Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Landon was relieved when he saw the ambition in Lacey’s eyes.
He’d rather she wanted something from him. Landon decided to change the subject.
“So, why are you really here? How did you know I was hiding in this cave?” he asked.
Lacey looked down, hesitating.
“Well… I…” she stammered..
“Lacey, you saved my life. I don’t want to think you’d ever hurt me, so please tell me the truth,” Landon said. “There aren’t many people left in this world that I can trust.”
Lacey’s heart skipped a beat. Did this mean he trusted her? It was too dark in the cave for Landon to see Lacey blushing.
Lacey took a deep breath.
“Landon, I have to tell you something.”
Lacey then recounted how Leila and Clayton came to the village to look for Landon that day. But she didn’t tell him the whole story.
In the story with twisted truth, Lacey claimed that when she found out Leila was looking for Landon, she wanted to tell him, but then she heard that Leila and Clayton had found his body. Curious, she followed them to see what was going on.
She knew right away that the body wasn’t real, but Leila and Clayton seemed to believe it was Landon and took it away. Lacey emphasized it was then she realized Leila didn’t truly love Landon, but she kept that to herself.
When she heard that Landon was planning to come find Leila, she tried to talk him out of it. But it was Landon’s decision, and she couldn’t stop him, so she came with him. She didn’t expect to lose track of him so quickly.
When she finally found him again, she saw Clayton forcing him to jump off the cliff.
If Lacey had only said that she saw him jump, Landon wouldn’t have believed her. It would have seemed too coincidental. But Lacey had mentioned the body, and that made Landon wonder if she was telling the truth.
If Lacey knew all this and was lying to him, it would mean she had been working with Clayton the whole time. But if that was true, why hadn’t she done anything sooner? Why wait until now?
Landon was confused. There were so many things he couldn’t figure out. Every time he tried to delve deeper, his head would throb with pain.
After listening to Lacey’s account, Landon was silent for a moment before saying, “I’m sorry, Lacey. I didn’t mean to doubt you. I just don’t know who to trust anymore.”
Lacey gave a mock sigh and looked down, but there was a strange look in her eyes. She said hesitantly, “Actually, there might still be a chance. Leila hasn’t left yet. I saw her today. She was standing at the edge of the cliff, and she almost fell. I pulled her back. If you want, I can arrange for you to meet her. She even gave me this.”
Lacey pulled out Leila’s business card to prove she was telling the truth.
Landon’s eyes widened, and he gave a bitter smile. How ridiculous! Even now, hearing Lacey recount how Leila nearly fell, a sharp pang of worry shot through him.
What the heck was Leila doing here anyway? Had she come, like Clayton, to gloat over his supposed demise? To make sure he was really gone?
Landon had always trusted Leila implicitly, never daring to question her decency. But the evidence against her was piling up, suffocating him with its weight.
He couldn’t deny the truth any longer. Lacey’s concern seemed genuine, a stark contrast to the betrayal that gnawed at him.
Landon turned away, his voice laced with bitterness.
“No need. I don’t want to hear about Leila, not now, not ever.”
A flicker of triumph crossed Lacey’s face, but she quickly masked it with a look of concern.
“Right,” she said, stepping forward to help him up.
“Let’s get you out of this hellhole first.”
Landon nodded weakly, leaning heavily on Lacey for support. As they stumbled out of the cave, the heavens opened, unleashing a torrential downpour. The rainy season was upon them, its arrival heralded by the relentless drumming of raindrops.
Soon, the rain would wash away any evidence of their presence, erasing their footsteps and silencing their whispers. If Landon hadn’t summoned the strength to climb out of that chasm, he would have been swallowed by the earth, his fate forever unknown.
Landon tilted his head back, letting the icy rain wash over him, a baptism of sorts, cleansing him of the past.
“Lacey,” Landon said suddenly, his voice flat, devoid of emotion.
“I’m leaving for overseas soon.”
The message was clear, and Lacey grasped its implications immediately. Her response was swift and earnest.
“I’ll join you, but only if you hold true to our agreement. Once you climb back to the top, you mustn’t forget to pull me up with you.”
Landon’s lips curved into a comforting smile.
“I’ll remember,” he assured her.
Lacey’s eyes lingered on the contours of Landon’s sharply defined profile, her heart pounding with anticipation. She tightened her hold on his arm, feeling the solid warmth of his presence.
Meanwhile, the activities at the foundation had come to a close, yet Leila had stayed behind. The nagging thought that the man she had brushed shoulders with at the banquet could have been Landon haunted her. The more she mulled over the evening, the more she sensed a discrepancy.
However, the events, as they unfolded, seemed impeccably rational and seamless. She struggled to figure out exactly what piece didn’t sit right. Ultimately, she attributed her suspicion to overwhelming exhaustion from the relentless pace of recent days, convincing herself that she could have mistaken another for Landon during a brief encounter.
Her phone buzzed incessantly, the company’s demands pulling her back. A stack of critical projects awaited her discerning eyes and decisive signature. Moreover, Edgar had mentioned that pressing affairs at the Kensington Group demanded Leila’s immediate and personal intervention.
After several days apart, Leila found herself missing her three kids terribly.
Letting out a long sigh, she resolved to book a flight back home. As she navigated to the airline’s website, her phone rang, an unknown number flashing on the screen. With a mix of curiosity and caution, Leila picked up.
“Hello, who might this be?”
“Leila, it’s me.” The voice was familiar yet slightly distant.
Pondering for a brief moment, Leila placed it.
“Miss Payne?”
“Yes. You handed me your business card and mentioned I could call you anytime,” Lacey responded.
Recalling their previous encounter, Leila replied, “Yes, is everything alright? Do you need help with something?” Leila had presumed Lacey needed assistance, yet Lacey’s next words took her by surprise.
“There’s no hurry. How about we meet for a coffee instead?”
Since Leila wasn’t pressed for time, she accepted the invitation.
In the quaint town, coffee shops were few and far between. The only place nearby was a quiet caf?, its worn exterior giving it a slightly rundown charm. Leila, unfazed by the aesthetic, picked a quiet corner to sit down.
Time seemed to stretch, and it was almost half an hour later when Lacey finally made her entrance, framed by the relentless downpour outside. She stepped out of the car, pausing to share a bright, lingering laugh with someone still inside, her face alight with a joy rarely seen.
To Leila, who was used to Lacey’s usual aloofness and reserved demeanor, this display of warmth was both surprising and puzzling. It was the first time Leila had seen Lacey so completely alive, her laughter bubbling over, filling the space with warmth.
It sparked a thought in Leila that the unseen companion in the car was surely someone of great significance to Lacey.
Upon entering the caf?, Lacey’s face transformed as her eyes met Leila’s.
The joy vanished like smoke, replaced by a cold, formal expression.
“Hello, Miss Nixon,” Lacey remarked, her voice carrying a hint of frost.
Leila responded with a gentle nod. Having ordered, Leila flashed Lacey a cheerful smile, her eyes twinkling with a friendly warmth.
Without missing a beat, Leila leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her on the table, and dove straight into the heart of the matter.
“Miss Payne, is there something I’ve done to upset you? You seem to hold a certain view about me.”
Shaking her head, Lacey responded calmly, “Miss Nixon, it’s not you. I’m just this way with everyone. It’s my nature.”