EPISODE16:- UNSPOKEN WORDS
757 Words
The morning after the Blackwood incident, campus life buzzed with a new rhythm.
Layla Beaumont couldn’t walk ten steps without hearing her name whispered.
The girl who made the Blackwood’s kneel.
Every stare, every camera flash, every rumor should have thrilled her.
Instead, her thoughts circled only one person—Leo Grayson.
That evening, as the golden light softened over the quadrangle, she found him outside the library, sitting under an old oak tree with his notebook.
He looked peaceful, sketching lines that only he understood.
“Hey, janitor boy,” she teased gently.
He looked up, smiling. “Hey, troublemaker.”
She sat beside him, smoothing the hem of her skirt. For a moment, neither spoke. Then she said quietly,
“I want to thank you… for everything. And I want to take you somewhere.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Somewhere?”
“To dinner,” she said. “At The Sapphire Table. It’s the most beautiful restaurant in the city. I booked a private corner. Just you and me.”
Leo hesitated. “Layla, that’s—kind of you, but I don’t really belong in places like that.”
“You belong anywhere you choose,” she said, meeting his eyes. “Please. I just… I want to spend time with you. Not as the Beaumont girl and the janitor boy. Just us.”
He studied her for a long moment, the honesty in her gaze undeniable.
Then he sighed softly. “Layla, you don’t have to thank me or prove anything. I like things quiet. Simple.”
Her voice trembled slightly. “It’s not about gratitude, Leo. It’s about how I feel.”
The air between them thickened. “What do you mean?” he asked.
She swallowed. “I mean I’ve fallen for you. I don’t know when it started—maybe that night on the basketball court, maybe before. But I want to know you. All of you.”
For once, Leo had no ready words. His heart thudded, torn between instinct and secret.
“Layla…” he began.
“Don’t say it,” she whispered. “Just think about it. That’s all I ask.”
Before he could answer, her phone buzzed and she stood abruptly, composing herself. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He watched her walk away through the sunset haze, feeling the world tilt quietly around him.
Later that afternoon, Leo was crossing the campus courtyard when a familiar perfume reached him.
Isabella Monroe appeared in a swirl of designer silk, sunglasses perched high and a perfect smile painted on her lips.
“Well, if it isn’t the janitor prince,” she said sweetly. “I saw your little fan club today. Layla Beaumont, of all people? You do have a type—women who think they can fix you.”
Leo’s expression didn’t change. “Good afternoon, Isabella.”
She circled him slowly. “You know, while you’re busy pretending to be humble, some of us are actually winning. Lucian’s taking me to Milan next week. He says I deserve better than this little school.”
He simply nodded. “Then I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
That calm, unbothered tone stung worse than an insult. Isabella’s smile slipped for an instant before she tossed her hair and walked away.
Her laughter echoed down the hall, brittle and hollow.
That night, as rain tapped softly against his apartment window, Leo’s phone buzzed again. This time it wasn’t Hawk—it was a familiar name from another life.
Clara Wells.
Her voice came with a rush of relief. “Leo! You finally picked up. Are you okay? Everyone’s been worried. You haven’t been to the hotel in over a week.”
“I’m fine, Clara,” he said gently. “Just… taking some time.”
“Well, the staff misses you,” she said. “Even Mr. Doyle asked where you were. The lobby feels too quiet without you.”
Leo smiled at the warmth in her tone. “Tell them I’ll be there tomorrow. Promise.”
“Good,” she said, sounding brighter. “And, Leo… whatever you’re doing, don’t lose that kindness of yours.”
When the call ended, he set the phone down, staring at the city lights.
Between Layla’s confession, Isabella’s mockery, and Clara’s unexpected care, the lines of his double life were tightening.
Tomorrow, he decided, he would return to Silver Heights Hotel—to the one place that still reminded him who he was before all the secrets.
- Writer
