Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 168

As soon as the words left his mouth, he seemed to realize he had lost control, quickly adding in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry..."

At this point, Willa no longer wanted to hide where that money had gone. Even if he resented or hated her for it, she refused to bear the stigma of a gold digger and be misunderstood by him any longer.

"I didn't keep a single cent of the money from five years ago. I invested it all into your racing team."

She took a deep breath. "Your team was in desperate need of cash flow back then. I was worried it would affect your racing, just... I never expected so much to happen afterward..."

Randal shuddered as if struck by lightning, freezing completely in place. "What did you say?"

Since things had reached this point, there was no turning back.

Willa simply laid it all out. "The five million your mom gave me, I transferred all of it to the team manager, Gavin. I told him to inject it into the team as an anonymous investment. You had too much pride, and I was afraid you wouldn't accept it, so I told him not to tell you."

Randal's face drained of color inch by inch. "So, you broke up with me... for the team?"

Willa curled her lips in a self-deprecating smile. "I'm not that noble. I was planning to break up with you anyway. Why wouldn't I take the money your mom offered? It perfectly solved the team's financial crisis."

"Then why did you break up with me?" He grabbed her arm fiercely, his eyes turning red.

"We were perfectly fine back then. You wanted to break up, but you wouldn't even give me a decent reason."

Willa forcefully pried his fingers off, turned around, and walked over to the living room sofa. She sat down, her voice laced with frost.

"You didn't really do anything wrong, you just hid your identity."

She slowly lowered her head, hiding the vulnerability in her eyes.

"But you made me live in an illusion that love conquers all. When I finally saw who you really were, when I saw the massive gap between our worlds, what else could I do but let go?"

"Was I supposed to stay by your side like I am now? A mistress with no real title or status?"

It turned out that all their mutual torment was simply because one desperately wanted to hold onto true love, while the other desperately tried to protect their pride.

A misunderstood test and a foolishly clever retreat had violently cost them five years.

She leaned back against the sofa, all her strength drained, leaving only total exhaustion.

Even if they cleared the air now, what difference would it make?

The trust between them had long been shattered completely by all the misunderstandings and tug-of-war.

When something breaks, a few words of explanation can't put it back to the way it was in the beginning.

Willa let out a soft sigh, her voice choking up with a hint of petulance.

"Randal, you deserve to be single."