Page 33 of Billionaire in Disguise

“I wanted to tell you–”

“No,” Now she stopped him, as every muscle clenched. “You’re the famous Dominick Knight, billionaire owner of Knight Technology, bestselling author, international celebrity.”

“Adrianna–”

“Was this some sort of game?” She backed up, out of his reach. “How could you lie to me?”

He took another step. “If you’d let me explain–”

“No.” She held up a hand. “I don’t want you to explain. I thought–” She sucked in a breath of his heady scent. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. I cared about a man who isn’t real. Nick Walters doesn’t exist.”

“That’s not true.” His voice deepened. “My name may be different, but I’m the same person.”

“No, you’re not,” she hissed. “You were a regular guy, a temporary employee with exemplary computer skills. Yet instead, you’re a billionaire computer genius who runs an international juggernaut. Was this some sort of joke? A prank? Can you imagine how it feels to be deceived by someone you care about?”

She froze.

“Oh my goodness,” she whispered. “I did the exact same thing.” She turned from the man she thought she cared about – no, the man shedidcare about. Despite the revelations, her feelings had not changed. Yet now she had her own secrets to reveal. “I’ve been lying to you.”

Eyes blinked and lips parted, and a sea of guilt swept through her. Her mother stepped forward. “You said you didn’t know.”

“I didn’t know about Mr. Knight. Like you, I believed he was Nick Walters. But he isn’t–” Her voice broke. “He isn’t my boyfriend. I made it all up.”

Her mother’s face turned as white as the wedding dress she’d undoubtedly imagined for her and Nick’s wedding. “I don’t understand.”

“I thought I was doing the right thing, by not ruining your anniversary. Now I realize how very wrong it was.” Dominick looked so forlorn, it took every bit of strength not to throw herself into his arms, tell him she didn’t care about lies, misdirection or secret identities. Yet she had to stay strong. If he lied about who he was, what else he lied about? His thoughts? His motives?

His feelings?

“You should leave.”

The words came as if from someone else. She didn’t want him to leave, not really, and that was why it was so important he did. The thought of being separated slayed her, but at least for now, she needed time – and space – to sort through the new reality.

Dominick stood as straight as a two by four. “Adrianna, please–” Yet she turned away, as his expression turned to stone. Seconds and an eternity passed. “I will go, for now.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered to her mother, to her family, to the heart shattered in a million pieces. Dominick reached for her once more, but she backed up. If only she could shut her heart to the man who still had the power to move her. “I need time… please.”

She couldn’t look at him. If she did, she would beg him to stay, tell him the past didn’t matter. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered once more. Then she fled from the man she desired, the family she deceived, the future that could never be hers.

Shattered.

* * *

“I can’t believe it.”Joshua turned the wheel of the large minivan, taking a sharp turn down the two-lane street. “Adrianna has never done anything like that before. What was she thinking?”

Another mile further from the woman he adored.

Dominick gazed out the window, at a sunny day completely opposite to the storm raging inside. The trees passed by in an emerald sea, each taking him away from his path, both literally and figuratively, and closer to an airport that would take him ever further. “She did it for your parents.” He inhaled. “I’m not saying it was right, but it was not about embarrassment or deception. She didn’t want to ruin an occasion that meant so much to her family.”

Joshua stayed still for a moment, before slowly responding, “Adrianna always thinks of others before herself. She’s the first person to share, the first to offer assistance, the first to brighten someone’s day.”

She had not brightened his day. She had brightened his life.

Another mile further from the woman he cherished.

“What about you?”

Dominick looked up sharply. “What about me?”

---