Page 48 of The Runaway Bride and the Billionaire

Istared at the closed elevator door for what felt like hours. I knew I needed to go back to the kitchen and finish up what I was cooking. If I didn’t, the dish would go bad. I knew it, but I just stood there staring at the door.

Maybe I thought the elevators would slide open and she would be there. Maybe it was hope that glued my feet to the ground. Hope made me wait for her but pride made me unable to go after her.

After all the things she said to me, I had no desire to bring her back to my house. At least that was what I told myself. I tried to make myself believe that I didn’t want her here but that wasn’t true.

When I finally left the living room, it felt like there was a heavy weight on my shoulder. It weighed me down, making my steps tothe kitchen more labored. In the empty house, my labored steps were louder. The sound made me conscious of the fact that I was alone. Amelia left and she probably wouldn’t come back here ever again.

I lost her. Again.

I finished up in the kitchen, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat the food that we were supposed to eat together. So instead, I packed everything into the freezer and cleaned up. When I was done, I sat at the kitchen counter and stared ahead at nothing in particular.

I could hear the echoes of my argument with Amelia. It flooded my mind, forcing me to relive it.

And all for what? Money? I thought you were better than that.

You killed what we had, Matteo.

You killed it first when you chose your parents over me.

That was the last thing I said to her before she left. I didn’t go after her when she packed her suitcase. Only when I heard the elevator ding did I leave the kitchen. I saw her standing in the elevator but I couldn’t go after her, not after everything she said.

I sighed as I pulled myself off the stool. I was on my way to my study when I heard the elevator. For a moment, I thought it was my mind playing tricks on me. Amelia couldn’t possibly have come back. I walked to the living room with doubtful steps.

The elevator doors slid open and Agnes stepped out. I hadn’t expected to see her today. I tried to hide my disappointment at seeing her and not Amelia but she picked up on it. “Were you expecting someone else?” she asked.

“No, of course not.”

“Where’s Miss Amelia?” She stepped into the living room and looked around.

“She left.”

“When will she be back? I have something to—

I cut her off before she could finish. “She’s not coming back. She left for good.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean Amelia packed a bag and left,” I said.

Agnes narrowed her eyes. I knew that look. It was the look she gave me when she was about to chastise me for something. She rarely used it but sometimes, it made an appearance. “What did you do to her?”

I scoffed. “What did I do to her? Did it ever occur to you that I may be the offended party here?”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t apologize.”

“I have no reason to do so.” I turned to walk away but her next words made me pause.

“I mean no disrespect, sir, but I must tell you that you would be a fool to let that woman go,” she said.

I turned to look at her but she’d already walked off in the opposite direction.

In the days that followed Amelia’s departure, Agnes had taken to expressing her opinion quite often. She took great pains to inform me about what she believed I would be losing by letting Amelia go. I’d learned to tune her out whenever we were in a room together. Growing up with my grandmother meant I knew all about ignoring lectures from women far older than me.

Agnes’ lectures were a constant reminder of Amelia. Not that I needed one. She was always on my mind. Working provided a great escape from everything. Unfortunately, thoughts of Amelia always followed me there too. I thought about her so much that I could barely concentrate on my work.

“Mr. Hayes?”

I blinked at the man in front of me. Then I looked around the room full of people. I was in a meeting. My team and I were discussing how to move forward with the Fitzroy Corp issue. It had recently come out that Alberto Fitzroy was involvedin something shady and that was how he obtained the money required to partner with Ryx Cement.

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