Page 110 of The Billionaire's Pact

I shook my head back and forth and pulled my hat down over my ears. “No, thank you, Mr. Marini.”

He chuckled and nodded. “You’re polite. I like that. You were at the Belfiore’s, but you snuck away to think.” His tone turned sympathetic.

“I didn’t sneak, I….” I took a deep breath.

“It’s okay if you did,” he said. “Sometimes impulses lead to making hasty decisions. And even in the worst situations, there’s someone else that has it worse and may need you.”

I tensed. Mr. Marini may have seen me and Mama sitting outside the front house. That was when I thought about how long I’d been gone. She’s probably looking for me. She wasn’t on the hill, she was on the steps walking down towards us. She must’ve spotted me.

“Adelina, don’t go, please come back.” Mama yelled over.

My hands fumbled on the book, and Luka bent down and picked it up quicker than I had expected.

“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. Be careful pretending. That’s from that book.” He pulled out a card and tucked it in the pages. “That has my email, address, and phone number. Could you send me a message? Tell me what you’re reading.”

I took the book and stood there baffled. “Why would I do that? I just met you.”

“Because you’ll make an old man happy, and you’ll find I’m a good uncle to have. You are strong, little one. And I think that resilience will be your superpower, Adelina.”

He laughed and I smiled, touching the card….

I pressed my hand to my chest as my head echoed with Mr. Marini’s laughs, smiles, and his veiled warning, “Be careful pretending.” Because perhaps no one would actually want or love me for me.

Would I forever be part of a billionaire’s pact or would someone actually love me one day?