Dark Masquerade: A Bad Boy Billionaire Romance by Michelle Love

Author:Michelle Love [Love, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-14T18:30:00+00:00

Bubbles don’t just burst, Elli thought, five days later. They smash, they splinter, and they cause damage. They hurt. She was back in Italy, back within Aldo’s reach—back in his bed.

She’d managed to persuade him that she was too jetlagged to make love, and if he was suspicious, he didn’t show it.

Vivienne, in Elli’s absence, had the office check for cameras and bugs under the guise of remodeling the space, but to their great relief, the only bug the experts found was Indio’s poorly hidden (but still unnoticed for months) bug on Elli’s desk. It made Elli breathe easier that she and Vivienne could talk about what they found out in Uganda without risk of Aldo finding out. She also showed her friend the horrific videos she’d found on Aldo’s computer.

It was in the evenings when she had to return to Aldo’s house that she felt scared …scared and disgusted every time he came near her. They limped on for a couple of months, becoming more distant from each other, and even when Christmas came and went, they were civil, if not affectionate.

Elli and Indio spoke every day, and Indio urged her to break things off with Aldo. “We haven’t found anything we can use,” he said. “And every day I wake up wondering if today is the day when I hear that you’re dead. I hate this, Elli. Please.”

It was just after the New Year when Elli asked Aldo if she could talk to him.

“Of course.” They were in his study, and Elli’s eyes kept drifting toward the filing cabinet. He was clever, she thought, and didn’t keep a paper trail back to him. She wondered if he got paid in cash to sell those children into the sex trade. She pushed that thought away; if she dwelt on it, she might crack and start to accuse him, and then all would be ruined. Instead, she smiled at him with fake warmth.

“Aldo, darling …this isn’t easy to say. But …. I think we need to consider spending some time apart. We haven’t exactly been getting along so well of late. You must agree.”

Aldo nodded slowly, his eyes locked on hers. “I cannot deny that, Elli. It had been breaking my heart.”

“And I’m sorry for that. But I do think we have reached the end of our time together. I need to regroup and work out what I want from life.”

Aldo gave a soft, sarcastic laugh. “I think you know what you want, Elliana. It just isn’t me.”

Elli decided to ignore that. She did not want him to lose his mind. “I need time on my own.”

Aldo studied her. “As you wish.”

Really? He was taking it this easily? Something didn’t add up here.

“So, I’m going to pack my stuff tonight. I’ll ask Umberto to take me back to my apartment.”

“Fine. Is that all? I do have to get on.” He turned back to his computer, and Elli flushed. She hated him, but she also felt he was dismissing her. Like a whore.

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