AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was crying already, tears burning her eyes as she fought against them and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her weep because—because there was nothing to weep about. She didn’t love him, she’d never loved him—
“I don’t love you,” she gasped, tearing her mouth from his.
The words came out before she could stop them. Nicolo raised his eyebrows.
“Strange. How could you not love me when you never claimed to love me?”
“I meant—I meant I didn’t love you, even when I thought I did.”
“Yet you never said those words to me.”
“I said, I thought I loved you. But I didn’t. It was all sex. You knew that. You used it against me.”
“I see. I used sex to make you fall in love with me.”
“Yes. No. I didn’t fall in love with you. Damn it, you’re twisting everything, the way you always do.”
“What have I twisted in the past?”
“You know damned well what you twisted. And I’m not going to do this! I’m not going to give you the chance to try to convince me not to leave you because I’ve made up my mind. I am leaving you—and you won’t lose a thing, because the bank is already in your pocket!”
Nicolo cocked his head. “Really? The bank is in my pocket?”
Aimee slammed her fist against his chest. “Don’t,” she cried. “Don’t make fun of me. Don’t lie! Don’t, don’t, don’t…”
Tears began streaming down her face.
You could only pretend to hate the man who owned your heart for just so long and then the enormity of losing him, of having been a pawn that meant nothing to him, became too painful to bear.
She sagged against his hands.
“Please,” she said brokenly, “please, Nicolo, if you have any feeling at all for me, let me go.”
“Cara.” His arms went around her; he gathered her close despite her struggles and drew her into his lap. “Tell me what happened. What hurt you. Tell me, so I can make it go away.”
“What happened,” she said as a shudder racked her body, “is that I discovered the truth.”
“No,” he said gently, “I don’t think that’s possible because if you knew the truth, if I had told it to you a long time ago, you would not be weeping in my arms.”
“I’m not weeping,” Aimee said, her body shaking with her sobs.
“Of course not. You’re too strong to cry. Isn’t that right, cara?” His smile tilted as he took a white linen square from his pocket and handed it to her. “I told you I’d work up to a handkerchief someday.”
Aimee wiped her eyes, blew her nose, then balled the hankie in her fist. “Now. What is this truth that has made you want to leave me?”
She lifted her head and met his eyes. “I found the fax.”
“What fax?”
“The one from my grandfather, assuring you he’d sell the bank to you.”
His face fell. “Ah.”
“Yes. Ah, indeed. I found everything. That fax—and the papers that showed the sale had gone through.”
“What else did you find?”
His tone was neutral. At least he wasn’t going to try to deny the truth.
