Page 36 of The Wrong Fiancée

She paused, and I turned to look at her. Her eyes were distant. "That's how it feels sometimes. Like I'm stuck in a painting where there's no light at the end of the day, just more struggle." She sighed. "To answer your question, I'm all Noe has, and she's all the family I have. No matter how she treats me—and I don't blame her because what happened to her is so unfair—I have to be there for her. She's my sister. So, even though I'm digging for freaking potatoes all day, every day, if that means Noe can have some semblance of normalcy in her life, then it's worth it."

I cleared my throat as we got closer to the resort. I didn't want to fuck up what I wanted to say. "I have a lot of…ah…money."

She laughed without humor. "Yeah, I found out when I researched youafteryou left that thousand dollars for me, like I was a hooker. I wanted to find a way to send it back to you. But I couldn't even do that. Daddy's accident happened shortly after, and I needed that money. So…maybe you were right. My going rate was a thousand dollars and a few dinners for two weeks of fucking."

"Elika," I choked her name out. "It wasn't like that."

"Please, Dean, don't sugarcoat it. You left money with a notesaying you enjoyed my company. You cannot be so dense as to not see what you were saying to me."

Yes, I was…am that dense. But I knew she wouldn't believe me.

"I want to help you with your sister."

"You did help today," she murmured. "You helped carry her. Thank you. Touching the ocean and the sand made her happy."

I knew I'd piss her off, but I had this need to take care of her. "I can pay for her rehab, Elika."

"Of course, you can. You're rich, but you may not because she'smysister, and I can take care of her." I stopped the car in front of her cottage. She put a hand on mine, which was resting on the steering wheel. I turned to look at her. "It's not pride, Dean. I can't get used to other people doing things for me, because when that stops, it's going to be harder for me to pull myself up."

"It won't stop," I assured her.

"Really? I'm assuming Felicity doesn't know that you and I had a fling, does she?"

I shook my head.

"Say you help me financially, and I…I go back to school. Then Felicity finds out about us, she's going to think we still have something going on because you're paying for Noe's treatment. She's going to ask you to stop it to prove you're faithful to her, which you will because she's your wife and your priority. Then I have to drop out again and find employment…start all over again." She dropped her hand onto her lap. "I appreciate your wanting to help me. I do. I just can't be dependent on you or anyone else. Like I said, Noe only has me, and I only have her. There is absolutely no one in this whole wide world who she can rely on but me. It's a risk I simply cannot take."

She made perfect sense, and the way she spoke coolly, calmly, and logically was a slap in my face. She was rejecting my help because she didn't trust me and why should she? I'd called her a good lay and then made her feel like a whore.

"I'm sorry for what I said to Dante, what you overheard. Ireallyenjoyed your…." I stopped talking because I was putting my foot in it by sayingI enjoyed her company, the same words I'd written on the note I'd left her money with.

"I forgive you," she said simply, without any hesitation.

I believed her.

She got out of my car, and I helped get her bicycle out. "How will you get this fixed?"

"I have stuff," she told me.

"Can I help?"

She shook her head sadly. "You've done enough, Dean, and I mean that in a positive way. Go back to your fiancée and your life, and stop hanging out with the help. Felicity finds out you gave me a ride today and saw Noe, there will be hell to pay for youandme. I need this job."

Once again, she made me realize how selfish I was. Every time I defended her, Ginny and Felicity only worked harder to make her life miserable.

Was this who I wanted to marry? Someone who preyed on the vulnerable? Not that Elika was weak, but she was in a subservient position all the same.

I watched Elika in my rearview mirror, checking her bicycle tire as I drove off. I'd thought she wasn't my equal, but I was starting to realize that her intellect and courage were far superior to mine.

Chapter Fourteen

ELIKA

Ireally needed to get the hell off the roster on events that included Dean and his freaking future in-laws.

Uncle Sam and Ginny were throwing a day-long party to celebrate their daughter's engagementagain.

How many times did they want to celebrate that? And why, in the name of everything holy, did I have to witness one of those times?

---