Read Online The Romance of Nick and Layla (Parts 1-3) by Crystal Cierlak - Free Book Online Page B

jeans and absently smoothed his thumbs over my waist. I stared at him through the mirror, but he barely glanced at me.
    “We’re going to get answers, Layla. I promise you.”
    “And then what?”
    “I don’t know. But I’m going to tell the truth.”
    “You don’t even know what the truth is, Nick. You don’t know if this girl is lying or not. And you still haven’t answered my question. What are you going to do if she is pregnant?”
    “I don’t know.” He finally met my gaze. His eyes were intense and his eyebrows were furrowed low into his forehead. “I don’t want this any more than you do.”
    “Well,” I didn’t know what to say. Not really. I was too upset. Too angry. Too sad. “How much of the truth are you going to tell?”
    Nick gazed at me questioningly. “What do you mean?”
    “Well no matter what it’s going to come out that you’ve been cheating on me. If you tell them that I’m not pregnant and that this girl might be, then you’ll have to answer questions about whether or not we’re breaking up. And that opens a whole new can of worms.”
    “There’s no pretty side to this, is there?”
    “You know what Nick? Maybe you should think about the consequences of your actions before you engage in those actions. You might save yourself from a whole shit load of PR hell.” I took his hands and peeled them off of me, and I walked towards the kitchen to grab some food.
    “And,” I continued, opening a bottle of chilled water. “If you tell them that we’re really married, then you’ll be the husband that cheats on his wife and impregnates other women. You’ll have a lot more to deal with. No, we’ll have a lot more to deal with.” I took a sip of the liquid, allowing time for my words to sink into Nick’s head. “Additionally, if you tell them we are in fact married, an even bigger media storm will kick up once I file for divorce.”
    “Why are you still talking about divorcing me?” I could see how annoyed he was with me. But I don’t care. He had no right.
    “I told you. I’m not going to be your wife if you’ve created a child with another woman. I may be a glutton for punishment when it comes to loving you, but I refuse to commit to that. And I’m sure as hell not going to be a step-mommy. Hell no.”
    “Maybe you should just chill and wait to see what’s really going on? There’s still the possibility that she’s not pregnant. Or that it’s not even mine.”
    “Fine. You’ll have a paternity test and then I’ll make my move. But until then I want you to leave.”
    “What?”
    “I’m kicking you out of my house. From this minute on until the minute you find out the paternity of the baby, you and I are officially separated.”
    He just shook his head and laughed incredulously at me. “Fine.” He looked so pissed off. At me. At the world. At himself. And for the first time that day I felt something I hardly felt for Nick. Sympathy.
    I put my water down on the counter and walked up behind him. I snaked my arms around his waist from behind and leaned my cheek against his shoulder blade.
    I didn’t know what to say and I probably shouldn’t have said anything. And I didn’t. And he didn’t. Instead he put a hand on mine and squeezed it tight, his head hanging low.

Chapter Ten
     
    I mentally prepped myself for the press conference Nick’s handlers had arranged. I had only ever done one or two and they always made me nauseatingly nervous.
    Nick had spent the night, but we kept our distance in the bed, our backs facing each other. And so far this morning we hadn’t said a word to each other. It was probably better that way. We were both on the edge of a cliff, ready to fall at any moment.
    In the walk-in closet I thought about what I should wear. Did I want to be comfortable? Did I want to look conservative? It sounded stupid but it’s true: How you look dictates what people will say about you.
    Nick walked in and stood in front of his side of the closet.