Filed to story: Seventeen Heartbreaks: When Love Has No Voice
Lacey stood frozen, watching Landon fall. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed, trembling, her chest tight with a rush of conflicting emotions. Terror. Relief. Elation. She laughed-sharp, uncontrollable-but her eyes carried nothing but hollow despair.
“Landon, don’t blame me for this. You gave me hope-why did you do that if you didn’t love me? Why Leila? Haven’t I done enough? Haven’t I been enough? Why… Why is Leila always the one in your heart?” Lacey’s expression twisted, her voice hardening.
“You left me no choice. If I can’t have you, then no one can.”
Lacey had planned everything meticulously, down to the identical outfit she wore to mirror Leila’s. Her conviction was unwavering-Landon would not survive the fall. And even if, by some twist of fate, he did survive, he would despise Leila with the assumption that she pushed him down. Better he die hating Leila than loving her. As Lacey stood there, her thoughts spiraling, Leila’s voice cut through the silence like a blade.
“What are you doing here?”.
Lacey, startled from her daze, straightened, her movements unsteady but deliberate. She turned to face Leila, her expression icy and composed.
“Why shouldn’t I be here?” she replied, her tone sharp with mockery. Her lips curled into a venomous smile.
“Leila, you’re unbelievable. Meeting my fianc? in secret and then having the audacity to question me? Pathetic.”
The moment Leila spotted Lacey, an unsettling feeling took root in her chest. Something wasn’t right. Landon was supposed to be here-but he was nowhere in sight.
Leila’s stomach twisted, dread gnawing at her as she stepped forward.
“Lacey, where’s Landon? He’ll explain everything. Do you see him?” she said, her voice firm despite the fear clawing at her throat.
Lacey’s smirk widened, her eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction.
“Landon?” Her laughter rang out, high and hollow, sending chills down Leila’s spine.
Leila’s unease grew sharper, her instincts screaming that something was terribly wrong. Her gaze flicked to Lacey, scanning her carefully-and then it struck her. Lacey’s outfit and hairstyle. Everything. Lacey was dressed exactly like her.
Lacey tilted her head, her expression suddenly cold, calculated. She pointed a trembling finger toward the edge of the cliff.
“He’s down there,” she said with chilling calmness.
“Oh, and by the way…” Lacey paused, her voice eerily sweet.
“He thinks it was you who pushed him. You see, I made sure to wear your clothes and even styled my hair like yours. He didn’t know I followed you here. And let’s not forget you’re the one who picked this meeting spot. So, Landon must believe you killed him.”
The blood drained from Leila’s face. Her mind refused to accept it. Landon couldn’t be gone. It wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. Her thoughts swirled in denial, but her trembling hands betrayed her desperation. At that moment, Lacey suddenly grabbed Leila’s hand, giving her no chance to struggle, and forced her to look down.
“Look!” Lacey screamed, her voice cold and sharp as ice.
“See how high it is?” Her voice dripped with malice, her grip like iron.
“Landon fell, and there’s no way he survived. No body, no trace-just gone. And it’s all because of you. You pushed him. You killed him. So, why are you still here? Shouldn’t you join him down there?”
The venom in Lacey’s voice sent shivers down Leila’s spine.
This was the plot Lacey and Clayton had concocted. She and Clayton had agreed she would pose as Leila, push Landon, and disappear. So, when Leila got back, she’d think Landon had left her.
But Lacey suddenly found that boring. Framing Leila wasn’t enough.
Leila might grieve, might suffer, but she would eventually heal. She would go on living. Landon, though, would be dead. Alone. How cruel, how tragic for him to die without Leila by his side. Landon and Leila were deeply in love with each other. Weren’t they? Why not let them reunite in death? Wouldn’t that be a better ending?
Lacey’s lips curled into a sinister smile, her thoughts darkening. Just as Lacey lunged to push Leila off the cliff, Leila sidestepped effortlessly, her instincts sharp and ready.
Lacey’s momentum sent her stumbling, but she recovered quickly, her face twisted in rage. With a feral scream, she charged at Leila, her desperation turning her reckless.
Before Lacey could even land a blow, Leila grabbed her, twisting her arms behind her back in a swift, practiced motion.
Lacey never imagined Leila could fight back, let alone overpower her. She had always seen Leila as fragile, easy to manipulate.
But now, pinned to the ground with her arms expertly restrained, Lacey realized how wrong she had been.
Leila studied Lacey’s expression, noting the flicker of shock and fear. At that moment, Leila knew Lacey wasn’t lying. Lacey’s crazed words and desperation-they were too raw to be an act.
Still, Leila’s focus remained sharp. Landon’s fate gnawed at her, but she couldn’t let emotions cloud her judgment. She had to restrain Lacey first before calling the police.
Grabbing a length of cord from her bag, Leila swiftly tied Lacey’s hands and feet, ensuring she couldn’t escape.
With Lacey immobilized, Leila pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling as she called Leo.
Lacey’s composure shattered. Panic flashed in her eyes, but she tried to mask it with defiance.
“You can’t do this!” she shouted, desperation seeping into her tone.
“If you send me to prison, Landon’s as good as dead. You think you’re helping him? You’re not. You’re killing him! I was the one who saved Landon when Clayton had someone push him off back then! Leila, you can’t be so heartless!”
Leila’s eyes remained locked on Lacey, unyielding and resolute, even as her heart ached with bitter understanding. She knew exactly what Lacey was talking about when she uttered the words “back then.”
At Lacey’s desperate words, Leila finally realized that Clayton had orchestrated the explosion to silence Brysen because he couldn’t risk the truth getting out. From the very beginning, Clayton had planned Brysen’s demise. Every move he made was calculated, including the supposed claim that Sophie was the actual target. It was all manipulation, meant to sow suspicion in Leila’s mind about Landon.
As the puzzle gradually fell into place, bitterness and regret consumed Leila. How had she allowed herself to be manipulated by Clayton? It was absurd. The supposed life-saving favor where Clayton had taken the brunt of the blade for Leila, leaving him gravely injured, had repeatedly dispelled Leila’s newfound suspicion, and she’d fallen into his traps time and again.
Leila’s gaze turned icy as she looked at Lacey. Her words came sharp and deliberate.
“If Landon survives, he’d rather die than accept your treatment. That’s the kind of man he is. He wouldn’t want anything to do with you.”
Lacey’s face turned pale. This time, she didn’t argue back at Leila. She was unable to comprehend how things had spiraled disastrously. Was it wrong for her to chase after the person she loved with all her heart? Before long, Leo arrived with the police in tow.
Leila wasted no time recounting the events to Leo, her voice steady but eventually breaking as tears spilled over.
“I don’t know if Lacey had lied or twisted the narrative to her favor. I hope you can find Landon. I shouldn’t have chosen this place. I…”
Leo froze, stunned by the revelation. He struggled to process it and even entertained the thought that Leila might be making it up. Could this really be happening? Landon was such an exceptional man. How could his life end so abruptly and unfairly? After Landon and Leila had finally resolved their misunderstandings, they were supposed to have their chance to be together. Why did fate have to deal such a cruel blow?
As Leo processed the news, muffled sounds of Lacey’s struggles caught his attention. His face darkened with fury, and he strode toward her, hand raised in anger. But before Leo could act, Leila stopped him just in time.
Tears shimmered in Leila’s eyes as she looked at Lacey, her expression as cold as steel.
“There’s no need for that. The law will deal with her. Right now, finding Landon is what matters. Everything is entirely my fault.”
Leila couldn’t help but regret ever choosing such a place. But how could she have known that Lacey and Clayton had been targeting her and Landon all along? Leila had picked this very place specifically to lay low and avoid unnecessary attention.
Moreover, in Leila’s eyes, Lacey had always harbored a deep love for Landon. Leila couldn’t comprehend why Lacey would be capable of taking Landon’s life despite loving him so deeply.
Leo placed a comforting hand on Leila’s shoulder.
“This isn’t your fault, Mrs. Kensington.”
Earlier, when Leila had revealed Lacey’s long-standing alliance with Clayton, the pieces began to fall into place for Leo.
“We underestimated Lacey,” Leo commented, glancing at Lacey with undisguised hatred.
“She was the one who poisoned Mr. Kensington that day. We never expected her to have been working with Clayton all this time.”
Leo’s remorse weighed heavily on him, the realization sinking in deeper with each passing moment. Even he had been caught up in the chaos back then, unable to see the full picture.
Back when Elma fell into the lake, Landon had personally entrusted Leo with the investigation, hoping to uncover the truth.
Leo had quickly discovered the sunken boat had been sabotaged. It hit him like a cold wave. There was a traitor among Landon’s people. However, no servant or bodyguard would be free to interact with others openly. Their role was limited to passing messages to the enemy. Whoever did this had to be someone close to Landon.
Leo had failed to pinpoint Lacey as the culprit because, at that time, the conflicts between Leila and Landon were palpable, and Lacey had played her role so convincingly that she didn’t strike him as capable of doing such a thing.
Moreover, on the surface, Lacey seemed devoted to Landon, and none had seen her dark and vicious side coming. Despite her so-called love for Landon, her ability to be so ruthless toward him was truly shocking.
Leila’s thoughts spiraled.