Page 32 of The Kat Bunglar

Her voice hitched.

Isabella Juanita Carmen Morales.

She saw her again—standing in the sunlight, caramel skin gleaming, every inch of her effortlessly beautiful.

“And then?” Jay prodded.

Laila’s vacant gaze flickered back to him. “Oh, uh... yeah. I worked and came back.”

Jay’s eyes narrowed.

“You mean back to the hotel?”

“Yeah.”

Jay hesitated. He was choosing his words carefully now.

“Do you remember what time this all happened?”

Laila studied him, suddenly aware of the shift in his demeanor.

Her stomach clenched.

“It was during the day,” she answered, deliberately vague. “I wasn’t keeping track of the time.”

Jay exhaled. His expression softened even further as he gazed at her.

“I don’t know how to say this, but... Lai—do you remember around what age your mom started showing symptoms for dementia?”

Laila’s breath caught.

She swallowed. “I don’t know. Early forties. It was around sophomore year of high school for me.” She frowned. “I mean, you know this, Jay. You were there.”

“Yes.” Jay turned her to face him, his hands firm on her shoulders. His eyes searched hers for something she wasn’t able to give him.

“But do you remember?”

Laila’s stomach dropped.

Her husband of ten years. The only man she had ever been with—thought she had dementia. The air around her tightened. Jay’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

“We should take a trip.” His words were light, but the unspoken meaning hung between them—before it gets worse.

Oh, God. What had she done? Her heart slammed against her ribs. She needed to reassure him. Convince him that she wasn’t forgetful, that she wasn’t—What?

A liar?

A horrible human being?

How was she supposed to fix this?

“A trip sounds great, darling,” she said, forcing a brittle smile.

Her phone pinged. Laila glanced down automatically at the Instagram notification:ProfGabriel_MLM is now following you.Her breath hitched. Her palms became clammy. Had he looked her up? Was he thinking about her right now? What did this mean? What did he mean?

A startled yelp escaped her lips when she looked up to find Jay watching her.

She had forgotten all about him.

---