All Chapters of A Love Forged In Ruins : Chapter 121 - Chapter 123

Layla's POV The ride home from Pier 47 felt like an eternity. The silence in the car was unbearable. Damian’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that the veins on his knuckles stood out, pale against his skin. I kept my gaze fixed on the raindrops running down the window, watching how they slid together, merging into streams before breaking apart again. It felt like an omen—like us, like Jaden. We had come so far, but the pieces still refused to stay together.In my pocket, the small recorder felt heavy, almost alive. Michelle’s voice was trapped inside it, her confession like poison waiting to be released. I kept pressing my fingers against it, as though to reassure myself it was still there. Part of me wanted to throw it out the window, let it drown in the rain-soaked streets. But another part—the part that knew Jaden deserved the truth—forced me to hold on.When we pulled into the driveway, the house lights were already on. My heart sank. He was waiting for us.The moment

Layla’s POVThe days after Jaden left felt like years stretched thin, like someone had pulled time apart just to test how much pain my chest could hold without breaking.I tried to keep the house moving—feeding the twins, checking emails, cooking dinners that went half uneaten—but there was an emptiness that lingered no matter what I did. The kind of emptiness that clung to the air, that crawled into your bed at night and reminded you that something was missing.Every knock on the door, every vibration of my phone, every sound of footsteps outside made my heart lurch as if it might be him. But each time it wasn’t, the disappointment was like a knife digging deeper into the same wound.Damian pretended better than I did, but I could see it. The way his eyes stayed on the front gate longer than necessary. The way he’d fold his arms and sigh when he thought I wasn’t looking. Even the twins noticed—asking once, “When is Jaden coming home?” I couldn’t answer them. I’d just smiled tightly a