Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 172

Too lazy to entertain her, Willa kept her head down and scrolled through her phone.

Lydia's gaze swept over the mountain of shopping bags behind her, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, you're burning through your sugar daddy's cash. Makes sense."

Willa didn't even look up. "Are you jealous? I guess it's true what they say. People always obsess over what they can't have."

Lydia's voice twisted with fury. "Who the hell do you think you are? Randal is just playing with you. I can't wait to see the day you end up crying."

With that, she pivoted on her heels and strutted away arrogantly.

A while later, Randal returned. "Let's go. On to the next store."

Halfway down the concourse, Willa took a detour to the restroom.

She was just about to push the stall door open when she heard a familiar voice coming from the sinks, dripping with undisguised contempt.

"I can't believe Randal is spending his day with that tramp instead of you."

Willa's hand froze on the latch.

Then, another voice chimed in. It was Scarlett Sterling.

"I don't really care. He's been treating me quite well lately. There's no reason for me to throw a fit over this."

Frustrated that her instigation wasn't working, Lydia grew even more aggressive. "You can humor him all you want, but you can't just let the daughter of a murderer stay by his side!"

"Enough. Watch your mouth," Scarlett said, sounding faintly annoyed. "And don't ever bring up that murderer business in front of anyone else."

"Why not? Weren't you the one who told me to hire those online trolls—"

"Shut up!" Scarlett cut her off sharply. "I never said any such thing. You misunderstood me completely."

Willa's fingers slipped from the handle as she stood frozen in place.

So Scarlett was the mastermind behind the cyberbullying campaign.

She had simply used Lydia as a pawn to make her life miserable.

Had Randal actually found this out? She didn't even dare to think too deeply about it.

His brow furrowed, and he blurted out, "Scarlett wouldn't do something like that. It's probably the same group of people who were following you."

Willa saw through his lie clearly, but she didn't want to start an argument in public.

She gave a noncommittal hum. "Yeah, maybe."

Eager to change the subject, he asked, "Should we check out the next store?"

A sudden wave of utter exhaustion crashed over her. "I'm tired. Let's go home."

"Alright. We'll go home."

They walked toward the escalator. He reached out to hold her hand, and while she didn't pull away, she didn't squeeze back either.

Leaving the mall, the sun beat down harsher than before, the bright glare making her eyes sting.

Once they were in the car, Randal sensed that something was fundamentally wrong. He tentatively intertwined his fingers with hers. "Wills, are you mad at me?"

"No. Let's talk when we get back."