~LAYLA~
"I love you."
The words tumbled from him, catching me off guard and making me pause in my tracks. My hand gripped the bannister so tightly that my knuckles turned white, my heart pounding loudly against my ribs.
Love?
That was the last thing I expected to hear.
After hiding Erica, after breaking my trust, after all of this, he chose now of all time to say those words?
The words I'd secretly longed to hear now felt like a trap, too tangled with his lies and secrets to mean what they should mean.
"I love you," he repeated, stepping closer, his eyes pleading. "And I was trying to protect you because the thought of you being hurt again after everything you've been through, after Daniel, after Cassandra, after your father… I couldn't stand it."
"You don't get to love me and lie to me at the same time," I said quietly. "That's not how this works."
"I didn't lie…"
