Chapter 259

"I want to go back to the apartment. And after I return, I will resign." Layla's voice was cold and distant, hitting Samuel's heart like a heavy hammer.

He furrowed his brows slightly, then said, "Right now, you need to rest and not worry about work. I will reserve your position for you."

"I want to resign."

"Wasn't being a designer your dream?"

"Your company is not the only designing company in the world, Samuel. I don't want to see you anymore." This statement meant that she wanted to completely sever ties with him.

He had always known that she would say these words to him, but when she actually said them, it felt as if his heart had fallen into an abyss.

"Layla, I know you hate me, but at that time, I didn't want to separate from you either. Darwin caught my mother and threatened me. My mother sacrificed so much for me and became a vegetable. Darwin is ruthless, I couldn't ignore her safety.

"But the person I love is you. I have always been trying to find my mother, I never thought of marrying Nora, and I didn't. I took back the Holland Group and dealt a fatal blow to Darwin. Now he can no longer threaten me. From now on, there will be no obstacles between us, except...I didn't expect Owen... I am responsible for his death, and I understand your hatred toward me. But I want to tell you, I love you. I want to be with you and our baby for the rest of our lives."

Layla suddenly laughed. She laughed at fate's cruel tricks, at fate's irony.

From the very beginning, she had thought that he was in trouble, and she desperately tried to find excuses for him. Now that she finally knew about his difficulties, and there were supposedly no more obstacles between them. However, were there really no more obstacles?

She had already formed a permanent barrier in her heart.

Samuel looked at her smile, feeling extremely sad. "Layla..." He couldn't help but reach out to hold her hand, but Layla immediately pulled her hand away.

A tinge of disappointment flashed through Samuel's eyes, as if she would never let him touch her again in this lifetime.

He felt so heartbroken, but there was nothing he could do. He was afraid that even the slightest touch would make her uncomfortable and disgusted.

"All of that doesn't matter anymore..."

"It matters to me," Samuel emphasized.

"I told you before, we are not from the same world. If we force ourselves to be together, even if we might be happy, that happiness will be short-lived, and the pain will be prolonged." Layla forced out a bitter smile, her eyes devoid of vitality, filled only with surrender and despair.

"It feels like there's a curse between us. Whenever we're together, we torment each other and suffer punishments."

"I don't believe in any curse, that's just something you made up to punish yourself," said Samuel.

"But I am burdened with guilt. If it weren't for me, Owen wouldn't have died. I blamed you all along, but the person I truly hate is myself. If I hadn't been drinking that day, Owen wouldn't have died. If we hadn't fallen in love, Owen would still be fine. He might have confessed his feelings to the girl he liked, and he would be happy now. It's because of me that he's dead."

"There are no 'ifs' in this world, you can't think like that."

She had trapped herself in a deadlock now, tormenting herself.

"I can't stop thinking like this. Samuel, I'm scared that if we continue to be together, the people around me will be hurt, and I can't bear that risk anymore," Layla said sadly.

"So, after coming this far, you want to give up on me, on our relationship?" Samuel frowned; his heart wracked with waves of pain.

It felt like many hands were pulling at his heart, tearing it open piece by piece, making a bloody mess.

"Let's break up. Miss Eilish is a better match for you. No one would object if you two were together, everyone would wish you well," Layla said.

"Do you really think I would be happy marrying someone I don't love?"

"That's your business. It doesn't concern me anymore who you marry," she said, finishing what she had to say and pushing the door open.

"What about our child?" Samuel panicked, grabbing her hand again.

Layla's upper body was already outside the car, the drizzle wetting her hair. Her eyelashes were also wet, but no one knew if it was from the rain or her tears.

She lowered her head, silently withdrew her hand, and disappeared into the rain and fog.

When morning came, it was still raining.

In December, the weather was extremely cold. With the cold rain, the temperature had dropped to 23 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the morning, Layla wore a white down jacket and went out with an umbrella.

A taxi stopped in front of her, and after the middle-aged man got out of the car, she put away her umbrella and got in.

"I want to go to the Eilish Group building."

"The Eilish Group? Miss, do you work there? You must be impressive!" The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror and gave her a thumbs up. "But Miss, you don't look well. Are you sick? Do you need to go to the hospital first?"

"No."

"Ah, you young people these days have so much pressure. Even if you're sick, you still have to work. It's too hard. Take care of yourself. Health comes first. There will always be opportunities to make money, but if your health deteriorates, you'll have nothing."

Layla smiled, but it was nothing but an empty smile.

She took out her phone and whispered to the man on the other end, "Stop following me."

A black Bentley had been following her at a steady pace.

She knew his car had been parked downstairs all night.

"I'm worried about you," Samuel said, his breath heavy. It had only been one night, but his chin was covered in messy stubble, making him look ten years older.

"I won't commit suicide. I will live well for Owen," Layla said and hung up the phone. She took a deep breath and looked out of the window at the familiar streets, on which she had walked countless times before.

Owen used to ride his motorcycle to take her through the city's streets and alleys. But now, she was alone.

It was bitterly cold outside. A thin layer of mist formed on the window. Layla slowly wrote "Owen" on the glass.

"I promise you; I will live on strong."

The atmosphere at the Eilish Group's design department was still the same as before, with female colleagues holding coffee and gossiping.

"Oh, our chief designer has finally shown up."

"We missed you this past week."

"I thought after assigning all the work to us, someone would only appear when the project ended and take credit."

All the words were sharp and sarcastic.

"Enough already, Layla is going through a lot. You really have no sympathy." Alice disliked these gossipers.

"She left her own work for us and made us work overtime. She's the one without sympathy, isn't she?"

"That's right. Can't we also disappear like her next time, then come back to work with our lips painted white, pretending nothing happened?"

"Who doesn't know how to fake being sick? Last time, I had a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and I still came to work."

"Anyway, she should be considered on leave. Her salary should be deducted, right?"

"She can come whenever she wants and skip work whenever she wants. It's unfair! We should handle her according to the rules. Otherwise, this company will have no order."

"Yes."

"I'm here to resign," Layla said.