His regret; Too late to love me now ex-husband의 모든 챕터: 챕터 91 - 챕터 100

Layla's POV.I'd been awake since 4 am but I couldn't bring myself to stand from the bed, neither could I go back to sleep. For the next hours, I just laid still, staring out the window as the day cleared up.My head throbbed, and my eyes burned. And when I finally sat up, my chest felt like it was about to explode, I just wanted to lay in bed all day and soak my tears in my pillow but who am I kidding with amount of work I've been pilling up since the issue with Evelyn started... I'm very certain I've missed a couple of important meetings, I kept rescheduling and rescheduling.I dragged myself out of bed, my hands trembled as I buttoned my shirt. I didn’t bother with makeup; there wasn’t enough concealer in the world to hide the exhaustion written all over my face.When I finally made it downstairs, I froze halfway through the stairs.Adrian was already at the dining table.He was eating slowly, his eyes fixed on his food like it was the only thing in the world that deserved his att

Layla's POV.I didn’t even wait for the day to end properly.By noon, I couldn’t take it anymore... the whispers, the stares, the way conversations died whenever I walked into a room.I’d spent the entire morning pretending to work, staring blankly at my computer screen while snippets of gossip buzzed everywhere around me. Every laugh or murmur, felt like it was about me.I could no longer take it, so I grabbed my bags and headed out.By the time I reached the parking lot, my chest was tight and my vision blurry.The moment I got into my car, I locked the doors and slumped into the driver’s seat. For a few seconds, I just sat there, gripping the steering wheel, trying to breathe.Then, because I couldn’t stop myself, I reached for my phone.I shouldn’t have done it.But I did.I opened the first app... and there it was. Everywhere.My name.My face.Photo after photo, post after post, each one worse than the last.“CEO caught with her younger employee!”"Age-gap scandal, between the W

Layla's POV.For hours I just sat there, staring at the blank screen of my phone.The recording app was open, the little red button staring at me, waiting for me to press it.Adrian’s words kept replaying in my head like a haunting melody I couldn’t turn off."Make the statement, this might get worse if you don't." I had even written out what I was supposed to say, Adrian had the pr team send the lines to me.“Good evening, everyone. The images circulating online are fabricated and AI-generated…”I couldn’t bring myself to say them aloud.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Liam’s face... the way he looked at me the last time we spoke, eyes full of care and love even when the world was against us.I couldn’t betray that. Not again.But the pressure was crushing me.My hands trembled as I held the phone upright, my hair was a mess, my face pale, eyes swollen from days of crying, and for a second I thought maybe that was what the world deserved to see. The truth.But when I opened my mo

Layla's POV.For the first time in what felt like forever, I opened my door and stepped out.My bare feet tapped softly through the cold floor as I walked down the hallway.I should be walking towards the dining, but I didn’t know why I was walking toward the mini bar. Maybe because it felt neutral, not a place tied to any memory.The kitchen reminded me of Adrian’s anger towards me.The living room reminded me of Liam.But the bar… it was just a corner where I'd barely been since it was built, and I needed such breath of fresh air.. and I could really use a drink.When I reached the bar, I picked up a half-filled bottle of whiskey, poured myself a glass, and took a sip that burned its way down my throat.It stung... but it was something real, something that wasn’t chaos.I was staring at the glass, tracing the rim with my finger, when I heard the sound of slow footsteps behind me.I turned sharply to see Adrian, shockingly.He was walking toward me, hands in his pockets, the expressi

Layla's POV.For the first time in months, I woke up smiling.Not the kind of forced smile I’d been wearing to survive the world, but a real one.I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt like this, so light and free from the weight that used to sit constantly on my chest. The memory of last night... Liam’s arms around me, the way his voice sounded when he said 'always' lingered in my mind.I hummed softly as I brushed my hair, picked out my outfit, and stood before the mirror; I didn't look like the ghost who’d been hiding behind drawn curtains and sleepless nights. I looked… happy.And that scared me a little.Because I’d almost forgotten what happiness felt like.By the time I stepped out of my car and into the company building, the day was already bright; I tightened my grip on my purse, half-expecting the usual whispers, the barely concealed smirks.But something was different.Heads turned as I walked past, yes but not in the way they used to.There were smiles, like actual sm