Free Walk Away, The Romance of Nick and Layla (Part 1) by Crystal Cierlak Page A

There
are two allegations against me. The first is that my girlfriend, Layla Garrett
is pregnant. The second is that a second woman is pregnant by me. The truth
is...” he paused and the room was dead silent, all waiting in hushed
anticipation, fingers ready to tweet the news to the masses.
    Nick reached into his left pocket then. I
watched in a kind of fear as he pulled out his wedding band and slipped it on
his ring finger. “I never cheated on my girlfriend.” What the hell? The room
filled with the buzz of whispers and under-breath comments. Several people
looked up at me and I had to admit that I was having a very difficult time hiding
my reaction to Nick’s statement. “I never cheated on my girlfriend because
Layla Garrett isn’t my girlfriend.” Oh shit. “She’s my wife.”
    The room roared with hungry journalists and
bloggers barking questions at Nick, thrusting cameras in his face. It was a
riot. And me? I was having a heart attack.
    “If I could continue please?” The room
quieted down again, but it was still buzzing. “Thank you. We’ve been married
for eleven months. And up until two seconds ago, nobody knew. Not even our
families. So you see, I didn’t cheat on my girlfriend. I did something much
worse. I cheated on my wife.” He paused again and this time it was because his
voice was faulting. I could not even comprehend how hard this must have been
for him. I never realized until now. I never realized the jeopardy it put him
in. His career. His fans. Everything.
    “I’m not a perfect man. I never claimed to
be. And I’m certainly not a perfect husband. I’m just me. Just Nick. I do
stupid things occasionally and this time around I did something really stupid.
I can’t take back what I did and I can’t apologize to my wife enough without it
only reminding her of my actions. Layla is not pregnant. We’ve had it confirmed
with her doctor that she is in no way pregnant. So that squashes rumor number
one. As for number two... Yes, I know with the woman claiming to be pregnant.”
I watched through glassy eyes as Nick stood before the pack, waiting to be
devoured.
    “However, at this point I cannot claim any
parental responsibility until a paternity test is conducted and proves
otherwise.” I fidgeted with my fingers and realized I had forgotten to take off
my wedding ring. I looked down at the stunning diamond, surrounded by smaller,
encrusted diamonds, settled on a platinum band. I took a deep breath and 
really thought about what was going on.
    “I’m not the first man to cheat on his wife
and I’m certainly not the last. But this was my last time. I love Layla Garrett
- Layla Hudson, actually - very much. I love her with all of my heart. And
while I have committed a huge violation of her trust and the sanctity or our
marriage, all I can do is apologize and hope that she will forgive me in time.
To the fans across the world: I’m only human. I’m not anything more, and I’m
nothing less. I’m just the same as you guys. And I hope that you will all
accept me for what I am. Flawed.”
    I looked into the crowd and noticed Nick’s
managers and PR people. They were having a field day. Apparently Nick hadn’t
stuck with the script. And, in a very small measurement, that made me proud.
    “Nick, why did you and Layla keep your
marriage a secret from the world?” shouted one journalist.
    “Because we were trying to maintain some
form of normalcy from all the hype and media attention. We dealt with enough
attention when we were just dating and we didn’t want to expose our marriage
and have it monitored and scrutinized for the world to see.”
    “What will you do if you are the father if
the child?” shouted another. I looked up and took a deep breath. This was the
question I had been waiting the answer to. He couldn’t dodge the press like he
could dodge me.
    “If the paternity test concludes that I am
in fact the father of the baby, then I will take the proper and