AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Sì. It's in our business contract and I already have clothes there so I can just leave from there to meet the girls tomorrow."
"Right." His voice deflated.
We made our way up to the penthouse. I put my purse on the counter and removed my coat. “I'll go take a shower now.”
I started to walk past him when he gently took my arm. The sudden contact startled me, and I looked up at him.
“Are you sure you're okay? You seem... different. Are you angry?”
“Of course not.”
“Are you sure? You haven't seemed the same since our trip to Sicily.”
"I'm fine."
"Okay." He didn't sound convinced, but I was glad that he was letting it go. If he pushed much more I wasn't sure how long I'd last before all the angry truth came pouring out which would inevitably lead to the end of our business arrangement. As miserable as I was, if I quit, it would all be for nothing.
I hurried into the shower, going through the usual routine, but when I walked to Enzo's bedroom wrapped in a towel, I was surprised to find him still fully dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed.
I stopped short in the doorway and clutched my towel a bit tighter.
"What are you doing? Why aren't you in bed?"
"Come. Sit. We need to talk." His serious demeanor made me nervous, and I timidly walked over to the bed, sitting with plenty of space between us and he turned to face me.
"What's going on? Is this about how things went on our trip? I want the truth." His stern tone made me tense.
I took a deep, cleansing breath before starting. "Our trip to Sicily...the events on the boat, it just made things clearer for me. Things that were beginning to feel muddied before. So," my voice lifted as I forced a smile, "in a way, it was a good thing."
He scowled down at me. "If it was a good thing then why have you been acting so distant and angry?"
"I'm sorry if it came across that way and I'll work to do better. I've just been trying to process everything. That's all."
"Process what exactly?"
I sighed, my shoulders slumping forward. "I started to let myself feel like this was more than what it is, but our trip helped remind me that this is just a job. I'm your employee. You pay me to pretend to be your fiancée and to have sex with you when, where, and how you want. I let myself forget that for a moment. I started questioning you and pushing you to change what you are paying me for and that was wrong."
"Aurora, what we have...it's more complicated—" I couldn't let him finish. If he tried to soothe the sting of my realizations then I would be tempted to let my walls come down again and I couldn't let that happen.
"No. It's not. We signed a contract. We made a deal so let's just stick to that. We have just over two weeks left so let's just get through them the best we can so we can be done with this and go our separate ways."
The muscle in Enzo’s jaw ticked but he couldn’t hide something like pain and anger in his eyes. "Is that what you really want?"
"It is."
"Fine."
"Okay," I fought the urge to take it all back. "So, are we still doing this tonight?"
I motioned between us, and Enzo just looked angry, all pain erased from his face.
"No." His voice was harsh. "Just go. You can sleep in the guest room."
I clenched my teeth and pressed my lips into a straight line. I fought back my anger, even though I wasn’t even sure what I was angry about. He had given me exactly what I said that I wanted.Maybe because being away from him is the last thing that you want.
I gave him a curt nod before standing from the bed and walking to the guest room without another word.
I went to the set of drawers and pulled out a large shirt to sleep in. My things were kept in the guest room, but I’d never actually slept there. I climbed under the covers and while the bed was comfortable, it felt all wrong.
