Page 28 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

I was tempted to ask her if it ever occurred to her that Amelia was capable of choosing a husband for herself. I also wanted to ask if she’d considered Lucas’ kindness when she almost married her daughter off to him. I knew the answer to both questions was no.

Nora had never once considered that her twenty-seven-year-old daughter might be capable of choosing a life partner for herself. And Lucas’ kindness was certainly not one of the traits she considered when she chose him as Amelia’s husband. The only reason she thought of Lucas as a good match was because of his bank account. It was the same reason she suddenly thought I was good enough after years of believing me to be the exact opposite.

I felt grateful when dinner was over because I was tired of hearing Nora talk about what a great match I was for her daughter. After dinner, I went to my study, leaving mother and daughter alone to talk.

I tried to work but I couldn’t. Every time I stared at the 3D design I was working on, all I could think about was Nora and the comments she made earlier.

I couldn’t believe that the woman now viewed me as worthy of her daughter. When I didn’t have money, she considered me a nobody. Hell, I was worse than a nobody. I was dirt underneath her shoe. I wasn’t even worthy of breathing the same air as her.

It was becoming clear to me that all Nora cared about was money. If I had money five years ago, then she would have had no issue letting me marry her daughter. It had always been about the money. That was the only reason she forced Amelia to end our relationship.

A part of me couldn’t help wondering if Amelia was the same. We’d kissed twice now and we were making progress in our relationship. I wondered if she was only trying to get back with me because I had money now.

I hated thinking about her that way, but I had to ask myself the important questions. I had to ask myself the questions even though they made my chest constrict just thinking about them. If I came back into her life without money, would she still want to be with me or would she toss me aside like she’d done five years ago?

The only person who could answer that question was Amelia, but I knew I couldn’t ask because it would likely offend her. It was an offensive assumption but one my mind couldn’t help but make. All the evidence pointed to the possibility that Amelia only came back into my life because I was rich.

I wondered if that was just my fear speaking. Maybe I was only going down this rabbit hole because I was scared of getting my heart broken again. Without thinking, I placed a hand on my chest. I remembered the days after my breakup with Amelia, days when I could literally feel the pain in my chest.

I thought about how things would have gone if we met again, and I was still the struggling bricklayer I was five years ago. Her father would never have invited me to her wedding and he certainly wouldn’t have allowed her to stay four months in my squalid apartment. Nora wouldn’t have visited said apartment and she would not have suggested that I was the ideal man for her daughter.

I was certain that Amelia’s parents would act differently but I didn’t know what Amelia would do. Would she still agree to stay with me? Would she let me kiss her?

I decided to push all my confusing thoughts out of my head since I had no way to get answers for them. I knew I couldn’t ask Amelia so it was best not to think about it at all. I fought against the thoughts in my head, waging war against all the confusion.

Thankfully, I won.

Tomorrow I would ask Nora how long she planned to stay here. Hopefully, her answer was something I could live with. Ididn’t think I could have the woman in my house for up to a week without going crazy. I hated hearing her talk about how I was the kind of man she wanted for her daughter.

It brought back memories I was still trying to forget. Memories of Amelia relaying her parent’s sentiment about me.

I wanted to forget that day ever happened, but it haunted me relentlessly. I just hoped that someday, I would be able to truly move past it.

Chapter 15

Amelia

When Matteo left the dining room, I glared at my mother but she was too drunk to notice. She normally didn’t drink this much and I assumed she only did it to make talking to Matteo easier. Somewhere deep inside her, she recognized the absurdity of what she was suggesting, and she needed the alcohol to help her do it anyway.

I couldn’t believe she told Matteo that he was the ideal man she would want for me. That must have been so hurtful for Matteo to hear. Just a few years ago, my mother thought he wasn’t good enough and now he was the ideal man.

The only thing that had changed was his social and financial status. My mother thought he was worthy of me because he had money now and that was so wrong. I didn’t even want to imagine what Matteo thought of her or worse, what he thought of me.

Maybe he thought I was only getting close to him because he had money. I felt incredibly embarrassed by the possibility of him seeing me that way. Unlike my parents, I didn’t care about money when it came to marriage. I cared about love.

“Amelia… help… your mother… to bed.”

My mother’s words were slurred because she was drunk. I shook my head as I stood up and walked over to her. I helped her get in bed before returning to my room. There I found my phone which I had tossed on the bed in my excitement to share the good news.

At that moment, I realized that I still hadn’t responded to the email. I quickly composed an acceptance message and sent it. From the details of the job offer, I was to start tomorrow. I had no problem starting as soon as possible. My only issue was my mother. I didn’t feel comfortable leaving her at Matteo’s home while I went out to work.

I worried about what she would do in my absence. I worried about the things she would tell Matteo and the ways in which she would try to micromanage my life.

Despite my worries, I knew I couldn’t refuse the request from Phoenix Consulting. If they needed me to start tomorrow, then that was what I would do.

The next day, I got ready to go to work. Thankfully, my mother was still sleeping when I left. I stopped by her room to check on her before heading to the elevator. I was walking through the parking lot when I saw Matteo.

I was surprised to see him because I thought he’d already gone to work. Agnes told me he had taken his morning coffee a few minutes ago so I assumed he would be on the road, on his way to work. For a moment, I simply stood there and stared at him, stared at the man who had always had my heart even when we were apart.

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