Chapter 529: I Am Not Worth It, Give up
Layla's eyes were bloodshot.
She approached Landen and grabbed his collar.
Due to Landen's weakened state, Layla easily slammed him against the wall.
She questioned, "Who gave you the right to lose your memories as you like? What right do you have to lose your memories?"
The feelings which she had tried to conceal were finally unearthed.
She said through gritted teeth, "You've accomplished the goal that you've always wanted. Now, you decided to lose all memories of how coldly you treated me, wishing to return to when we were the happiest? How could you be so shameless!"
Layla clutched his collar so tightly that veins bulged on the back of her hand. "Have you forgotten how you treated me? You gave me the cold shoulder, took our daughter away by force, and even threatened me with my own parents! I know you saved my parents, but do you think that is enough to erase the torment I have been through for the past six years!"
She continued, "For the past six years, your mood is ever -shifting. Are you telling me, my traumas, all the traumas that you've caused me, should disappear simply because you have forgotten them! Landen Shilling, there is no one as ruthless as you! Ever!"
A few beads of tears rolled down her face. She sobbed, "In the end, only I remember those painful memories that you brought upon me. Why? Tell me, why..."
"I didn't," Landen interrupted her.
Layla froze as she stared at him. He repeated, "I didn't lose my memories."
It was clear that Layla had put much force into it.
"You lied to me," Layla blurted out the words with difficulty.
Landen gulped. "I'm sorry."
"Hah!" Layla almost broke down and said, "Leave!"
"Layla..." Landen caught her in time and did not release her. He said hoarsely, "I thought... I could give us a chance like this. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry for all those years. It's all my fault."
Landen continued, "I'm a bastard; I'm inhumane. Please don't cry. Don't torment yourself anymore. You can hate me, Layla. Don't suffer between love and hate anymore."
Landen suddenly realized he didn't deserve her.
"Let's clear all the mess between us," Landen choked out. "I'm setting you free from our relationship. Go pursue your true happiness."
Layla was facing away from Landen, her shoulders quivering.
Her tears were dripping down endlessly like rain.
Landen struggled to continue his sentence. "I know... I know you still have feelings for me and it's torturing and hurting you. Let them go. I'm not worth it."
Layla let out an audible sob.
"I'll hire a hypnotist to help you forget everything about us. Is that all right?" Having said that, tears began to roll down his cheeks when he closed his eyes.
Layla's voice trembled as she said, "Thank you."
She agreed to Landen's suggestion. She wanted to forget everything too.
Otherwise, she would be trapped in those seven years and would never find a way out.
Hearing her thanks, he felt his body turn cold and an excruciating heartache.
...
Landen froze on the spot, as stiff as a piece of wood. He watched as Layla withdrew her hand and returned to her room.
"Wait!" Wilson rushed over to the two. He sighed. "Layla, I need to talk to you about something. Can I borrow some of your time?"
Landen turned to look at him and frowned.
His voice was cold as he warned, "Keep your mouth shut, Wilson."
Wilson ignored him and kept his eyes on Layla. "Please, give me one chance, Layla."
"Speak." Her eyes were empty as she stared forward.
Wilson said, "Layla, you should know by now that Landen was involved in a lot of dangerous activities for the past few years. Many eyes are on him. Those people wanted to capture you and use you to threaten him. But, he loves you and could not give you up. He was also afraid he would hurt you, so all he could do was to treat you coldly."
Wilson continued, "This led to him hurting the people around him, including himself. It was the wrong thing to do. However, his feelings for you are real, Layla. He was suffering more than you."
Wilson let out a breath and pleaded, "Ever since he was a child, he had never received anything like love, let alone expressing it. Layla, just once. Could you give him another chance, please?"
Layla shook her head. "No."
The entire villa was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Layla closed her eyes and continued, "No one can bear this kind of love. I wanted us to work together and be evenly matched-- not be treated like a fragile flower that had to be kept indoors. I didn't want to be handed to someone else to be taken care of while Landen fought against death. I didn't want to be thrown away."
"Landen, please arrange the hypnosis session tomorrow." Layla's voice was cold. "There's no need for further discussion. It's late at night, and we are on Mr. Castle's and Freya's property. This is not the place for arguments."
After that, Layla entered her room and shut the door.
It seemed to signify the official separation between the couple.
Outside, Wilson and Landen stood in a daze. The former noticed Landen had taken off his disguise, his eyes red and filled with pain. An indescribable bitterness shot through Wilson's heart.
Previously, he was captivated by Declan's family and had thoughts about forming his own family too.
Witnessing Landen and Layla's situation, he quickly erased that thought.
"Are you really going to hire a hypnotist to help Layla forget about everything between you two?" Wilson asked in a low voice.
Landen nodded. "Yes."
With that, Landen felt an emptiness in his chest as he staggered toward his bedroom.
The next day, Freya found out from Aaron about everything that happened between Landen and Layla.
Her mouth was wide open with shock.
She had a hard time coming to terms with it.
It was unimaginable to her that Landen was willing to let go of Layla to that extent.
After listening to Aaron's recount, Freya seemed to understand the gist of the situation. Landen had faked his amnesia, just as she had suspected.
"Oh, by the way, how did you know about this?" The more she thought about it, the more peculiar it seemed. She crossed her arms and scrutinized Aaron.
Aaron shrugged and answered arrogantly, "Wilson was complaining about it all night to me."