Chapter 7: THAT HOUSE

**LAYLA || THEN**

The soft and warm early morning sunlight poured through the window, casting a rosy hue across the sky. As Layla stirred awake, the first thing she noticed was the warmth enveloping her. She found him beside her, deep in slumber with her head on his chest. She glanced over, his tousled hair fell across his forehead in soft waves, the morning light catching the hints of gold. He had high cheekbones, and a strong jawline, accentuating the relaxed strength of his features. His lips were slightly parted, revealing a hint of a smile that made her heart flutter.

It has been six months since she officially claimed him. Not even once did Leon take things further than kissing. Did he see her naked? Yes. Did he touch where she ached the most when he was near? Yes. But did he take her virginity? No. Not yet. Leon is so controlled like that.

Layla traced her gaze over his broad shoulders and the way his chest rose and fell beneath her hand, the play of light and shadow highlighting his rippling abs. "Mine." She whispered, kissing him on his heart. He likes it when she does that. There was effortless confidence in his relaxed posture and for a moment, she simply watched, captivated by the man who had become her safe haven.

Layla had this stupid huge crush on him since she was thirteen and he was eighteen. The now seventeen years old Layla wants to give a high-five to the thirteen years and say, "We made it. This man is ours."

Leon shifted their positions so that she was beneath him now, his head buried in the crook of her neck as he inhaled her scent.

She tried to move. But he wouldn't budge.

"Stay," He whispered in his deep hoarse tone.

"I will be late to school." She told him, her tone low and raspy. "Mom will wake up soon. I have to go before she finds out that I am not in that house."

That's when he raised his head and looked at her. His gaze is intense for someone who just woke up.

"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THAT HOUSE AGAIN."

He sounds angry.

"I am still seventeen. She is my guardian. You know how dramatic she can be."

"You didn't sound like you needed a guardian when you were begging for my cock yesterday."

That made her blush in embarrassment. She begged him alright? The stone of a man didn't even budge. The way he exerts the control of himself is out of her.

"No one in my class is a virgin." Why did she sound like she was complaining?

"That's not the point, Lalya." He reminded her.

He sounds...angry. Angry Leon is not a good sign, especially in the mornings because he has the ability to stop her from leaving using that skilful mouth, and hands. She would stay with him willingly. In hindsight, it wouldn't do them any good.

To his dismay, she got up, looking for her clothes. "You know how she is. I don't want her to discover about us. At least, not yet."

Her mom is an addict like every other person in that Wayfarer neighbourhood. And she brings her fuck-buddies. There was a time when one of them tried to touch Layla, while her mom was passed out in the living room. Layla ran away from there in the middle of the night, crying and shaking. Leon didn't take it well. The next day he had an ugly bruise on his face while the man who touched her had a broken arm.

Ever since then, Layla has been spending most of the nights in Leon's apartment.

"If your mom brings any stranger to that house, come here or go to Ayesha's place."

It's funny how the house she was born and brought up in became *that house.* The place she is standing in now becomame her home. HE IS HER HOME.

She walked to the beg again and pressed her lips against his. He kissed her back, taking full control, his hands swept inside her t-shirt while he devoured her like she was his last meal.

"Stay out of trouble." He murmured against her lips.

She swore he sounded like her grandma sometimes.

"Yes, mama." She mocked.

"It's daddy for you."

Her cheeks heated up and she looked away. He possessed her and god, she loves the way he does that. She is officially in LEON's FEVER where everything revolves around him.

"Don't forget to turn off the geyser, heater and lights." She reminded him.

He looked outside the window, rubbing the back of his head, something he does when he is annoyed with any situation.

"I am going to own them one day."

Layla stared at the skyscrapers he was referring to. They are so distant from where they are, literally and figuratively.

He has an unreasonable obsession with those corporate buildings, and she has no idea why. Then again, he is ambitious, and she knows he can make it.

"Will you take me with you?" She asked this same question many times and every time, his answer never changed.

"I will not take a step forward without you."

That made her smile. She knows that one day, they will make it out of Wayfarer and move to the central city where Ylumia bustles with luxuries and wealth. That's exactly why she doesn't skip school. She has a colorful future with him, with life and she doesn't want to ruin it by spoiling her present.

They both will make it out of this life to a better one.

**LAYLA || NOW**

She didn't make it. Leon didn't make it. Guess who did? The devil, Zaley, the son of the sea and the monster of Ylumia did.

Layla looked at her house, the house, Leon warned her not to stay in. The faded blue wallpaper peels in places and the wooden floor creaks under her foot. Sunlight filtered through the grimy windows, illuminating a few scattered toys and mismatched furniture. Her grandmother put the house in her name before she passed away four years ago. Every corner of this house holds the countless nightmares Layla has faced throughout her entire life. Living under this roof made her feel suffocated every damn second. But she can't afford rent when she needs every penny she can get for Lilly's medicines. Raya advised to let Lilly stay in the hospital tonight. Layla checked her phone again to monitor sleeping Lilly. Yes, she has the cam in her daughter's room in the hospital. Thanks to Raya.

She is done with the awful day or she thought it was the case before she heard the moans coming from her bedroom.

Oh, shit. Layla jumped instantly from her couch and banged the door. She heard curses and moans, and more curses before her mother finally opened the door with a semi-naked man behind her.

"Get the fuck out of my house now, Emma and take that son of a bitch with you.

She could tell that her mom was intoxicated just by looking at her eyes.

"This is my house," Emma shouted.

"No, it isn't. It is my house now, a house where a five years old girl lives and I refuse you to let you do what you did with me. Get the fuck out or I am calling the cops."

The man behind her seemed annoyed. "What a crazy bitch." He murmured before he put his clothes on and walked out, giving Layla a filthy look.

Layla looked at her mother, waiting for her to leave.

"You will pay for this, bitch. I have nowhere to go." Emma shouted.

"And how is that my problem?"

"You are not even grateful for giving you birth."

Layla felt her heartbeat quickened. It happens every time she gets into situations like this and they tend to happen often in her life. "Pass. Now leave."

"I need money."

"I don't have any."

"Because you are wasting your youth and time on that little shit. Honestly, I don't even understand how you can look at her face when she was born out of rape."

If she could slap her mother, she would have.

"They raped me because of you." She shouted.

"If your useless boyfriend got the money in the time, you would have spared."

"Get the fuck out, now." She shouted again.

Of course, Emma doesn't leave without a fight. She was screaming, calling her names, and playing the victim, waking up the entire community. But Layla didn't open her doors.

Thank god, Lilly was not there to witness this. She doesn't have to go through it. She is already fighting cancer. How does she protect her daughter now? What if Emma brings someone to the house, claiming it as her own when Lilly was there? Leon is not here to protect them. How can she survive?

Once she thought her mom left, Layla ran out of the house, crying and shaking. The night was a torrent of chaos, rain slashing through the air like icy daggers. She ran, heart pounding in sync with the violent storm, her clothes soaked to the skin, sticking to her body with every step. She reached the place where Leon's home used to be there. The abandoned apartment loomed ahead, a shell of its former self—crumbling walls, shattered windows, and a faint hum of emptiness. She walked into it anyway, remembering the time when that apartment used to be her haven.

"Where are you?" She whispered to no one. "Why did you leave me? Why did you leave us?"

She pushed through the broken door, the wood groaning as it gave way to her urgency. The air inside was thick, and damp with the scent of decay. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness, the only light spilling from the distant streetlamps outside, casting long, eerie shadows across the room.

And then she saw him.

A figure, standing motionless near the far wall, half-shrouded in shadow. His clothes were as soaked as hers, his face eerily calm despite the storm raging around them. His eyes—empty, unreadable—locked onto hers. He stood there, devoid of life, a ghost in a world that had forgotten how to feel.

For a moment, the sound of the rain disappeared, drowned out by the heavy silence between them. Neither spoke. Neither moved. Her breath hitched, unsure whether to flee or step closer as if some invisible force kept her rooted to the spot.

What was he doing here?

"Leon?" She whispered.