Chapter 16

"Layla's eyes fluttered open as the morning sunlight hit her eyes. She yawned loudly, sitting up from the bed, last night's events unfolding in her head.

How Nolan left her to leave in the middle of the night, how she got stuck in the rain, how he came back to his house, and then how she wanted to offer him dinner but only ended up creating a big mess, and he scolded her.

"Jerk." That was the first word that she uttered out of her mouth as she scrambled out of bed. She quickly arranged the bed, and she went to check out her clothes which she hung in the bathroom. She washed them last night, and luckily for her, they got dried.

She had a quick shower and dressed up, ready to leave.

"Urgh, what do I do about these?" She referred to Nolan's clothes which were on the bed. She didn't want to give them back to him just like that; she felt she needed to wash them.

Folding the clothes, she squeezed them into her bag; she planned to take them home, wash and iron them before returning them back to him.

After making sure the room was intact, Layla stepped out of the room. She quietly closed the door behind her as she tiptoed to the sitting room, not wanting to bump into that man-eating dog Maddox and its master.

"Where do you think you're going?" A loud voice rang in her ears, startling her.

"Haa!!!" She yelled in fear, and she heard Maddox growling at her.

"Maddox." Nolan called in a stern voice, and Maddox went back to its sitting position.

"S..ir." Layla stammered, surprised to see him sitting in the dining room with a glass of wine in front of him. He looked like a grim reaper because he was dressed in black, with his dark red hair falling on his forehead, making him look like a handsome grim reaper.

"Where are you going?" He asked again, keeping a calm demeanor.

"Home."

"I'm going home; I have to get ready for work," she replied in a shaky voice.

"Work." A chuckle ghosted his face as his lips curved up.

"What do you think the time is?"

"It's past seven, isn't it?" Layla asked but got no response from him.

"I'll check my phone instead." She smiled wryly, bringing her phone out from her purse and she checked what the time was.

"It's 10:00 AM!" She squealed; when did she sleep that much, and why didn't he bother to wake her up? She's seriously late for work.

"Let's go," Nolan announced, standing up from the chair he was sitting on.

"Go where?"

"To your house; you can take the day off today," he informed, walking towards the door.

"But sir, I" she did not get to finish as he had already walked out of the door, not giving her a chance to speak.

"Jerk!" Layla cursed, raising her fist in the air at him. She heard a low growl behind her and turned to see Maddox baring its teeth at her.

"You too, jerk!" She cursed at Maddox running off.

Nolan's car pulled up in front of Aurora's apartment, and Layla stepped out from the car.

"Thanks si" she didn't get to thank him, and he just drove off.

"Jerk, I never begged you for a ride home." She rolled her eyes.

"Layla." Layla instantly turned to see who it was that called her and was shocked to see Regan standing at the doorpost.

"Regan." She called in surprise. She didn't expect him to see him here and she totally forgot to call Aurora earlier today.

"Hey shortie, I see you already have a boyfriend." He teased as he smiled at her.

"Boyfriend!" Layla exclaimed as she began laughing.

"Him? Boyfriend?" She snorted.

"He's not my boyfriend." She said; she would not even date someone like him. He's as hard as a shell and cold as ice.

"Then who is he? It's as if you didn't spend the night here." He reasoned, staring suspiciously at Layla.

"Oh that, I happened to work overtime and ended up getting caught up in the rain so I had no choice but to lodge at a nearby hotel," she lied as she didn't feel the need to tell Regan about Nolan.

"And him, he's my boss; when he saw my condition this morning, he told me to take the day off and offered to drive me home," she replied.

"I see." Regan kept nodding his head. He had a hunch that she was lying, but he decided not to ask any more questions.

"Yeah." She nodded slowly.

"When did you get here, and where's Aurora?" She asked.

"I just arrived here; I wanted to surprise you. I made your favorite dish, shortie," he informed as Layla giggled.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That's good because I'm starving." She did not have breakfast before leaving Nolan's place, and she was very hungry but didn't say anything about it as the only thing she wanted was to leave his place.

"Let's go inside or Aurora might chop my balls off." He deadpanned as they both laughed heartily.

"Come on."

Nolan's car was parked a few meters away from Aurora's place, and he watched Layla and Regan speaking with each other. He knew they were not dating because he heard their conversation from where he was due to his heightened senses. He never meant to pry, but curiosity got the best of him.

His phone vibrated, and he picked it up to see who was calling.

"Speak."

"Nolan, I waited for you all night at the pack, but you never showed up," Carla complained over the phone.

"I had something important to deal with; I'm on my way right now." He informed, starting his car.

"What was so important that made you sit back at home huh?" Carla asked curiously.

"I'll be there." He said and he disconnected the call before driving off."