Page 64 of Nanny for the Bikers

Clay takes a step towards me, his hands held out in a placating gesture. “You are special, Ayla. What we have with you... it’s different. Those other women, they didn’t mean anything.”

His admission hits me like a physical blow, knocking the air from my lungs. I stare at him, my mind reeling as I try to process his words.

He’s admitting it.They really did share other women before me. Everything they told me was a lie.

The betrayal cuts deep, carving out a hollowness inside me that aches with every breath. I wrap my arms around myself, as if I can somehow hold together the shattered pieces of my heart.

“How could you?” I whisper, my voice raw with pain. “How could you let me believe I was the only one, when all along you were just using me like all the others?”

Clay shakes his head vehemently, his eyes pleading. “No, Ayla, it’s not like that. What we have with you is real. Those other women... they were just physical. But with you, it’s so much more.”

I want to believe him, want to cling to the desperate sincerity in his voice. But the trust between us lies in ruins, shattered by the weight of his deception. And I don’t know how to fix it.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I murmur, turning away from him. “I thought I knew you, Clay. I thought I knew all of you. But now... now I don’t know anything at all.”

Clay’s accusation cuts through the tension like a knife, as he turns his attention to Lila. “You took those records from Teller’s office, didn’t you?” he demands, his eyes narrowing as he stares down Lila.

Lila scoffs, tossing her hair over her shoulder with a defiant flick. “I was just looking out for Ayla,” she retorts, her voice dripping with false sincerity. “Someone had to, since clearly you guys can’t be trusted.”

A harsh laugh erupts from Clay’s throat, the sound grating against my already frayed nerves. “That’s rich, coming from you,” he sneers. “Didn’t you try to sleep with Teller yourself? And then threw a fit when he turned you down?”

My head snaps up, my gaze darting between Clay and Lila as the pieces start to fall into place. That explains how she got the paper, going to Teller and throwing herself at him. How else would she be able to get such an important piece of paper? She hadn’t been looking out for me…she’d been trying to get laid.

Lila’s face flushes, but she lifts her chin, trying to maintain her composure. “That’s not... it wasn’t like that,” she stammers, but the lie is evident in the way her eyes skitter away from mine. Was she really going to betray me again?

Disbelief and anger war within me, a searing mix that threatens to consume me whole. How could she?

“Don’t even try to deny it,” I bite out, my voice trembling with barely contained fury. “You slept with my ex, remember? And then you had the nerve to go after another guy you, yourself, said you thought I had something going on with.”

Lila flinches as if I’d struck her, but I barrel on, the words spilling out of me in a torrent I can’t control. “And now you’retrying to act like you’re worried about me? Like you’re some kind of saint looking out for my best interests?”

I shake my head, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “You’re a liar, Lila. A hypocrite. And I’m done listening to anything you have to say.”

The room falls silent, the weight of my words hanging heavy in the air. Lila opens her mouth, then closes it again, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. But I can’t find it in myself to feel sympathy, not when the sting of her betrayal is still so fresh.

I trusted her.I trusted all of them.

And look where it got me. Alone. Looking like a fool.

With a deep breath, I turn towards the front door, my steps heavy as I cross the room. I can feel Lila’s eyes boring into my back, but I refuse to look at her, refuse to acknowledge the pleading expression I know I’ll find on her face.

“Get out,” I say, my voice low and dangerous as I yank open the door. “Get out of my house, and don’t come back.”

Lila hesitates for a moment, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. But then she seems to deflate, her shoulders slumping as she moves towards the door.

I watch as she steps over the threshold, my heart pounding in my ears. And then, with a final burst of anger, I slam the door in her face, the sound echoing through the house like a gunshot.

For a moment, I just stand there, my chest heaving as I try to catch my breath. How was it just a few minutes ago I was happy and now… now I don’t know how to feel?

But then I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn to see Clay standing there, his eyes filled with concern. “Ayla,” he says softly, taking a step towards me. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

I shake my head, backing away from him as if he’s a wild animal. “Don’t,” I say, my voice cracking. “Don’t try to make this better. You lied to me, Clay. You all did.”

Clay’s face falls, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I know,” he says quietly. “And I’m sorry. But please, let me explain...”

But I’m not in the mood for explanations, not when my heart is shattered into a million pieces. “Leave me alone,” I snap, turning away from him. “I can’t deal with this right now.”

And with that, I stalk towards my room, slamming the door behind me and locking it with a definitive click. I lean against the door, my eyes squeezing shut as tears begin to stream down my face.

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