Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 167

"There's no need to go through all that trouble. I'll just lend you the money first. You can pay me back when you have it, and if you never have it, you don't have to pay it back. It's not like I'm hurting for two million dollars anyway."

Willa couldn't help but laugh. "Where did you get that kind of money? Who was it that spent all her cash on designer bags abroad and had to mooch meals off me?"

"Willa! You're so annoying!" Sophie exclaimed, embarrassed and annoyed. "I'm trying to help you, and you're bringing up my past."

Willa quickly placated her. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Don't be mad, but I still have to sell the house."

"Why?" Sophie didn't understand. "I'm not rushing you to pay me back."

"As long as that house is still there, my mom will always be scheming to get it. I don't want anything to do with her anymore."

"Alright." Sophie's tone grew serious. "I'll help you sell the house. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on the price so you won't get ripped off."

"And what about you right now..." She paused, softening her voice. "How is Randal treating you?"

Willa leaned against the back of the sofa, falling into silence.

How was he treating her?

You could call it meticulous. He anticipated her every need, arranging everything before she even thought of it.

But was this love?

To her, it felt more like his way of compensating himself.

Unwilling to accept being abandoned by her five years ago, he bound her to him using this near-imprisonment method, deluding himself into believing he had never lost her.

He took flawless care of her, but he was also slowly stripping away her sense of self, leaving her like a bird kept in a gilded cage, on the verge of losing her very soul.

"Willa?" Seeing her remain silent for so long, Sophie called out softly again.

"It's fine... I guess?" Willa replied faintly, her tone so perfunctory it couldn't even convince herself.

Sophie let out a soft sigh. "If there comes a day when you can't stay there anymore, I'll get my brother to get you out again. And don't worry about your dad's situation either. I'll help you."

"Yeah," Willa replied softly, secretly hoping in her heart that such a day would never come.

She sat blankly on the sofa for what felt like forever until her throat felt dry and sore. Only then did she get up and head to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water.

"Yes, ten million dollars."

As soon as the words fell, the arms around her tightened abruptly, squeezing her waist so hard it hurt and making it nearly impossible to breathe.

Every muscle in his body was coiled tight, and that familiar, manic hostility resurfaced in his eyes.

"Are you going to take the money and leave again?"

Willa's brows knit together fiercely, the suffocating frustration she had been suppressing all day surging up her throat.

She forcefully broke free from his grasp, turning to face him, her eyes tinged with coldness and disappointment. "Randal, is that how you see me?"

"Wasn't that exactly what happened five years ago?" His emotions suddenly spiraled out of control, his voice rising sharply. "You took her money and turned around to break up with me! Now she's offering you money again, are you going to abandon me again?"

"I didn't take her money!"

"But you took the money five years ago!" Randal's emotions completely shattered, the words practically roared out of him.