Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 135

Willa gently held him back and tapped the right nightstand with her finger.

"Medicine first," she said, looking up at him with a coaxing gaze. "After you take it, I'll lie down and stay completely still. You can hold me however you want."

Randal followed her pointing finger. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before reluctantly letting go of her wrist and bending down to open the drawer.

Seeing him finally pick up the pill bottle, Willa let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Once he obediently swallowed his medication, she kicked off her shoes and lay back on the bed. "Come here."

Randal lay down beside her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pulled her firmly against his chest.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't slept in so long, but within seconds, Willa could hear the steady, even rhythm of his breathing.

Not daring to move and risk waking him, she lay perfectly still and texted Miles.

"Why has his condition gotten so bad? He wasn't like this before."

The moment the message sent, her phone started ringing.

Terrified, she quickly declined the call and typed frantically: "Don't call! He's sleeping right now."

Miles: "WHAT!!! He actually fell asleep?"

Before Willa could even ask, a barrage of texts came through.

"He hasn't been able to sleep without sedatives for days. He was supposed to stay in the hospital, but he threw a fit, demanding to find you, and discharged himself against medical advice."

"Willa, please, have some mercy. Just consider it doing him a favor—don't leave just yet, okay?"

"I know it's incredibly unfair to you, but I really can't bear to see him like this anymore."

Willa replied: "Alright. I understand."

Slipping her phone under the pillow, she turned her head to observe the sleeping man beside her, her gaze lingering on the deep crease between his brows.

The way he looked while sleeping was drastically different from the memories she had of him five years ago.

The way he held her now felt as if she were a piece of driftwood he was clinging to in the middle of a turbulent ocean.

She deliberately teased him, "He sent you to babysit me, didn't he? I'm surprised he's perfectly fine leaving us alone in an apartment together."

Miles's smile froze instantly. "Willa, don't joke about that. He'd literally kill me if he heard you say that."

Willa burst out laughing and took a seat opposite him. "I'm just messing with you. But since you're here, there's something I need to ask you."

"Ask away. I won't hold anything back."

Willa asked, "When exactly did these psychological issues of his start?"

The humor vanished from Miles's face, replaced by absolute seriousness. "Maybe it started after his brother's accident, but we just missed the signs. The real breakdown happened five years ago, right after you two broke up."

Willa suddenly remembered what he had told her at the hotel the other day.

He had said, "Willa, I've been in agony for five whole years."

She had never imagined that this was how he spent those five years.

Miles asked cautiously, "Could you please not leave? At the very least, you shouldn't go anywhere under the current circumstances. Besides, without his protection out there, it's way too dangerous for you."