Chapter 139 Break up with her

Chapter 139 Break up with her
Elara's POV

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, Maurice made up some kind of excuse and left.

Maybe he didn't want to see Jayden and I together. Or maybe it was some other reason. He was awfully quiet during the ride.

Jayden booked the penthouse, and we both went up. My eyes hurt from all the crying I had been doing, but sleep refused to come to me.

Lying on the huge bed, I stared at the ceiling, unable to do anything else. Jayden was in the other room.

Even after taking a shower, I still felt so dirty and tired.

Not just because of the memories from my past, but also because of that actual place. It reminded me too much of the dungeon back at home.

Home.

Up till now, that word still felt foreign.

Even back when I was in Korea, nowhere felt right. The only place that did have that homely feeling was Jasper's mansion.

Just that it wasn't a permanent residence. Not for me.

As though he knew I was thinking about him, Jayden knocked on my door.

My gaze snapped towards him to see him by the door, his hand still balled into a fist.

"Hey, I saw your lights," he said in a tone that made my heart skip.

Was it me, or had his voice grown deeper after being away from him for less than a day?

"Do you want me to turn them off?"

Turn what?

Oh, lights.

I blinked as I remembered.

He was messing with my head even without doing anything. That was why he was so dangerous.

"No." I shook my head, falling back onto my bed. "Leave the lights on."

The dungeon was dark. They both were.

With the light on, the image was still so vivid in my head. I couldn't imagine how it would feel if the lights were turned off.

Jayden didn't leave immediately.

I heard his soft footsteps as he stepped into the room, walking towards me.

"You can't sleep?"

Obviously.

If I could, I would be asleep.

I ignored him, turning my face to the other side while trying my best not to think of what happened today, or the memories I regained, or the fact that my children were currently alone with that lying piece of shit.

Jayden dropped onto the bed. I felt his weight shift as he leaned back.

"Do you want me to stay here with you?" He asked, his tone sounding sincere.

But then again, when did it ever sound like betrayal?

A snort left my lips.

"Why?" I turned to look at him with a stretched smile on my lips. "So I'd just piss off your girlfriend, sorry... Fiance?" Snorting again, I turned back to face the ceiling. "No, thank you."

Sure enough, Zia was going to pay for what happened because I sure as hell knew that she had a hand in it.

But until then, I had to stay low and avoid making the angry bitch even angrier.

I mean... It was her man.

Still, Jayden didn't get it. He fell back onto the bed, lying down on his back just like I did. His voice dropped.

"Elara, I am really sorry about what happened two days ago. I don't even remember what happened. Every October 8th, I tend to lose myself."

He didn't look at me. He just continued explaining. "I drink nonstop and allow myself to wallow in the guilt of Jane's death." He paused for a second, his eyes closed. "Zia knows that."

He knew that, and he knew that she knew, yet he didn't believe me when I said that she had a hand in my kidnapping?

I couldn't help but wonder as my neck turned to look at the vulnerable man on my bed.

The way he spoke made me want to believe him, but the pain from being roughly handled fought the trust I had in him back.

"The last thing I remember was leaving the dining room in the morning, going to my study and opening a bottle of whiskey."

Jayden suddenly opened his eyes and turned to look at me.

A soft gasp left my lips.

He caught me staring.

Holding on to my gaze, he shifted, using his hand as a pillow so he could keep looking at me.

"Elara, do you think I would deliberately hurt you after the night we had before that?" His eyes dropped to my lips. Just a second's stare, but it was enough to make my heart race. "I thought you knew how much I cared about you."

His black eyes sucked me in.

And just like him, my eyes lingered for a few seconds on his thin lips.

Looking back up at him, I whispered, "How much do you care about me?"

"I love you," Jayden replied in a heartbeat.

But those words seemed to stop my heartbeat.

It was sudden. I didn't expect him to admit whatever he felt for me.

Jayden was a prideful man with a plan. Every step he took was part of some kind of plan.

Maybe that was what his confession was too.

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced.

My heart slowly returned back to normal, and I scoffed. "With you, there is always a reason for everything." Then my gaze shifted back to the ceiling. "Why did you say that?"

"Because I don't want you to leave me."

Again.

My heart skipped a beat.

What was wrong with Jayden today?

He was never this smooth. Neither did he speak of his feelings, but he seemed as though a switch had been turned on in him.

It was strange.

Whether he noticed my surprise or not, he didn't show it. He just kept on talking, practically confessing his feelings for... me.

"When I thought you disappeared, it was like a blow to my gut. It was only then that I realized how much I hurt you."

My mind went back to what happened over forty-eight hours ago.

The way Jayden and Zia had been entangled together with his lips on hers.

I felt a pang in my chest.

Like it was being stung by a thousand bees.

My jaw clenched in anger.

How dare he speak of being in love with me when he was not only engaged to another but also sexually involved with her?

What?

Did he think that I was stupid? That I'd fall for his tricks again?

A laugh left my lips.

I didn't notice the way Jayden frowned immediately. "I'm sorry if you think that my feelings for you are a joke, but they're not."

Really now?

I turned to look at him, a smirk on my lips.

"What do you think I am? Seven?" Another laugh left my lips, a short one. "Even a seven-year-old wouldn't be deceived by your words."

Baring my teeth, I glared at Jayden.

Damn his face for looking so bloody sincere.

But I didn't care about that.

I wasn't going to care about that.

"I used to think that you got close to me because I was the only one you could sleep with after your girlfriend died. But now your fiancee did it too."

At least then I knew the reason why he wanted me around, but now everything was just confusing.

"Come to think of it." Propping my shoulder upwards, I turned to look at Jayden again.

Pain.

It was in his eyes, but the second I stared at them, it disappeared.

I blinked.

"How can you claim you love me when you have a fiancee? And she isn't even a normal person. A witch?"

Since he wanted to play the love game, then I could play too.

"Before you can openly admit having anything for me, you have to be free first."

Jayden's face froze. "You want me to break up with Zia." It wasn't a question. He knew exactly what I meant.

Nodding my head, I agreed. "That's how this kind of thing works."

His face fell. Jayden looked away from me, shaking his head. "I... I can't."

He claimed he loved me, yet he insisted on marrying that witch.

Guess he really thought I was stupid.

I felt a pull on my chest, but I bit down on my lip before my disappointment could show.

Maybe I wanted his words to be true.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Bryes." My eyes became blurry, but I blinked the tears back. Standing up from the bed, I began walking.

Jayden sat up on the bed, his eyes following me.

After getting to the door, I pulled it open before looking back at Jayden.

"But you can't eat your cake and have it too."