Page 160 of Phantom Mine

“And he was willing to paytwo million poundsfor that?”

Remembering how his hands had roamed greedily over every inch of my body, I blush even more deeply. “Yes.”

“That’s not a man who’s going to be able to walk away from you, Valentina. No matter what he says.”

I look down. “He will, and soon.”

A throbbing ache burns in my chest. I know my time with Matteo is running out. I can feel it. His new position established distance between us, as did my quittingFirenze. Those were the first steps to an inevitable rupture between us, and overhearing him tell Enzo to schedule the meeting with the Marchesani family was the final nail in the coffin.

My heart caved in at his words, but I can’t say I was surprised. He’sDonnow. I knew that meant his engagement would be confirmed, the wedding imminent after that. He seems as disgusted by the idea of marrying Marina as I am, but his feelings don’t matter. Not really, not when he has no choice but to marry her.

“Have you even told him how you feel?”

I shake my head vehemently. “No, and I won’t.”

Hecan’tchoose me, and I would never ask him to even if he could, no matter how much I long to. Not when I know what beingDonmeans to him.

And it’s obvious how well the position suits him. He’s a natural born leader and seeing him step into that role and the associated spotlight fills me almost to bursting with pride.

No matter how much it tears my heart to pieces, no matter how much it feels like I won’t survive without him, I know I have to let him go. It’sbecauseI love him that I’ll quietly walk away whenever he tells me it’s time, not because I want to or would ever choose to.

I don’t look forward to the martyrdom, but I love him enough to do it. I’ll put his revenge first, like he’s done with mine the entire time we’ve been together.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re making a mistake,” she says. “And, thank you, but I can’t accept this. If you don’t want the money, you should give it back to him.”

“I want you to have it,” I say emphatically, clasping Aurora’s hands in mine. “Use it to put what happened behind you. Use it to start over, in whatever way you decide to do so. If nothing else, consider it worker’s comp from the Italian Mafia for you being kidnapped during work hours.”

That draws the first laugh out of her since she went missing. The sound of it pulls me in, and then we’re both laughing until we’re crying.

“Can we please put some trashy TV on and eat now?”

“I thought you were never going to ask,” she replies.

We settle deeper into the couch. I glance over at her, taking note of the trace of a smile still on her face.

She’ll be okay.

???

The next morning, Aurora is still sleeping when my phone rings. My stomach knots when I see Thiago’s name on my screen, a premonitory sense of foreboding telling me this is a call I have to pick up and likely not one I’m going to enjoy.

I pad out of the bedroom and into the living room, careful not to wake my friend. “Hello?” I whisper.

“Nice of you to pick up my phone call for once,” Thiago’s guttural voice growls in my ear.

“Good morning to you too.”

“It’s noon.”

Is it? I didn’t realize. Aurora and I were up until six watching reality TV. She didn’t say it, but I knew she was afraid of going to sleep. It’s only when exhaustion finally pulled her under that she gave in.

Thiago gives an aggrieved sigh. “This is exactly why I made this decision. Arturo hasn’t seen you in months. Neither have I, except briefly at the Tellier gala before you ran away like you’d seen a ghost. You don’t pick up my calls and hardly answer my texts. No one ever knows where you are. It can’t go on like this. I’m too busy to be worrying about you constantly. It’ll be someone else’s job now.”

A cold draft floats down my spine, snapping it straight. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have my wife to take care of. It’s about time you be someone else’s priority.” There’s a beat of silence before he continues, “I’ve finalized the terms of your engagem—”

The cold draft hardens to icy realization and sinks like lead balloon straight to the bottom of my stomach.

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