OFF-LIMITS

26.

Chapter twenty six | Layla
"When are we landing?" Nash's voice pulls me away from my thoughts, I turn around, "Adrian said we'll land in an hour." I say shrugging off my shoulder, he nods and walks away, giving me a small smile.

When we got here I wasn't surprised that the plane is private of course, It's divided into three sections, me and Adrian chose to sit in the middle one, Nash and Octavia in the first and Damien and Melissa back, but Adrian has been out of sight for a while, he said there was a call he needed to take.

I sigh, letting out a deep breath, ready to sleep but the sound of footsteps pauses my movements, I turn around again, and I find Damien walking towards me, his expression is—thoughtful? I have no idea, I crack my knuckles, it's become a normal action nowadays.

"Hey, Layla." He says and drops in the seat, "hi." I say, hundreds of thoughts already crowding my mind on why he's here, "so I've heard? You really are together." He says leaning back and spreading his legs, my brows furrow "yes? We already told you." I say awkwardly.

"Ah yes, but I never really believed you, you know, I thought it was just something to make me jealous." He says rolling his eyes dramatically, as sweat gathers on my hand, and my chest tightens, he knows that we're faking it? No, he doesn't, of course not, "uhh, well we really are together." I say and he nods.

"So he's good to you?" He asks and I swallow the knot in my throat, I feel like I'm being investigated, "yes-" I say, "very good actually." I add and he raises his brows again, "and you think you're so special right?" He asks and my heart picks up,
focus, it's fine, I'm fine.

"Because you know Layla, he's using you, just like any other toy we used to fight over, you're nothing but a poor competition between us, and well if you don't believe me, ask him, Adrian never lies." He says and I feel tears forming in my eyes, My mind is screaming to stop that pain forming in my chest as I watch him getting up and walking away.

Damien isn't right, he never is, Adrian would never use me, right? All those words he says can't be lies, he's not lying to me, Damien is lying, I would've known it, wouldn't I?

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"What's wrong, Layla?" Adrian asks, I swallow the knot in my throat and shake my head, "I'm fine I swear." I say and he sighs, probably knowing that I won't tell him what's wrong.

"Layla!" A familiar voice catches my attention and I turn around noticing Melissa striding in, a grin spreading on her face, "look!" She motions at the window, and I turn, my lips parting when I see the sight in front of me.

It's gorgeous, the view is absolutely breathtaking, "wow." I mutter and she claps excitedly, "yes I know!" She says excitedly and I smile, I feel Adrian's gaze on me but I don't turn to him, Damien's words are still messing with my mind.

✿ ✿ ✿

five hours later | Adrian
Something is different.
She is different, when I left her to make a call and came back, something was off, I have no idea what happened but I will find out, "bro." My thoughts are distracted when Damien comes into my view.

I wanted to crack that fucking skull of his yesterday but I couldn't do that over something that's not even that important, my mother wanted money, which isn't surprising, but I'm done with this shit, I don't bother looking up from my laptop until I finish the last part then give him my attention, he raises his brow as he drops in the chair in front of me.

"To what do I owe the favor?" I reply closing the laptop and leaning back as I drop my glasses on the table, he taps a finger to his mouth like he's thinking deeply, the fucker wants to look like a villain from Disney or something I have no idea, it's a good thing that he doesn't realize how ridiculous he looks.

"Your sweet girlfriend." He says in a mocking tone and my fists clench, I don't protest, letting him decide whether the words coming from his mouth will earn him a punch or not.

"I found her crying in the bathroom." He says making a fake sad expression, my muscles tense and fear crowds my mind for so many sickening possibilities, but my brows furrow as one thought remains "how the hell did you get inside the room? And why?" I ask with a calm voice that betrays the simmering rage inside my bones.

He holds up his hand in defense, "I was just looking for you and I heard sobs, sooo...I may have taken your keycard when you weren't focused." He says and I run my tongue across my teeth, frustrated with how distracted I was, "why?" I ask again, "uhh-" he says scratching his neck and I close my eyes for a beat trying to calm my nerves.

"Say it, or I swear to god Damien, you're going to get home to your sweet mother, with a disfigured face." I say, my tone lower and his face falls realizing that I'm not joking, "alright you psycho I'll tell you." He says and I wait.

"I've been an asshole when we were on the plane and I told her shitty things, so I wanted to apologize to her, alone." He says passing me the keycard and my brows furrow before everything adds up, the fucker probably said a lie of his, that's why she's been different.

I get up and grab my things, walking away from him even though he keeps yelling, it doesn't take long to reach our room, I place the keycard on the door and it takes a second before opening.

"Layla, darling." I say the moment I step inside, I search the room but find nothing which is expected, I knock on the bathroom door, "Layla?" I ask, my concern heightening up, she's fine, it's okay she's okay, I hear muffled cries and my heart sinks with both relief and panic, I don't even know what that means.

"Open up!" I say, my heart racing and my muscles tensing, "go away." She whispers between sobs, "Layla, you can't run away from me, get out and do anything, scream at me, hit me, but don't hide from me." I say, desperation clear in my tone.

it doesn't take much before the door clicks open, I get inside instantly, and my stomach sinks the moment I see her, she's in baggy clothes and her hair is a mess, and she looks so fucking exhausted, it hurts.

I walk to her, my hand clutching her arm as I shake her lightly, "what's wrong, love? Is this about Damien?" I ask, my brows furrowed and my mind crowded with both frustration and worry, so much worry, she shakes her head as tears form in her eyes again, and I brush them away with my thumb.

She motions at the toilet, "it's just—I threw up, I kept throwing up for minutes, I—I don't know what's wrong, I didn't do anything I swear." She stutters, her voice a soft whisper, I've seen her crying a lot but this time it's different, and I never thought something would hurt me that way,

She thinks she messed up, which hurts even more, "it's okay." I say, the words themselves coming out softly, I hold her, putting her head on my chest, "do you still feel sick?" I ask and she looks at me, hesitation in her eyes "kinda, I don't know." She says and I caress her hair, running my fingers down the soft strands.

She suddenly sits up, her hand crowding her belly before she empties all her stomach contents in the toilet, I sit straighter grabbing her hair and pulling it behind her, as I rub her neck, when she's finished, she turns to me, tears clear in her eyes as she wipes them away.

"You're okay, Layla," I whisper again, she nods a couple of times as if she's trying to convince herself, I slowly stand up helping her too, as she splashes some water on her face first, letting out a breath and closing her eyes for a moment, it reminds me of myself, letting everything drift away and just having a moment of peace.

She brushes her teeth and looks up at me, her eyes filled with so many emotions, but I can't quite figure out which one is the strongest, "thank you." She whispers, "quit thanking me, Layla." I say and her brows furrow, "I'm not doing this as a favor so I can get a thank you." I explain and she smiles.

My tense muscles relax and I let out a breath of relief, I lean down and press a kiss on her temple, "I'm so proud of you, darling." I say and her face lightens up with surprise before a genuine smile spreads on her face which causes a matching one to spread on mine, "I'm proud of you too." She says then winks playfully at me.

And for a second, just a split second, it feels like all the air in my lungs has been sucked out of me, my muscles tense and I force out a smile,

This woman is becoming an addiction that I'm not sure I can quit.

A vote would really be appreciated🫶
So random but I hate Damien too