..."
"You can't." My voice broke. "Anna, you can't help me. No one can."
"At least tell me what this is about."
I opened my mouth. The words caught in my throat.
What could I possibly say?
That my real name isn't Ella Ross—it's Layla Gray?
That I jumped off a cliff seven years ago and everyone thinks I'm dead?
That Kai's father appeared tonight and discovered us?
That I'm terrified he'll try to take my son away?
One lie requires countless others to sustain it. Anna was my assistant, yes, but she'd also become one of my closest friends over the years. I knew she cared about me. She must be so worried. She wanted to help, even if only a little. But all I could offer was silence.
"I can't tell you," I finally said, exhausted. Pleading. "I'm sorry, Anna. I'm just... I'm so tired."
Anna was quiet for a long moment.
"All right," she said at last, seeming to accept that I had my reasons for keeping secrets. Her tone turned soothing. "Get some rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow, okay? Whatever's happening, I'll help you however I can."
"Thank you." It came out barely above a whisper, but inside I was screaming.
I can't leave. I can't.
The contracts bound me. My responsibilities bound me.
Once again, fate had dragged Kayden Blackwood back into my life.
Just like seven years ago.
I'd thought that changing cities, changing my name, changing everything about my appearance would let me escape the past completely.
But I'd been wrong.
Some things can't be escaped.
The mate bond—even severed, it still tries to reconnect when given the chance.
And I'm powerless against it. Even though I'd thought I'd grown stronger over these seven years, transformed myself, built impenetrable armor around my heart... in front of him, in front of that ridiculous, impossible thing called love, I'm still utterly defenseless.
"You're pathetic," I told myself as tears streamed down my face. "Layla Gray, you're absolutely pathetic."
"Miss Ross?"
I startled, quickly wiping my eyes and looking up.
Dr. Amy approached with a file in hand. Seeing my disheveled state, she hesitated. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, I'm sorry. I just..." My face flushed. I sniffled and stood. "Is something wrong with Kai?"
Amy handed me the report. "Blood fluctuation is something all werewolf pups experience during their growth period.
Usually, it's not dangerous and shouldn't cause such severe reactions.
So we ran some additional tests. Miss Ross, Kai's bloodline carries an extraordinarily powerful force—unlike anything I've ever encountered. His father—"
"He doesn't have a father." The words came out reflexively, too sharp. I caught myself. "I'm sorry, that was rude. But Kai... he doesn't have a father."
"I apologize for bringing up something painful," Amy said with a sigh. "But blood fluctuation this powerful—he can't stabilize it on his own. Without his father's guidance, the episodes will only become more frequent and more severe."
"There's really no other option?" I thought of Kai's pale little face and my heart twisted painfully. I would do anything, pay anything, to spare him this suffering. "Money isn't an issue. Whatever it takes..."
"Well, medication is the only alternative." She pulled a pen from her pocket and scribbled out a prescription. "But these are formulated for ordinary pups. Given Kai's unique situation, I can't guarantee how effective they'll be."
"Thank you." I took the paper with trembling hands like it was a lifeline. Amy left.
Before I could fully process what she'd said, my phone buzzed.
A message from Anna.
"Ella, I looked into your contracts. If you really want to leave, you're looking at roughly $5.8 million in penalty fees. Plus, you'd be blacklisted in the industry—it would be nearly impossible to land major projects again. Are you absolutely certain about this?"
5.8 million dollars.
Industry blacklist.
I stared at the number, feeling like a boulder had been dropped on my chest.
I didn't have that kind of money. Even if I emptied every account, liquidated everything I'd saved over the years, it wouldn't be enough.
And if I were blacklisted, how would I support Kai?
Kayden had burst back into my life and discovered Kai's existence.
Kai was experiencing dangerous blood fluctuations that required his father's guidance—or risked spiraling out of control.
Baltimore, which I couldn't leave. Crushing penalty fees that trapped me here.
One crushing weight after another. Layer upon layer of pressure. Even my ability to run had been stripped away. I felt a despair unlike anything I'd known before. The fragile walls I'd built around my sanity finally crumbled.
Why was fate so cruel to me? Why was I never allowed to be happy?
Kai's test results crumpled in my fist, smooth paper marred by ugly creases—just like my cursed life.
I needed to scream. To rage. To direct all this pain and fury at something, anything. But all that emerged was a short, strangled sound from deep in my throat.
What am I supposed to do?