Chapter 214

"Please, don't abandon me. I love you," Layla pleaded, her arms wrapped tightly around him. Her body pressed against his back, tears cascading down her cheeks unrestrained.

Layla had cast aside her dignity, her sole desire was him.

"Please, Samuel, tell me what went wrong. I refuse to accept that your love for me has waned. I won't believe it, Samuel..." Layla's sobs were uncontainable, each one seeming to tear at the very core of Samuel's heart.

His countenance was taut, his complexion gradually shifting from a sickly green to a lifeless ashen gray. His lips were void of any color, yet he was compelled to endure.

Samuel raised his hand, intending to disentangle Layla's fingers from his waist. He was aware of the necessity of his resolve, to cease prolonging this torment. But before he could act, the hands encircling his waist were abruptly ripped away. Layla was jerked around, a harsh slap landing on her face, causing her vision to blur momentarily.

Nora was hastily retracted by Samuel. "What are you doing!" he roared.

Fear was absent from Nora's expression, replaced by disdain and contempt directed at Layla. "Layla, are you so enamored with the role of the mistress? Samuel's done with you, yet you insist on clinging onto him. You may lack shame, but Samuel possesses it."

Layla cradled her face, frozen in shock, a buzzing noise filling her ears. The sting of the slap lingered on her skin, while Nora's cruel words echoed around her.

Suddenly, as if roused from a stupor, Layla's gaze anxiously darted towards Nora. "He's with me. We're to be wed."

"Wed? Are you delusional? You're not even worthy of touching the Holland family's doorknob, let alone entertain the notion of marrying into the family?" Nora's tone was saturated with arrogance, treating Layla as a mere jest.

Having suffered ample humiliation in the past, Nora was not about to spare Layla now that she had the opportunity to vent.

"This is our affair, not yours. Samuel..."

"Don't lay a finger on Samuel! You still have the audacity to brazenly pursue my betrothed?" Nora positioned herself in front of Samuel, swatting away Layla's outstretched hand. "Samuel's had his fill of you, he's grown weary of your presence.

"Layla, you've exploited him enough; it's time for you to leave.

"If you persist, Layla, I'll make sure you vanish!"

Samuel's temples pulsed as he seized Nora and ushered her into the back seat of the car.

Nora was thrust in, her head colliding with the seat with a thud. The car door slammed shut, striking Nora's head and immediately raising a large bump. She felt disoriented and was seething with rage.

"Samuel..."

"I never wish to see you again." The moment Layla's fingertips grazed Samuel, he sharply swatted her hand away.

"Samuel..." Layla was akin to a lost soul in the darkness, pursuing a glimmer of light. She stumbled and collapsed to the ground, her gaze pleadingly fixed on Samuel. But he simply climbed into the car.

"Samuel..." Layla wept.

Mr. Vandella cast a sympathetic glance at her, slid into the driver's seat, and drove off.

"Layla, Layla, are you alright?" Alice rushed over and knelt beside her, "Your face! Did Nora hit you? How could she?!"

...

In the rearview mirror, Samuel could only see Layla sprawled on the ground, weeping so intensely that she couldn't rise, her tears falling like pearls from a string. She appeared so pitiful, as if forsaken by the entire world.

Samuel's chest was throbbing, the pain so severe his face turned pallid.

Nora, massaging her forehead, glared at him irritably, "Samuel, you harmed me just now."

Samuel's hands, resting on his knees, abruptly clenched into fists, his gaze as chilling as a nightmare from hell, icily staring at Nora, "If you dare harm Layla again, I'll end you!"

Nora was initially taken aback but then scoffed, "If you kill me, who will you wed? I'm your only betrothed."

That night, she had received a call from Holland, stating Samuel would dutifully marry her. She approached him with skepticism, but surprisingly, he did not reject her presence.

Nora was a woman of intelligence, refusing to indulge in the naive belief that Samuel's heart had undergone a change. She was certain that he was under some form of coercion from Holland, although she had yet to discern the exact nature of it.

She had anticipated the inevitable demise of Samuel's liaison with the lowly Layla. Only those of equivalent social stature could truly support and be deserving of Samuel. In her view, she, Nora, was the sole person who fit that criterion in their world.

"Moreover, as your betrothed, it's rather magnanimous of me to merely slap her," she stated.

"Do not degrade Layla with such a term!" Samuel retorted.

"Am I mistaken? What else would one call a woman who clings to an engaged man, if not a mistress? I am not tarnishing Layla's reputation. Let's exclude her from our conversation for now, Samuel. After all, we are soon to be wed."

Nora knew when to adopt a submissive stance and avoid further confrontation. To escalate the conflict with Layla for the sake of Layla herself would be a futile endeavor. Besides, having just slapped Layla in Samuel's presence, she was in a rather buoyant mood.

Upon noticing Samuel's clenched fist resting on his knee, Nora gently placed her hand over it in an attempt to soothe him.

However, Samuel recoiled as if Nora were a raging deluge or a virulent disease.

Nora frowned, releasing an irritated sigh.

Samuel's heart still belonged to Layla. Nevertheless, Nora was confident that since she had regained possession of his body, reclaiming his heart was merely a matter of time.

Nora was a woman of pragmatism. She had two objectives in mind: to ensure Layla's miscarriage at the earliest and to marry Samuel in the shortest possible time.

"Stop the car!" he commanded.

At the pinnacle of her unwavering resolve, the car came to a standstill.

"Get out," Samuel roared, his voice seething with rage.

"Samuel, are you really abandoning me on the street? What if something bad were to happen to me?" Nora inquired, her tone laced with dissatisfaction.

Samuel was known for his ruthlessness, displaying no mercy when severing ties.

"Leave."

"But I am your future wife."

"Do not make me repeat myself a third time!" Samuel's voice was tinged with a warning.

Nora gripped her purse tightly, swallowing her resentment. She opened the door and, casting a backward glance at Samuel in the car, declared, "Do not assume that you can discard me so effortlessly. I have loved you for a long time; I can withstand any hardship. I will not surrender when victory is within my grasp.

"Furthermore, even if you choose not to marry me, the Hollands will never accept Layla. The longer you prolong this, the more repugnant this convoluted relationship becomes. My patience has its limits, and if Layla dares to cling to you, I will..."

Before she could complete her sentence, the car's wheels spun, splattering Nora with water and leaving her soaked and covered in mud.

The foul stench of the muck plastered on her face was overwhelming.

Her expensive Burberry coat was ruined, drenched in the filthy water.

"Ah!" Nora couldn't suppress a scream.

Meanwhile, at the apartment.

Layla was huddled on the sofa, swathed in a blanket like a wounded creature, her tears long since dried up. Her eyes were red and parched, incapable of shedding another tear.

Alice attempted to apply ointment to the handprint on Layla's face, but Layla resisted.

"You must apply the medicine! If others see it at work tomorrow, there'll be more gossip."

Alice's heart ached. As a woman, she understood the pain all too well. The end of a relationship felt like having a rib torn out when love ran so deep-it was an even more excruciating ordeal.

The world of old money was too intricate and unpredictable. One day you're planning a wedding, the next day the bride-to-be is someone else.

It was a terrifying reality.

Alice, who had been bolstering Layla's spirits in the morning, now hesitated, trying to gently persuade her, "Layla, perhaps... it's time to let go."