Suddenly, the door to the lounge slammed open with a loud bang, followed by Sam appearing before me.
I couldn’t help but find it funny that those two always trailed one another. First, they abandoned me one after the other. Then,
they both came back, one after the other, regretting it. Now, here they were again, showing up for me.
“And you? You don’t believe I’m dead either, do you?” I raised an eyebrow and asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Sam was even more desperate than Paxton. He strode toward me without hesitation, pulling me into his arms with a force that
took my breath away.
“Leah, I’ve been so terrified, terrified I’d never see you again…” His voice trembled, and I could feel the dampness on my
shoulder.
Sam was crying.
“I can’t live without you, Leah. Come home with me, please?”
Paxton, unable to hold back his feelings, quickly joined in, “Leah, come home with us. I know you’re angry, but please, give me a
chance. I’ll make it up to you, I swear.”
Unfortunately, they were both too late. Their shared goal was clear–take me back.
UMRAHAN 1/2
Chapter 9
+20 Bonus
All I did was smile and push Sam’s hand away from my shoulder. “But I haven’t had a home for a long time. You both know that, right? I was never wanted. So, where is my home? I don’t even know myself.”
Paxton’s eyes reddened. Was he feeling sorry for me? Nearly eighty percent of my suffering had come from them. How dare they feel sorry for me?
“You say you can’t live without me.” I turned to Sam. “But what does that have to do with me?”
Both men froze in shock, and I couldn’t help but smirk. “If I didn’t have you two, maybe I wouldn’t have to suffer for all these senseless reasons.”
“Leah-”
I took a step back, avoiding Paxton’s touch, my expression cold. “You didn’t believe Leah was dead, did you? Well, let me tell you, Leah is dead.”
She was dead in that cold, cruel sea–on that night when the full moon hung high in the sky.
“I’m not going back with you. Why should I? After all you’ve done to hurt me, you think you can act like victims?”
I would never forgive the past, and it wouldn’t dictate my future.
Sam and Paxton were both determined to take me, even if it meant using force. Having anticipated that, Christina had arranged
for people to protect me as I returned home with her. She even used her business connections to pressure both the Bennetts and Gibsons.
