Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
However, the bitterness of her current situation did not go unnoticed.
‘I used to be such a beauty,’ Sarah commented, her eyes clouding over.
‘But look what I’ve become.
Can you guess why? Stay away from Leila.
My downfall is all her fault.’
Lacey, though she had already prepared herself for this, was affected by Sarah’s revelations.
‘Really? But Miss Nixon always seemed so gentle and benign.
How could she possibly have led you to be like that?’
Sarah’s laughter was bitter, mixed with tears running down her face.
‘Gentle? Perhaps to the untrained eye.
She’s just a mask to fool those around her.’
Sarah wove a story of her past with Landon and Leila, carefully constructing her tale to appear guileless.
‘Landon and I were childhood sweethearts, destined to marry after college.
However, fate was cruel.
Leila, once a silent foster child in the Kensington family, managed to win Landon’s grandfather’s sympathy and took my place, forcing Landon to marry her.
During those days, Landon hated her, longing to escape.
Yet Leila always painted me as the villain in her story.’
Lacey’s heart pounded as she processed the story, prompting her to question further.
‘But I hear Landon really cares about Leila now.
Logically, shouldn’t he resent such manipulation?’
Sarah’s face momentarily distorted into a strange expression.
‘Who told you that story, Landon himself?’
Lacey dismissed it with a quick shake of her head.
‘No, just the rumours I’ve heard around.’
Sarah didn’t dwell on that.
The complex web of their entanglements was no mystery, often feeding the gossip in their social circles.
Sarah’s gaze sparkled.
‘This must be the power of their strategies.
I’m not sure about Landon’s situation, but it’s clear Leila has set her sights on Clayton.’
Lacey nodded and then deftly diverted the conversation to another topic.
After all, she’d already gotten the information she needed.
Before parting ways, Sarah leaned closer to Lacey, her voice low, hinting that Leila and Clayton should be kept apart at all costs.
Lacey nodded, though her mind was already weaving different plans.
Elsewhere, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Leila climbed the gentle slope of the hill.
It had been a while since she had returned to the camp, and she had not yet paid homage at Roderick’s grave.
When Leila arrived at Roderick’s grave, she noticed that the headstone was carefully tended, with fresh offerings placed in front of it.
She assumed it was probably Edgar who had placed them and thought nothing more of it.
Leila set her bouquet down next to the others and whispered to the headstone:
‘Good afternoon, Roderick.
How are things over there?
I’m still clinging to the belief that Landon is out there.
If he’s gone, I’m sure he would visit my dreams, as you do.
You’ve come to me in my dreams so many times since you left us.
But Landon hasn’t visited once in my dreams, so I refuse to believe he’s gone.
I’d bet you could convince him to show up in my dreams if he’d really said goodbye to the world.
So he must still be alive, right?’
A gentle breeze whispered, bringing echoes that made Leila’s tears well up.
Leila spoke, her voice cracking with emotion.
‘Roderick, Landon, my heart aches for both of you.
Even though I am surrounded by loved ones, I am haunted by memories of our times together.’
Tears overwhelmed her, sliding down her cheeks as she wept openly.
Normally, Leila kept her emotions in check, especially in public or in front of her children.
Strength was her cloak.
However, in private moments like this, her guard would fall.
Just then, Landon, who had returned, witnessed this raw display of grief.
He saw Leila weeping uncontrollably, her usual calm replaced by visible tremors of vulnerability.
His heart twisted in sympathy as he watched the scene, his normally stoic face clouding over with concern.
‘Leila,’ Landon muttered, approaching her with hurried steps.
Clayton arrived before Landon, however, and it was he who reached Leila first.
Dressed in a smart black suit, Clayton’s presence caused Leila to quickly stifle her sobs, wiping away her tears hurriedly to hide her distress.
Her eyes, red and obvious, belied her composed expression.
‘What are you doing here?’ asked Leila, visibly confused, her brows furrowed in mild irritation.
This mountain was the domain of the Kensington family.