Page 67 of Owned By a Billionaire

Despite its predictability, that question still stung.

I took her hand. “At first, maybe on a subconscious level. I knew that, with Lilly unwell, my days in Como were numbered, so to speak.”

“She didn’t leave you anything?”

“Lilly left me Como, but she was in debt up to her eyeballs, as you now know.”

“And you knew that at the time of meeting me?”

I shook my head. “That came as a shock. In fact, I only sold Como so that I could have my own money. Before all of this blew up, I was thinking of applying for a job at a London publishing house.”

“You never told me that.” She looked hurt.

I shrugged. “I fell into a romantic bubble, I suppose. And life at Merivale was like being in a fairy tale. Unreal but wonderful.” I played with her long, slender fingers. “From the moment we met, you dazzled me. Your beauty stole my breath. You must have known that. Men can’t fake the voracious desire I felt then. And still do.” I sipped my ale pensively.

The telling of that uncomfortable chapter in my life, although exhausting, had helped lift a heavy load. I felt like I’d lanced a festering boil.

Caroline smiled. “And I have a voracious appetite for you too.” She arched a dark, perfectly shaped eyebrow.

“That first night, I fell in love.” I stared into her eyes. “I asked to be introduced after noticing your lingering gaze.”

She frowned. “Was I that obvious?”

“I think we were mutually attracted. You’re a very beautiful woman, Caroline.” I raised my brows. “And then, once we spoke and I discovered more about you, I became smitten. That’s the truth.”

Her dark eyes held mine as she digested my words.

Unlike my former identity, I wasn’t faking this time. Those words held a deeper truth than any I’d ever expressed.

“So, what do you know of Elise and her life now?” Caroline finally asked.

“Not much. I mean, when you spoke of marriage, I looked up her Facebook page and thought to approach her about getting a divorce, but I just couldn’t, for obvious reasons.” I gulped down the last of my ale.

“And you will remain married? You don’t wish to return and rectify the situation?”

“It’s a quagmire.” I rubbed my prickly jaw. “If I return, I’ll be arrested for faking my disappearance, and then I’ll have Elise to deal with.”

“She’s not with someone else after all these years?”

“I’m not sure. I really haven’t investigated. But hopefully now you can understand why I had to leave.”

She touched my hand. “You could have told me. I’m not that close-minded. And I know what it is to live a lie.”

The serious glint in her gaze triggered my own questions about her past again. I knew Caroline had something dark inside her. Maybe she, too, had visited hell, and with that thought percolating again, my curiosity reignited about this woman who occupied all of me.

“So what now?” she asked. “I can live with all that you’ve told me.”

“Can you?” I frowned. “I can’t continue to bullshit though. Now that I’ve claimed my birth name, I want to be Mark and not Cary.”

“I’m happy to have Mark in my life.” She held my gaze.

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Caroline. If you ask me to go back to Sydney and clear my name, I will.”

“Even if it involves prison?”

I didn’t even waste a breath. “Yes. Because without you in my life, I’m already in prison.”

Chapter 22

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