Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 54

They had still been deeply in love back then, wrapped up in the honeymoon phase. Without warning, he completely fell off the grid for half a month. He didn't answer calls or reply to texts; it was as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.

She went half-crazy searching for him, but since she didn't know any of his friends, she had absolutely no leads.

It wasn't until two weeks later that Randal finally appeared in front of her, looking utterly exhausted.

His face had been just as deathly pale then, as if he had literally clawed his way out of hell.

She had held him tightly, begging to know where he had been and what had happened. But he just clung to her like a lifeline, refusing to explain. He only repeated one sentence over and over, his voice cracked and raw.

"You're all I have left, Willa. Promise me you won't leave me."

She hadn't understood it then. All she could do was soothe him: "Don't be scared, Randal. I'll always be here."

Thanks to her constant presence, he bounced back quickly. She never pushed him to reveal what he had gone through during those two dark weeks.

Looking back now, the devastating event that broke him must have been the fatal car crash he claimed was his fault.

Right before she went to sleep, Willa unexpectedly received a text from Zack.

[Willa, I heard my aunt went to see you. I'm so sorry. I just wanted her to talk some sense into Randal. I never meant for it to blow up like this.]

She stared at the message for a long time, unsure of how to respond.

After a heavy sigh, she typed back: [It's okay. Actually, I have something I want to ask you.]

Zack replied instantly: [What is it?]

Willa: [Has Randal's relationship with his mother always been this toxic?]

Zack simply called her right away. "Willa, didn't Randal ever talk to you about this when you two were together?"

Willa smiled bitterly. "He never talked about his family."

"Randal has always had a rocky relationship with his family," Zack explained. "It got even worse after Jace died. I don't know the exact details, but Randal was always the rebellious one, and they constantly compared him to Jace..."

Mid-sentence, he suddenly blurted out, "Do you... do you still have feelings for him?"

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