Chapter 52

Layla

When I woke up, I was alone in bed. After a shower, I headed out. Aleck was in the kitchen making breakfast.
“Good morning, baby girl,” he said, placing a cup of coffee before me.

“Good morning,” I said, taking a seat. He placed a plate in front of me. “Go ahead and eat. I need to get ready for work,” he said, walking over to me and kissing my forehead.

After he left, Dean came a few minutes later. “Morning, Princess,” he kissed me and sat down and ate. “Morning,” I said quietly. After a while, Aleck returned, and we sat having breakfast. I decided I wanted this, with them.

“I want to get married,” I said out loud. I didn’t look at them. Aleck dropped his fork, and Dean was looking at me.
“Okay. You can decide which one of us,” Dean said.
“Both of you,” I said casually.

“That’s not possible, baby girl,” Aleck said.

“One of you will marry Layla Tavers, and one of you will marry Samantha Russo,” I said, standing up. I kissed both of them and looked at them. They were quiet.

“You can say no; I won’t be angry or anything,” I said, looking at them.
“You’ll marry Dean as you, and that’s it,” Aleck said, drinking his coffee.

“And you?” I asked. He stood up and came over to me and held me by my waist.
“Baby girl, I don’t need it. If you have our last names, then that’s all I want. You’re already ours. Legalizing it only makes it so you can’t leave us. It doesn’t matter which one of us you marry, I won’t be bothered by it, nor will Dean, okay?”

“Okay,” I said.

“Mom and Dad will be here later today. You get to tell them and plan your wedding. Change that hair color,” Aleck said, kissing me. After he left, Dean pulled me down onto his lap.

“You want to marry Aleck?” he asked.
“Wait, what is going on? Aleck said you, and now you’re saying Aleck? Don’t either of you want to get married? If not, then that’s okay. We can remain this way,” I said, trying to stand up. He grabbed my waist, holding me in place.

“Um, do I have to wear a tuxedo?” he asked with a groan, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Aleck came back and put all the cards, keys, and IDs on the counter.
“Here are all your cards, baby. Who do you want to stay with, Leo or Diego?”
“Diego,” I said.

“Okay, what are you doing today?” Dean asked, his hands caressing my thighs. I jumped up instantly.
“No touching. I’m going to get my hair re-colored, then call Mal to find out how her mom is. I need to call Michelle, and I’ll be meeting Nella.” They both looked like they were about to revolt at that idea. I raised my hand, stopping them.

“I’ll take Diego with me; he won’t leave my side even when I meet her. I’m telling her everything and showing her the video also. Unless she can prove to me that she didn’t really know, then I’m no longer allowing her to be a part of my life,” I said, looking at them.
“Okay,” they both said. They both kissed me and then left for work. I made some calls.

Aleck

On the way to the office, we called our mother and gave her a heads-up on the supposed wedding. After her screaming fit, she ended the call. I looked at Dean.

“Is she on birth control?”
“She wasn’t; I don’t know if she is now,” he said.
“Hmm.”

“She’s going to be pissed if she knows what we’re up to,” he said.
“Yeah, I don’t really think she has a choice,” I said, smirking.

We had meeting after meeting. Now that she was back home where she belonged, and the fucking bastard was gone for good, we could finally focus on work. Around twelve, she created a group chat and added me and Dean. About thirty minutes later, she sent a picture. Her hair was red again, and she looked like our Layla. She sent pictures of her and Mom with the message, “Time to spend both my husband’s money.” I guess they were shopping.

We didn’t get any complaint calls, which meant everything was fine. I was going over a contract when Dean came in. “What’s up?” He sat down.
“Let’s go,” he said.
“Go where?” I asked him.

“She needs an engagement and wedding ring,” he said.
“Then go get it,” I said, sitting back in my chair.

“Yeah, I’m getting both for her, and you need to get two also. She’ll wear all four,” he said, standing up.
“Fine,” I said, standing up. As we were about to leave, both our phones started ringing. I checked, and it was her, so I answered.

***GROUP CALL***

***LAYLA: Hello, sweetheart, where’s Dean?***
***DEAN: Right here.***

***ALECK: What’s wrong?***
***LAYLA: Umm, can we...***

***DEAN: Can we what, Princess?***
***LAYLA: Well.***

***ALECK: What is it, baby girl?***
***LAYLA: Can we go out to dinner tonight?***

***ALECK: Of course.***
***DEAN: Find where you want to go, then send us the name, and we’ll make a reservation. Just us or...***

***LAYLA: Well, the three of us, Mom, Dad, Andrew, and Mallory.***

I looked at Dean.

***Aleck: Nella?***
***Layla: No, we're not on talking terms.***

I found Dean already looking at me.

***Dean: Okay, Princess, message us when you have the restaurant.***
***Layla: Okay, thank you. Love you both. Bye.***

She ended the call. “What happened when she met Nella?” Dean asked.
“I have no idea. Diego will know. Call him.”

We sat back down and called Deigo; he answered on the first ring.

***DEAN: What happened when she met Nella?***

***DIEGO: Well, the young madam showed her the recording of what he did, but she refused to believe it. She accused the madam of trying to ruin her life. She tried calling him but got no answer. She accused the young madam of lying and making up false stories to separate her and the man. She then told the madam that she was pinning it on him because she just wanted someone to blame for all her troubles.***

***DEAN: What did Layla say?***

***DIEGO: The madam just stood up and told her that she hopes she gets the help she needs and that she hasn’t lied to her and hopes she understands that. After saying that, I took the Madam home. Then your parents arrived, and I took them out.***

***ALECK: Thanks, Deigo. Let Mac and Brian keep tabs on her for us.***
***DIEGO: Okay, Boss.***

I looked at Dean. “You don’t think Nella would do anything crazy, do you?” He asked.
“Fuck, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Let’s go get the rings. You can propose tonight at dinner,” I said, standing up.

Layla

I didn’t expect Nella to react that way. Was she insane? Why would I blame someone for no reason? Even when she did see the recording, she still refused to believe it. That was her choice. I wasn’t going to force her. I called Mallory to check in. She said her mom had fallen down the stairs. I could tell something else was happening, and she didn’t want to say it; she probably couldn’t say it at the moment. I asked if she and Andrew would be available for dinner tonight, and she said yes, she needed to speak to Dean and Aleck also.

When Aunt Pam walked in and saw me, she grabbed onto me, looking at me, checking me over. After I assured her and Uncle Matt I was okay, we sat down, and I told them everything that happened and who was behind it. Aunt Pam and I decided to go shopping, because why not? We found a restaurant that looked really promising, so I sent the name of the restaurant to them for eight thirty that night. They replied twenty minutes later, saying that they had already made the reservations. Aunt Pam and I went looking for dresses and went to get our hair and nails done. While we were in the salon, she brought it up.

“So, have you decided on when I’ll have grandkids?”
“If I know your sons the way I do, they are both probably scheming on that. They’ll probably figure if I’m pregnant, I can’t ditch them,” I said, and she started laughing.

“Aunt Pam, can I ask you something?”
“Anything, sweetie,” she said, holding my hand.

“What if I do get pregnant? I mean, I’m with both of them. What I’m getting at is, either of them could be the father. Won’t that bother you or them?” I asked quietly. I saw the girl looking at me. She squeezed my hand.

“Sweetie, whether Aleck is the father or Dean, they’re both my sons and both your husbands. It won’t matter to me, and neither do I nor Matthew care. Your child will be our grandchild. They will both be fathers. Don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, when Mallory is free, we’ll go wedding dress shopping,” I said, smiling.
“Oh, sweetie, you don’t have to include me.”

“But I want to. You’ve always been like a mother to me. Mom is no longer here, so you must be there. Besides, I’m becoming your daughter-in-law.”