'I Do' For Revenge-Chapter 249: Emptiness

~AXEL~

Three days.

Three days since Layla walked out of my study with that broken look in her eyes. Three days since she moved into the Duke’s safe house. Three days of absolute silence.

I called and texted but got nothing back. She’d blocked me everywhere except for the group chat we had with Tye and Helena to plan the Memorial Tea. Even in that chat, her replies were cold and strictly business.

Memorial Tea confirmed for Saturday at 3 PM.

Duke is ready. Prince Leo added us to the invite list as "Friends to the Crown".

I’ll handle the entrance with the Duke.

No "we." No "us." Just "I."

I threw myself into Eclipse damage control. The contamination scandal was being reversed, but it required constant attention. Press releases, investor calls, regulatory meetings. I worked 18-hour days, barely sleeping or eating.

If I stopped, I’d have to think about what I’d lost.

"Boss, you need to sign off on these settlement agreements," Helena said, placing another stack of papers on my desk. She’d been cold to me, too, ever since Layla left. Protective of her.

"Fine." I signed without reading.

"And the PR team needs approval on..."

"Helena, just handle it," I snapped. "Handle all of it. I don’t care."

She crossed her arms. "I know it’s out of my way to ask, but... what happened between you and Layla?"

"None of your business."

"It became my business when she showed up at my place crying," Helena replied. "When she spent two hours telling me how you manipulated your entire relationship. So yeah, it’s my business."

I looked up at her. "She told you?"

"Everything." Helena’s eyes were hard. "The hotel. The setup. All of it. Honestly, Boss? I wasn’t expecting that."

"I fell in love with her..."

"There’s no disputing that," Helena interrupted. "She also fell in love with you." There was a pause, then she asked quietly. "Do you even know why she’s upset?"

"Because I lied to her?"

Helena shook her head. "Until you figure that out, I don’t think things will get better between you too."

She took a deep breath. "Apologies if I said too much or overstepped. I just care about Layla so much and want to see her happy. You too, Boss."

With that, she walked out before I could respond.

I stared at the papers on my desk, the words blurring together. Why else will she be upset? If it wasn’t the lie and the manipulation, what would it be?

My phone buzzed with a message from Tye: Private bar. Now. Don’t make me drag you out.

I almost ignored it. Almost. But sitting alone in this office, drowning in paperwork and self-loathing, wasn’t helping anyone.

Twenty minutes later, I walked into Blackwood, a private members’ club where Tye and I had been meeting for some time in the past. He was already at our usual booth, two glasses of whiskey waiting.

"You look like hell," he said as I slid into the seat.

"Thanks."

"When’s the last time you slept?"

"I don’t remember."

"Ate?"

"Yesterday. Maybe."

Tye pushed one of the glasses toward me. "Drink."

I took a long sip, feeling the whiskey burning down my throat. "Why am I here?"

"Because you’re spiralling," Tye said bluntly. "You won against Charles. Eclipse is recovering. Everything you’ve worked for is falling into place. But you look like a man who’s lost everything."

"That’s because I have," I said quietly. "I lost her, Tye."

"Have you?"

"She won’t talk to me. Won’t see me. Won’t even look at me during the planning meetings."

"Can you blame her?"

I laughed bitterly. "No. No, I can’t. I manipulated her from day one. I used her as a pawn in my revenge scheme. The fact that I fell in love with her doesn’t change what I did."

"Doesn’t it?" Tye leaned back. "Axel, I’ve known you for as many years as I can count. I watched you build this revenge plan brick by brick. I watched you become obsessed with destroying Charles Watson. And then I watched you meet Layla."

"What’s your point?"

"My point is that I saw the change," Tye said. "Within weeks of meeting her, you were different. You smiled more. You laughed. You started talking about the future instead of just the revenge."

"That doesn’t matter..."

"It does matter," Tye insisted. "Yes, you manipulated the initial meeting. Yes, you had ulterior motives. But I watched you fall in love with her despite the plan, not because of it. Hell, the revenge plan almost fell apart because you were too busy protecting her to focus on Charles."

I took another drink. "She doesn’t see it that way."

"Because you didn’t tell her," Tye said. "You kept it hidden, and when she found out from a property deed instead of from you? That betrayal cut deeper than the original manipulation."

"I know." I ran my hands through my hair. "I know that now. But what do I do? She won’t even let me explain."

"Give her time," Tye said. "She’s processing. She’s hurt. But Layla’s not stupid, Axel. She knows you love her. She saw it every day for months. Eventually, she’ll realise that what you have is real, even if how it started was wrong."

"And if she doesn’t?"

Tye was quiet for a moment. "Then you let her go. Because that’s what love is: putting her happiness above your own, even if it destroys you."

I stared into my glass. "I can’t lose her."

"Then fight for her," Tye said simply. "Not with grand gestures or manipulation. Just... honesty. Raw, uncomfortable, complete honesty. Show her the man you became because of her, not the man you were before."

"What if it’s not enough?"

"Then at least you tried." Tye finished his drink. "But sitting in your office, drowning in work and self-pity? That’s not trying. That’s giving up."

He was right. I knew he was right.

"The Memorial Tea is in two days," I said. "We’ll be in the same room for the first time since she left."

"Use it," Tye advised. "Not to pressure her. Just to show her you’re still here. That you’re not going anywhere."

"Even if she wants me to?"

"Even if she wants you to."

—

That night, I found myself standing outside the Duke’s safe house. I’d driven here without really deciding to. My car just... ended up here.

The lights were on in the guest room on the second floor. Layla’s room.

I stood on the sidewalk, staring up at that window. I could see her shadow moving behind the curtains. She was pacing, restless... probably as sleepless as I was.

I wanted to knock, wanted to beg her to listen, wanted to fall on my knees and promise I’d never lie to her again.

But I couldn’t.

Because Tye was right: this wasn’t about what I wanted. It was about what Layla needed. And right now, she needed space. She needed time to process. She needed to decide if she could forgive me without pressure or manipulation.

So I stood there, watching her shadow, my hand raised to knock on a door I couldn’t bring myself to approach.

"I’m sorry," I whispered to the night, to the window, to her. "I’m so sorry."

The shadow stopped pacing. For a moment, I thought she’d seen me and that she might come to the window.

But then the light went out.

And I was left standing in the dark, alone with my mistakes and the growing certainty that I might have won the war against Charles but lost the only battle that truly mattered.

I walked back to my car, got in, and drove home to an empty penthouse.