AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m finally living formeand accepting the person I am. Your power trips are gone,” Paul said above Dani.
Bile rose in my throat, and I let Paul’s hand go. My body trembled.
Paul’s mom knows about our arrangement. Hell, his whole family knows. It wasn’t just to upset Paul that Faith called me an escort. It was the truth, wasn’t it?
I’m disgusting to his mom.What I’m doing should be repulsive tome.
Now I understood why Paul never wanted me to meet his close friends and family. Nothing about us was natural. No matter what I tried to do to connect, nothing would change. I meant as much as an accessory. He never cared about me.
He’ll never see me as anything more.
I dropped my head and turned away.
Paul clasped my waist. “I’m sorry you witnessed our argument. Unfortunately, Mom doesn’t believe in using discretion. Go downstairs with Laurence, and I’ll see you soon.”
I didn’t hesitate to escape from the tension between Paul and his mom.
“I’m sorry, Nadia,” she called to my back, and I bristled, following Laurence, who squeezed my shoulder.
We rode the elevator back to the ground floor. He opened the door when we reached the car, and I took a step back. So often, I grasped at straws when the reality of my situation was right there in front of my face. I couldn’t ignore it or leave it for later. I couldn’t stop myself from being sad or coming up with more excuses.
There were no more.
I looked up at Laurence’s empathetic expression. “Dani’s usually the kindest of the Cranes. I’m shocked and ashamed of the way she treated you. I worked with her for a decade. But you can talk to Paul—”
“I’m not going to talk to Paul. I’m leaving, and I’m not coming back.” I sucked in air and hugged my arms.
“Nadia, please give Paul a chance to explain. He is probably telling her how awful she is right now. Please let him make things right. Don’t do this to him.”
“What aboutme, Laurence?” I asked him, pressing my chest. “I…I think I love him, but he doesn’t care about me.I’m just something he purchased.Perhaps his mom is right. Paul’s experimenting, which means when he comes to his senses, I’ll be the first to go. It’s better if I leave now, so I won’t continue to be hurt.”
I took out the keys to the Hudson and left them on top of the car. “I won’t return. Tell him he can return everything. I’ll get my friend Xander to collect my things and the tote bag in the closet. But I don’t want anything else from Paul. He can donate or get rid of everything. I’ll send everything I have from him back.”
“Please talk to Paul.” Laurence took out his phone. “I can’t say all that I know, but he does care about you, Nadia. He’s just going through many changes that his family isn’t used to seeing from him. He’s been happier than I’ve seen him in years. Muchmore relaxed and comfortable with himself…even more so than before Aubrey’s death. Though I doubt he’d admit it.”
Laurence’s information did pique my interest, but it wasn’t enough to make me stay. He’d do anything for his friend and boss. The Paul I knew would never claim I held that much value to him.
“Thank you, Laurence, for being so good to me.”
I hurried out of the garage and down the alley toward the street. I didn’t stop until I was close to Canal Street. There, I held out my hand for a taxi. My phone rang over and over again. I didn’t have to check to know it was Paul.
My stomach lurched, and I walked to the end of the street and vomited. Someone in a shop came out to give me some paper towels to clean my mouth.
“Are you okay, miss?”
I blinked back tears. “I just need a cab.”
He flagged down a taxi at the corner. After climbing in, I pulled out my phone.
Paul: Come back, Nadia. Please. Let’s talk this out.
Nadia: There’s nothing left to discuss.
Paul: You have feelings for me. I know, Nadia.
My pulse sped up.So he knows I have feelings for him.My fingers shook as I typed the next message.
Nadia: How do you feel about me, Paul?
