CHAPTER 122: IT’S NOT REAL

~LAYLA~

"Who? Cassandra? Charles?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"We don’t know yet. But whoever it is..." He pulled me closer, his voice dropping. "They’re not done. And we might be next."

I couldn’t shake the image of blood on Daniel’s steering wheel as we gathered back in the main lodge for the retreat’s afternoon activity.

Axel stood close beside me, his hand occasionally brushing mine, sending jolts through me despite the panic clawing at my chest.

Ellen Vance clapped her hands together enthusiastically. "Alright, everyone! This afternoon we’re doing a scavenger hunt across the estate. Couples will race to find hidden clues that lead to a final prize. Work together, trust each other, and most importantly, have fun!"

She gave us a map with different spots marked around the property. Axel looked into my eyes, and without saying a word, we silently agreed to stick together through this.

His hand lingered on mine as he took the map, and it brought back that familiar ache I was trying to push away.

"Ready?" he asked quietly.

"Do I have a choice?"

We moved into the forest, following the map toward the first marker. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, creating dappled shadows on the path.

"Over here," Axel said, pointing to a tree with a carved symbol. "That matches the map."

I knelt at its base, digging through the leaves until my fingers found a weatherproof card. Our hands brushed as he helped me pull it free, and my breath caught at his nearness.

"What does it say?" he asked.

I flipped it over, reading aloud: "Where water meets sky, and reflections don’t lie, seek the vessel that waits where the wild willows sigh."

"Layla, about earlier on the trail..." Axel started, his voice low.

I shook my head, cutting him off. "Not now. We need to focus. Where water meets sky... that has to be the lake."

"And the vessel would be a boat."

"Let’s go."

We moved quickly through the forest, following the trail that led toward the water. Part of me was grateful for the distraction, anything to keep from thinking about Daniel bleeding somewhere, or the way Axel had looked at me in the clearing.

The lake stretched before us, peaceful and beautiful. Near the willow trees at the shoreline, a small rowboat waited with another clue card inside.

Axel stepped in first, offering me his hand. "Careful. It’s a bit unstable."

I took his hand, letting him steady me as I climbed in. He grabbed the oars and began rowing us out toward the centre of the lake, his muscles flexing under his shirt with each stroke.

I hated how much I noticed. Hated how my eyes kept tracking the movement of his shoulders, the way his jaw tightened with concentration.

"Read the next clue," I said, needing to focus on anything else.

He nodded toward the card in my hand. "You’ve got it."

"Ohh." I picked it up: "In solitude’s embrace, where secrets keep, a cabin stands where memories sleep. Seek the truth in captured light, where strangers became partners in the fight."

"A cabin with photos," Axel said. "There’s one on the property map, northeast corner, near the hiking trail we were on this morning."

As he rowed us back to shore, he spoke quietly. "I know you’re scared about Daniel. I am too. But Layla..." He paused, his eyes finding mine. "I meant what I said on the trail earlier. I want this... us, to be real."

His words struck me hard, tearing down the defences I had built around myself. I felt so many emotions at once: I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to kiss him, and I just wanted to run away.

Instead, I gripped the clue card tighter, staring at it instead of him. "We should hurry. The others might already be ahead of us."

"Layla..."

"Just row, Axel."

We docked in silence and moved through the forest toward the cabin marked on our map. The air felt heavy with all the things we hadn’t said, and every look and touch from the day was creating a tension I wasn’t ready to name.

The cabin was small, weathered wood nearly hidden among the trees. Axel pushed the door open, and we stepped inside.

The walls were covered with photos of couples from previous retreats, all smiling and looking happy. And there, on the small table in the centre, was our final clue.

It was a photo of us from last night’s mixer, laughing at something Vance had said. We looked... happy. Real. Like an actual couple instead of two people bound by a contract and revenge.

"Well, would you look at that," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I picked up the photo. "We’re not even real, but we still look damn good together."

"Layla..."

"It’s actually impressive, you know? How convincing we are. How well we sell the lie."

"It’s not a lie." His voice was firm and insistent. "Not anymore."

"Then what is it, Axel? Because one minute you’re touching me like you want me, the next you’re pulling away and hiding behind that contract. One minute you’re saying you want this to be real, the next you’re..."

"I pulled away that night because I was terrified!"

The words burst out of him raw. "I was scared, Layla. Scared of wanting more than our deal. Scared of what it would mean if I admitted I’d fallen for you. Scared of hurting you if it all fell apart."

My chest felt tight, a mix of anger and longing crashing together so strongly that it made it hard to catch my breath. "So instead you hurt me anyway. Do you know what that felt like? Having you touch me like that, look at me like that, and then just... stop? Like I was nothing?"

"You were never nothing. You were everything, and that’s what scared me."

"Everything?" I laughed bitterly. "Your revenge is your everything. I’m just a means to an end, a convenient wife for your revenge plan."

"That’s not..."

"Isn’t it? Tell me honestly, Axel. When you proposed this arrangement, was any of it real? Or was I just another chess piece in your game against the Watsons?"

"At first?" He stepped closer, his voice dropping. "At first, yes. It was about revenge, about taking down Charles and everything he’d built. But somewhere along the way..."

"Somewhere along the way, what? You suddenly developed feelings? How convenient."

"Dammit, Layla, I’m trying to tell you the truth!"

"The truth?" My voice rose. "The truth is you’re indecisive, Axel. You want me when it suits you, when the moment feels right. But the second things get real, the second feelings actually matter, you retreat. You hide. You use that fucking contract as a shield."

"That’s not fair..."

"Fair? Nothing about this is fair!" I was practically shouting now, as days of frustration and hurt poured out. "You don’t get to play with my feelings like this. You don’t get to kiss me like you mean it, touch me like you want me, tell me you want us to be real, and then act like..."

"It’s not acting if it’s real, Layla."

Without thinking, my hand flew out and hit his cheek with a loud slap that rang through the small cabin.