Chapter 6
It all happened so fast.
Layla had handed the child to him and pushed him away hard. Because of that, he didn’t get swept away by the debris—but Layla had disappeared from sight.
“No…”
With blank eyes, Easton looked slowly over the destroyed landscape in front of him.
“Layla!”
Holding the crying child tightly, he rushed closer to the debris. The rubble was a messy pile of mud, rocks, and branches. If someone was buried under it, there was no way they could survive.
“Layla…!”
His heart dropped.
At that moment, he wasn’t even thinking about “Aiola” anymore. His mind was filled with worry for Layla.
“Damn it!”
He cursed and clenched his teeth. He couldn’t put the crying child down, but he also couldn’t leave Layla behind. Trapped in this situation, Easton just looked around in frustration.
Then—
“…ton!”
A small voice called him. He whipped his head around.
“I’m over here!”
He saw Layla coming toward him, climbing over the broken debris.
“You—how… Are you okay?!”
Easton stuttered like he’d seen a ghost.
She looked too fine to have just been buried under rubble. But still, he was relieved and ran closer to her.
“What happened?”
“Well…”
Now that she had crossed the debris, she took the child and explained.
“When I pushed you, I fell back too. Then the rubble came crashing down in front of me. If I had stayed a little closer, I would’ve been buried.”
She acted way too casually for someone who had nearly died.
Easton let out a big sigh of relief.
“Ha…”
“You were scared, weren’t you? I’m sorry.”
“That’s not the point—!”
His voice got louder without meaning to.
“You could’ve been seriously hurt—or even killed!”
“…I told you, didn’t I?”
Layla gave a soft, sad smile.
“I’m always lucky.”
“Hah… Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Yes. Let’s go down now.”
“I’ll carry the child.”
Easton took the child from her arms, noticing that Layla looked injured.
They carefully walked down the mountain and entered the inn.
Inside, Pilgrim—Sarah’s grandmother—was sitting with her head down, unable to go home because she was too worried.
“Oh! Sarah!”
As soon as Easton entered holding Sarah, Pilgrim ran to them crying.
“Sarah!”
“I’m sorry, Grandma… I’m so sorry…”
The child also cried while hugging her grandmother.
“I wanted to make a merryberry cupcake for your birthday…”
“Oh, I don’t need any of that! I just want you safe! Promise me you won’t do this again, okay?”
Pilgrim held Sarah tightly, tears in her eyes.
Layla smiled as she watched them.
“Thank you, Miss Layla! And you too, sir! I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you…”
“There’s no need to repay me. I was just returning a favor.”
Layla gently placed a warm blanket over the soaked Sarah and smiled.
“You should go home and rest. It’s been a rough morning.”
“Yes, thank you…”
Sniffling, Pilgrim and Sarah finally left the inn. The other guests who were worried about Sarah also left one by one. Eventually, even the innkeeper left to prepare breakfast.
Layla walked over to Easton.
“I’ll go now. Thank you again for all your help.”
She bowed deeply.
“I didn’t do much. I just followed you.”
“Even at the bottom of the mountain, it would’ve been hard to carry the child down alone. Thanks to you, it was easier.”
She smiled sweetly, her eyes curling like crescent moons.
“You got soaked too. Please rest well.”
She turned to leave. Easton wanted to say something—anything—but no words came out.
Seeing Layla’s cheerful smile somehow made it hard to breathe. But it wasn’t because he disliked it. This strange feeling was new.
“Take care…”
He barely managed to say, just as he noticed her limping.
“Layla!”
Easton quickly grabbed her wrist.
“Yes?”
“Your ankle—is it sprained?”
His eyes looked at her swollen ankle. Of course. No one could climb over rubble like that without getting hurt.
“It’s pretty swollen.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I can walk. I’ll treat it at home.”
She tried to smile it off.
“Get on my back.”
“What? No, really, I’m fine. It’s not far.”
“I’m not fine with it. Get on.”
…What did I just say?
Easton’s face twitched at his own words.
“Um… Thank you. Then, excuse me.”
Still limping, Layla walked behind him. Easton bent down so she could get on his back.
After a brief pause, Layla gently wrapped her arms around his neck.
Easton stood up and carried her outside.
The rain, which had lessened earlier, now poured harder—as if it knew they had found Sarah safely.
“Hold on tight.”
“O-okay.”
Layla held on tightly.
Even through the heavy rain, Easton could feel a heartbeat thumping against his back.
No—wait. That wasn’t her heartbeat.
This can’t be real…
As he headed toward the orange-roofed hut, Easton swallowed nervously.
The heartbeat pounding like crazy—it wasn’t Layla’s.
It was his.
Why…?
Why was his heart reacting to this woman?
He barely knew her. She was just a country girl.
Easton kept shaking his head and questioning his own feelings all the way until they arrived at her house.
“You’ve already done so much for me. Thank you for bringing me all the way.”
Layla smiled shyly as she got off his back. Her soft, pale cheeks slowly turned red, like watercolors spreading.
“…Go inside.”
His heart was pounding so hard, he could barely handle it.
Easton frowned and turned away on purpose.
Once he got “Aiola,” he wouldn’t have to see this girl again. He couldn’t fully trust her. He didn’t even know who she really was.
The idea that he was starting to feel something he couldn’t explain for someone like that—it annoyed him more than he could accept.
“Rest well, Easton!”
Layla called out a cheerful goodbye, but Easton didn’t look back. He just walked back into the rain.
But not long after, he realized…
That strange, unexplainable feeling…
“Are you okay?”
…it might just be the start of liking her.
