All Chapters of The Bet That Ruined Us : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Shayla's eyes fluttered open. She blinked slowly, trying to orient herself, where she was and why her head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton. She looked around and saw she was in the school clinic. Her gaze moved across the room, landing first on Ruby, who sat in a chair beside the bed with red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. Then to Grayson, who stood near the window, his entire body tense like a coiled spring ready to snap. Shayla scanned their faces, searching. No Ayven. No little boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes, no small arms reaching for her, no voice calling her Momma. The reality of Ayven missing crashed into her like a physical blow. She sat up too quickly, the room spinning around her. Ruby reached for her immediately, but Shayla pushed her hands away. "Where is he?" Her voice rose, frantic and desperate. "Where is my baby? Ayven!" "Mama bear, please, you need to—" "I need my son!" Shayla was screaming now, her hands clutching at the thin blanket c

The hospital emergency entrance was a blur of movement and noise. The ambulance doors flew open and Grayson was rushed out, the stretcher wheels hitting the pavement with a metallic clang. Shayla tried to follow but someone caught her arm. "Ma'am, you need to wait here. The surgical team will take him from here." "No, I need to—" "You cannot go into surgery with him. I am sorry." Shayla watched helplessly as they wheeled Grayson through a set of double doors that swung shut behind him with a sense of finality that made her stomach drop. She stood there, alone in the bright fluorescent lights of the emergency bay, covered in blood that was not hers, shaking so hard her teeth were chattering. A nurse approached her carefully. "Ma'am? Are you injured? Do you need medical attention?" Shayla looked down at herself, her hands covered in dried blood and her shirt soaked with it. "It is not mine." "Okay. Why don't you come with me? We will get you cleaned up and into a waiting room."

Grayson kissed her like a man who had been holding his breath for eight years and finally — finally — remembered how to exhale. The first press was firm, almost bruising, mouths sealing together with a quiet, desperate sound. Then his lips parted hers, slow but insistent, and his tongue slipped inside not tentative, not teasing, but deep, like he needed to taste every forgotten corner of her right now or he would die from it. Shayla opened for him instantly, a broken little sound escaping her throat as their tongues met. The first slide was electric, wet, hot, familiar in a way that cracked something wide open inside her chest. His tongue stroked along the length of hers in one long, trembling glide, then curled around it, pulling her deeper into his mouth like he was trying to drink her whole. She met him stroke for stroke, tongues tangling, sliding, pressing, retreating only to chase again. It was messy, saliva slicking their lips, breaths hitching in sharp, uneven gasps between k

The mansion was nothing like Shayla had imagined. The property sat in an exclusive private neighborhood, gates upon gates before you even reached the actual estate. When the convoy finally pulled through the final set of wrought-iron gates, Shayla's breath caught. Gardens everywhere. Not the manicured, sterile kind that screamed "landscaping company." These were lush, thoughtful, alive. Rose gardens and wildflower patches. A small orchard visible in the distance. Winding stone paths. A fountain in the center courtyard surrounded by jasmine. Everything she had ever talked about during those late nights in college when Grayson would ask her about her dreams. She turned to look at Grayson, questions in her eyes, but he was already watching her with an expression she could not quite read. "I bought it five years ago," he said quietly. "I told myself it was an investment. But I think I always knew why I really chose it." Shayla's throat tightened. She did not know what to say to that

Four weeks had passed in a blur of Shayla and Ayven adjusting to their new life in Grayson's mansion. New routines, new security protocols, new everything. Ayven had adamantly refused to change schools, despite Grayson's suggestion of prestigious private academies with better security. His reason was simple and non-negotiable: Emily. "She is my best friend, momma. I am not abandoning her just because we moved to a fancy house." Shayla had not argued. Emily was one of the few constants in Ayven's life, and after everything he had been through, she was not about to take that away from him. Working with Grayson had been surprisingly easy. The office gossip had been brutal at first, whispers and side-eyes everywhere Shayla went. But Grayson had made it clear in no uncertain terms that anyone who disrespected her would be looking for new employment. The whispers had quieted after that. The lines between them had blurred more with each passing day. Stolen hugs in his office when no one