Chapter 146

Layla

“So, have you given our offer any thought?” Eva asked.

She and Stasia had returned to the house that afternoon. Aldo and I hadn’t really spoken beyond my comment of wanting to go with the twins out of town for a little while. I knew he wasn’t happy about the idea.

In a way, I couldn’t blame him.

While I was glad he and I decided to talk last night, it didn’t change the overall problem that I’d been facing. I hoped that when it actually came time for me to leave he wasn’t going to be bitter about it.

Another worry that lingered in my mind was Eli.

Now that our relationship was gradually underway of returning back to its original state, I was making the decision to leave. How was that going to make him feel?

I didn’t want Eli to feel as though any of this was his fault. Or that I was trying to run away from him and the rest of the family.

In truth, I didn’t know who I was anymore.

It sounds insane, I know.

The way I saw it, Layla Bennett no longer existed. The last trace of her had disappeared the moment that Agent Carter had revoked my medical license. So, all that was left was Layla Marcello.

However...I wasn’t entirely okay or certain with who that was.

Layla Marcello only came out when things weren’t going well. When someone was threatening to hurt or destroy my family it was like she would step out from the shadows and take control. She knew how to command a room as well as carry out an attack.

Layla Marcello knew how to fight and was well prepared for the chance of having to take a life with her own hands. She wasn’t afraid of the chaos—she promoted it. Relished it.

At the moment, I couldn’t trust myself to fall back into those shoes.

In any case, I opted for us to sit on the back patio as opposed to being locked away in the house. Stasia and Eva were more than happy to agree.

I think they were just glad to see that I was willing to come out of my depressive shell. I even prepped us some iced tea and snacks.

“I have,” I answered. “I’m just a little hesitant about a few things.”

“We know that this isn’t something you would typically do,” Stasia acknowledged. “After all, you’re still a mother and a wife. We know that you have those responsibilities here.”

“I sort of spoke to Aldo about it this morning. He wasn’t exactly happy about it.”

The twins shrugged. “He wasn’t too thrilled with the idea when he told him about it yesterday either,” Eva said. “But we tried to explain to him that this would be in your best interests if you were to take the trip out.”

“Do you believe that Aldo would try and keep you from going?” Stasia asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “He may not be thrilled about the plan, but he wouldn’t go out of his way to stop me. Especially when he knows that it will end up helping me in the long run.”

I tried to get past the sudden feeling of worry that came over me.

“This will help me, right?” I questioned.

Eva gave me a reassuring smile. “Layla, this trip is meant solely for you to have a chance to reconnect with yourself. The real Layla. Right now, I’m sure you feel as though you’ve lost your original self.”

I silently nodded.

“Well, while you’re on this trip, you are going to have to make a serious choice. You can either try and reclaim that person you once were. Or, you can try and build a new version of yourself.”

Jesus Christ. Neither option sounded as though it was going to be easy, if even possible.

However, if it meant ensuring that I would never slip into that dark person ever again, then I was willing to do whatever was necessary.

“Alright,” I said. “But no matter what I choose to do in the end, I need to do it with Eli’s best interests in mind.”

They both nodded in agreement.

Stasia glanced around. “How is Eli, if I may ask?”

“We only met him briefly before coming to see you.”

The corner of my mouth curved upward. “He’s doing well, I think. Last night, after the two of you had left, I decided that I needed to get over my fear and went out to find him.”

Eva and Stasia lit up with eager excitement.

“And?”

“How did it go?

“I found him in the kitchen, baking cookies with Aldo’s mother. At first, he was just shocked to see me there,” I said. “For a moment, I seriously thought that he was going to run away but he didn’t. He ran up to me and hugged me so tightly.”

The two gave me a supportive smile. “That’s great!”

“I told him how sorry I was for scaring him. He knows I haven’t been doing well these past several days and he hopes for me to get better.”

“Does he know about the trip?”

“Not yet,” I said. “I really spent a good portion of the night and this morning thinking it over. I know that you mentioned bringing him to stay with Dmitri and Irena while we’re gone. But I’ve decided that I’m going to give Eli a choice. He can either go to the Orlovs or he can stay here.”

I wasn’t about to disrupt his life all because I was choosing to take a step back for a moment.

“I’m going to talk to him about it today and once that’s settled, I’ll start packing a bag,” I told them.

Aldo

I didn’t want Layla to leave. For a multitude of reasons.

I’d finally gotten a real night’s sleep for the first time in days—even more glorious was having Layla tremble and fall apart underneath me. We were finally speaking to one another again.

For a mere flicker of a moment, I thought that things were actually looking up.

I was foolish to jump to any sort of conclusion.

Layla still wasn’t herself. I could tell from how detached she looked last night when we spoke. I knew she needed this trip with Eva and Satsia. It was just that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with letting her go off without any idea where she was going.

Not only that but what kind of protection was she going to have?

I’d spent the majority of the morning mulling at my desk, trying not to think about all the possible things that could go wrong on this trip for her.

I was suddenly pulled from my thoughts when I heard a pair of voices chatting loudly from the hallway. I pulled myself up from my desk and went over to the door. As soon as I stepped out of the hallway, I saw Carlo talking adamantly with Ethan.

“Ethan?” I went over to the pair and gave a questioning look. “What’s going on? I wasn’t expecting you to come over.”

Ethan shot me a concerned look. “I’ve come to give an update on Agent Carter.”