Page 12 of The Broke Billionaires Club
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Ellie spent a long,restless night tossing and turning in her bed. Was she wrong about Trey? Was he not the womanizer that she imagined him to be? He had to be,right?
As much as she wanted to be wrong about him, she was scared to allow herself to develop feelings for him. A person with that much money and power would be a bear to live with. She wanted to be her own strong woman, not someone who stood in the shadow of a man who wanted to dominate and controlher.
He probably thinks all of his money buys him the right to boss everyone around, she decided. “I want no part of that,” she said aloud to the emptyroom.
Realizing that she sounded like she was trying to convince herself that she didn’t want him, she changed tactics. Mumbling to herself, she said, “He’s probably just never had anyone turn him down before. I pose a challenge and that’s a new thing for him. It’s not me he likes…it’s the chase. He only wants what he can’t have because he normally gets EVERYTHING hewants.”
At this point, Ellie realized that her voice had escalated to the point that she was yelling at the empty room. “I’mnotinterested in him,” she reminded herself as she stepped into the steamy spray of her shower. “I don’t want to set myself up for that kind of life. He’s probably a workaholic and would ignore me in favor of staying at the office. Then he’d have an affair with his secretary. It’s better just to avoid all ofthat.”
She leaned her head against the shower wall as she rationalized with herself. Even though all of the things she had just told herself were probably accurate, they didn’t change the fact that she wanted to be with him. She wanted it more than she’d ever wantedanything.
His money was more of a deterrent than a draw for her. Sure, it would be nice to be comfortable and not have to worry about how to pay the bills every month, but having the kind of money he had would probably become aburden.
She didn’t want to want him. She shouldn’t ache with need for him. It wasn’t in her best interest to need him down to her core. She should just forget him and move on, but evidently that wasn’t apossibility.
It was then that the waterworks started. As the realization set in that Ellie had failed to protect her heart, she sobbed with fear and trepidation over the impending heartache that she felt coming. It seemed unreal that she had fallen so hard and fast for Trey, but she knew she already didn’t want to contemplate life withouthim.
The conflicting desires to save herself from being hurt more and to see Trey just one more time dueled in her mind as the hot tears blazed trails down her cheeks. In the end, she decided to make a clean break. It was better for everyone thatway.
Even as she came to the conclusion that it was better not to see him anymore, her heart shouted at her, “Better forwhom?!?”
