The morning sun felt like an interrogation. Layla hadn't slept, her eyes heavy and burning from hours of silent tears that left her throat raw and her chest hollow. The pristine beauty of the resort, the turquoise water, the swaying palms... it all felt entirely mocking now.
She found Liam sitting by the edge of the terrace, a cup of black coffee sitting untouched in front of him. His jaw was still slightly discolored from the fight on the beach, a bruising reminder of the reality they were both desperately trying to avoid.
Layla approached him slowly, her sneakers dragging against the stone floor. "Liam..."
He looked up, his eyes bloodshot and incredibly tired. There was no anger in his expression, which somehow made it worse. He just looked deeply, profoundly sad. "Hey," he murmured, gesturing vaguely to the empty chair across from him.
Layla sat down, her hands instantly knotting together in her lap. "About last night... what Kianna said..."
"Did you mean it, Layla?" Liam interrupted, his voice barely above a whisper, cutting straight through the ambient noise of the breakfast buffet. "Are you actually feeling that way? Am I just... the safe option you chose because you were scared?"
"No, Liam... not entirely," Layla said quickly, her voice cracking as she reached across the table, her fingers brushing against his cold hand. She needed him to believe her, because if he didn't, it meant everything she had built since Montreal was a lie. "Liam, look at me, please. I love what we have. You are nothing but sweet to me. I'm not into Jade anymore... I swear. He's the past, and he shouldn't be a threat to us. You don't need to worry about him."
Liam stared at their joined hands for a long, agonizing moment. He let out a slow, heavy breath, the tension in his shoulders dropping just a fraction. "Okay," he said softly, a faint, weary smile appearing on his face. "Okay. It's cool, Layla. I trust you." He stood up, wiping his hands on his shorts. "We should probably go pack our bags anyway... the buses are arriving soon to take us to the airport. We're leaving Thailand."
"Yeah," Layla whispered, a wave of immense relief washing over her. "I'll go start packing."
While Layla walked back to her second-floor room, the rest of the resort was buzzing with the energy of departure. Students were lugging heavy suitcases down the corridors, their voices echoing off the walls.
Sarah was near the lobby, helping Kofi carry a box of leftover supplies from the game night. There were no grand declarations between them this morning, no heavy emotional weight. Just a quiet, easy understanding.
"Make sure you text me when you get through security," Kofi said, a genuine smile lighting up his face as he set the box down.
"I will," Sarah promised, her heart lighter than it had been the entire trip. For the first time, she wasn't looking over her shoulder to see where Layla or Jade were. She was entirely grounded in her own story.
But up on the second floor, the air was shifting into something dangerous.
Layla's room was a mess of clothes, souvenirs, and unfolded linen. She was shoving a pair of sandals into her suitcase when a shadow darkened her open doorway.
She turned, expecting to see Liam, but her breath caught in her throat.
Jade was leaning against the doorframe, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets. The bruise on his cheekbone had darkened to a deep purple, matching the intense, unreadable look in his eyes. He didn't say a word... he just walked into the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind him with a soft, definitive click.
"Jade, what are you doing?" Layla asked, her voice trembling as she backed up against the edge of the bed. "The buses are literally coming. Liam and I just talked, we're fine, so you need to leave."
"You're lying," Jade said, his voice a low, raspy growl as he closed the distance between them. He didn't stop until he was standing directly over her, the familiar, intoxicating scent of sea salt and smoke clouding her judgment. "You can tell him whatever you want to make him sleep at night, Layla. You can tell yourself whatever you want. But you didn't drink last night because you know the truth."
"Jade, please..."
"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want this," he whispered, his hands coming out of his pockets to gently cup her face, his thumbs wiping away a stray tear that had escaped her eye. "Tell me to go, and I'll walk out that door and never look at you again."
Layla opened her mouth to say the words... to say go, to choose the safety of the breakfast tray and the quiet future. But as she looked into his dark, chaotic eyes, the words died in her throat. The static in her mind roared to life, drowning out every bit of logic she possessed.
Jade didn't wait. He leaned down, his lips crashing against hers with a fierce, desperate hunger that completely shattered the fragile peace she had just built on the terrace. It wasn't gentle, and it wasn't safe... it was an eviction of every lie she had told herself. Layla's hands gripped the fabric of his shirt, her fingers tightening as she pulled him closer, completely giving into the failure of the system.
And then, the door clicked open.
"Hey, Layla, I grabbed the extra luggage tags from the lobby, so we can…"
Liam's voice cut off instantly.
The plastic luggage tags slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly against the tiled floor of the entryway.
Jade pulled back slowly, his hand lingering on Layla's shoulder as they both turned to face the door. Layla's heart plummeted into her stomach, a cold, paralyzing dread washing over her as she looked at Liam's face.
Liam was standing in the doorway, his arm still extended from holding the handle. The weary, trusting look he had worn on the terrace was gone, replaced by a pale, hollow shock. He looked at Jade's hand on her shoulder, then at Layla's swollen lips, and finally at the open suitcase on the bed.
"Liam..." Layla choked out, stepping away from Jade, her hands reaching out in a desperate, useless gesture. "Liam, it's not…"
But she couldn't finish the lie. Not this time. The evidence was painted across the room in the sharp Thai sunlight.
Liam didn't yell. He didn't lunge at Jade like he had on the beach. He just let out a short, hollow laugh that sounded like a dry sob, his eyes hardening into something completely unrecognizable. He looked at Layla one last time... a long, lingering look that officially deleted every single thing they had built together since Montreal.
He turned on his heel, leaving the door wide open, his heavy footsteps retreating down the hallway toward the buses, leaving Layla standing in the wreckage of the perfect trip she had completely destroyed.