Page 47 of The Sexy Billionaire

Turning my head, I look over at him, and I can see the stress of the day on his face. “I know you do. I’m still shocked that he did it.”

“I’m not,” my brother grumbles.

He’s concerned for you, give him a break. “Guess I’m naïve then. I thought I knew this man. I was supposed to spend forever with him. You’re going to have to give me a moment to realize he’s nothing like I thought he was.”

“Anger can manifest. He is unhinged, you need a protective order.”

Okay, I get it now. The person standing before me today was not the man I used to love.

“Why does he hate me so much? I didn’t cheat,” I ask my brother as I try to hold back my tears. That man doesn’t deserve them.

“Because he’s a controlling son of a bitch and he knows he no longer has control over you. That you don’t need him anymore and that thought has sent him mad,” he explains.

“Was he really that controlling of me? Why did no one tell me?” I ask him.

“Paige, you loved him. You would never have listened to any of us,” he answers.

Does love make you that delusional? I thought I was a levelheaded girl.

“I didn’t think I was stupid though?”

“Hey, you weren’t stupid. He didn’t want you to see who he truly was, he’s a master manipulator,” he adds.

“I feel stupid. How did I not see him cheating on me with my staff or whoever else he cheated on me with? There would have been signs.”

“Paige, seriously, the guy was a professional at it. I’m sure he’s done this his entire life,” my brother explains.

“What if it happens again?” That’s what I’m truly afraid of. What if he’s broken me and now, I’m so damaged that I can’t see red flags, even if they are waving in front of me?

“We won’t let it happen again,” he states.

“How can you be sure?”

“You have to have faith in yourself that you can spot these assholes from a mile away.”

My shoulders slump. “See, that’s the thing, I don’t trust myself,” I confess.

My brother looks over at me and gives me a small smile before returning his eyes back to the road. “You need to give yourself time to heal.”

The thought of jumping into a relationship again frightens me, but so does dating. The whole awkward stage, working out what the other person is about, sleeping with someone new; ew, this is all too much for me.

“Things will get better, I promise. It hasn’t been long and look how far you have come already. Imagine how good your lifewill be in three, six- or twelve-months’ time. You will be sayingMichael who?”

Maybe he’s right. Can I fast forward to that moment?

14

GIORGIO

My phone buzzes, and it’s a message from Paige, which makes me smile. I find myself looking forward to hearing from her; the time difference sucks though, as it’s usually when I’m going to bed or when I’m waking up that she writes.

Paige: Today sucked!

Giorgio: What happened? I thought you just had to sign some papers.

Paige: Yeah, until my ex grabbed me and started yelling at me in the street.

What the fuck? I sit up in my bed as anger radiates off me. Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Why would he touch her like that?

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