𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 ☽ 𝙢𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩

17

Elizabeth ran out of the tent the moment she got out and when to the nearest one she could find. All she wanted to do was cry, let all the tears out before they could go on with the mission. She shut her eyes tightly, fighting to keep her tears at bay.

Her eyes were already hurt from crying after her talk with Horus.

Yet, she convinced herself that she had done it and the burden of having to hide it from her friend was no longer there. It felt like a weight had been taken off of her shoulders after that but at a cost.

Elizabeth released a sigh, tremulous and despondent. She could feel the tears coming once more as her mind was filled with the images of Steven's face when she broke it off. She hated herself for it but it was done. There was no going back.

"Are you okay?"

Elizabeth gasped, jumping at the voice that have came out of nowhere. Elizabeth looked around until her gaze had fallen upon the curly-haired woman standing across the tent. Layla's eyebrows were furrowed in concern when she saw how red Elizabeth's eyes were.

Layla ran over to Elizabeth, taking her hand and leading her to a cot so that they could both sit down. Layla kept her hand wrapped around Elizabeth's as she studied her, wondering what could have made her this way.

"Are you okay?" Layla asked her question again, giving Elizabeth's hand a comforting squeeze. "Is something wrong?"

Elizabeth did not answer right away, worried that if she told her that something was happening between her and Steven, who literally shares a body with her husband, she would be heartbroken. Probably, even mad at her.

Layla waited patiently, giving her time while she picked up a water canister she have found earlier. She took it upon herself to clean it before handing it to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth glanced down at the canister in Layla's hand before offering her a grateful smile as she took it from her and drank its contents.

"Did something happen, Elle? You know you can tell me about it." Layla reassured her.

But instead of relieving her of her fears, it only made it worse. Layla was such a sweet person and Elizabeth betrayed her.

Elizabeth was groaning internally at this point. She thought of a way how to start without angering Layla. She looked over to Layla, finally meeting her gaze. A beat had passed before she was able to muster up enough strength to tell Layla.

"Layla." she started, "I'm going to confess something. And I'm sorry you're going to be mad about it because I kept it from you ever since in London."

Layla's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Well, what is it?"

Elizabeth glanced down at her hands, her heart rate rising as the silence escalated. She could no longer hold it back anymore, not with someone as sweet as Layla. Her conscience couldn't bear it.