Chapter 232: PREPARATIONS

"Which one do you like?" Raya held out her phone, showing Zaley the pictures of different stage decorations for the birthday party.

"They all look the same," he replied flatly.

Raya scowled, but Spencer gave her an assuring smile before leaning toward Zaley.

"Which one do you think Layla will like, Leon?" he asked.

That was when Zaley actually focused. He studied the pictures for a moment, then pointed at the one with giant mushrooms and butterflies.

"My girls will like this," he said with certainty.

"Which one do you like?" Spencer repeated Raya’s question.

Zaley tapped the same picture. "This."

Behind his back, Spencer and Raya exchanged a triumphant high-five.

Layla, watching, shook her head with an amused smile.

"Can we make it Marvel themed?" she suggested.

"Best idea ever," Raya chimed in, Spencer nodding eagerly beside her.

But Zaley wasn’t convinced. "Maybe next year," he said firmly. "This year, anyone could sneak in with a costume. It’s too risky. I won’t take that chance."

Layla reached over and gently squeezed his hand.

"Then we’ll make it yellow themed. Everyone should be in yellow. That’s what Lilly wants."

Spencer groaned dramatically. "I can’t find a suit in yellow. It’ll look—" He cut himself off mid-sentence as his eyes lit up with mischief. He turned to Zaley, grinning like he’d just hatched a wicked plan.

"I agree," he declared. "I want to see Zaley in yellow. And Kirill. And Elijah. And your entire mafia family. All of them in yellow. This will be so fun."

"My man looks good in any colour," Layla teased. "Think about yourself."

Zaley smirked and winked at Spencer, making him groan louder.

It was Raya who turned to Layla next. "What about you? Will you wear yellow too?"

Layla shook her head. "Not just yellow. Maybe white with yellow."

"Why?" Zaley asked, genuinely puzzled. "You love yellow."

Layla hesitated before answering softly.

"I used to."

Layla and Zaley headed to Lilly's school after finalising the invitation design. Spencer, meanwhile, was busy with the guest list, adding a mandatory clause that required everyone to wear yellow.

"You never told me why you don’t like yellow anymore," Zaley said as he drove.

"And you never told me why you’ve been so silent about that girl you visited," Layla countered softly.

She glanced at him. "What is it? You seem distracted. You went to meet the toddler who was left behind. What happened there?"

"She has nowhere to go," he admitted. "Only two years old. Her father sold her. And her mother died, trying to save the girl. Her name is Luna." A faint smile tugged at his lips. "She pronounces it as ‘Wuh-na.’ Took me a while to understand. The doctor says she’s attached to me because of the rescue. We’re trying to find a family who can adopt her. Hopefully, a good couple will come along."

Layla studied him. "That’s it?"

Zaley exhaled, his eyes fixed on the road. "She asked me not to leave. I… had no idea how to answer her. She called me Shep-uh. She remembered that name. She recognised me. I just feel bad for her. I wish her mother were alive."

"Do you think we could bring her home for—"

"No." His reply was firm, cutting her off before she could finish. "Let’s focus on Lilly’s birthday. Now, answer me. Why don’t you like yellow?"

Layla leaned back, staring out the window. "The day I came to Pristine to find you, I wore yellow. You didn’t remember me, Leon." Her voice wasn’t accusing. It was simply the truth.

But it was enough to make his chest tighten.

"Lilly was playing with Spencer at the beach in a yellow dress that day. I dressed her up. I dressed myself up too. I thought you’d recognise us. That you’d come to us. But you didn’t. After that night, I tore that dress apart. Swore I’d never dress up again." She gave a wry smile. "Yet here we are. I need a new makeup set. My skincare routine has six steps now. But I still hate that colour."

"You looked beautiful in that dress. Like an angel," he said quietly.

She turned to him, arching a brow. "You didn’t even look at me for more than two seconds. How would you know?"

Zaley pulled the car to the side, unlocked his phone, and played a video. CCTV footage. The same night at Pristine. Layla, in her yellow dress.

Her breath caught. "How… what? How did you even get this? When did you search for it?"

"Remember Jeremy’s wedding? You wore yellow then, too."

"Only because you forced me," she said, frowning.

He nodded. "That night at the wedding, I knew I knew you. Something inside me shifted. I searched for that footage later. I couldn’t make out the name you called me then, but…" His voice trailed. "I’ve been watching it. Every day."

Tears burned in her eyes. "Why?"

Zaley smiled, but it never reached his eyes. "Because you’re gorgeous, Sprinkles."

But Layla saw through the lie.

He wasn’t watching it because she looked beautiful.

He was watching because it reminded him of how badly he had failed her.

It’s not your fault, she wanted to tell him. She had told him that a hundred times before.

But Leon, her grumpy, stubborn Leon, was the kind of man who’d hold a vendetta against a mosquito if it dared bite his girls. He would never forgive himself for forgetting her.

That guilt would live in him forever.

For the first time, Layla didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how to make him believe that she was happy now. That she was moving forward.

That he didn’t need to carry the past anymore.

But she tried again.

If she has to reassure him a thousand times, she would.

She knew he would do the same.

Layla reached across the console and laced her fingers with his, forcing him to look at her.

"Stop," she whispered. "You’ve punished yourself enough."

His eyes softened, but the storm in them didn’t fade. "I'm definitely not punishing myself. You were so fucking beautiful in that video." He lied easily.

"No. You think I don’t see it? Every time you look at me, you’re not just seeing me. You’re seeing everything you think you ruined. But Leon…" She squeezed his hand tighter. "You didn’t ruin me. You didn’t ruin us. We’re here now. And that’s enough for me."

Zaley closed his eyes, breathing in like a man clinging to air. For once, he didn’t argue. He just held her hand back, as if she were the only thing tethering him to the present.

And maybe she was.

"If you knew, why didn't you ask me? If you find out I was a part of your past, why didn't you ask me?" She asked him, blinking her tears.

"I didn't know if you still wanted me to be part of your life. Believe it or not, I was afraid you would push me away."

Layla scoffed, "And you acted all mighty."

"I was an asshole." Then after a pause, he added, "All men are."