Page 17 of Reborn to Love You

But even so.

After getting murdered by Eric, then Rosé, the last thing she wanted was for Niccolò to get involved with her supernaturally messy life, and so—

“I think I know where you’re going here, Mr. de Vindice,” Payton heard herself say. “This is about you never being a part of our guest list at home. I-Isn’t it?” It was, as always, the lamest excuse ever, made even lamer by the way her voice had caught at the end. But she had no choice. That was the best she could come up with, and so please...

She looked at Niccolò, her gaze unconsciously pleading.

Please. Please. Please.

The silence in his office was fraught with tension, and as she waited for his reply, she couldn’t help thinking it was just so ironic...

All those years, she had convinced herself that it was Eric’s ego she was protecting. But since she was done lying to herself...

She realized now that she had also been protecting her own ego.

The reason she had never invited the billionaire to their home...

It was so Niccolò wouldn’t see what the others did. And that way, he wouldn’t pity her the way the others did. But now...

“Payton—”

Keeping him away meant Niccolò staying alive, and when she realized he was determined this time to see the truth with his own eyes, even if it meant gatecrashing her party—

“My husband is a very jealous man, and I...I love him so much,” Payton said in a rush, “and that’s why I’ve never invited you. Y-You’re the kind of man who’ll make him feel bad, and I...I don’t want that.”

Payton felt like throwing up when she saw how Niccolò was gazing at her now.

“Is that so?”

“V-Very much so!”

“Duly noted, then. Is that all you have to say?”

“Um, yes—”

Niccolò opened the door to his office, and even though she knew she had asked for this, it still hurt, being asked to leave like this.

Don’t you dare cry!

You’re doing the right thing.

You’re saving his life, so don’t you forget that.

As Payton walked back to her desk, the door to his office slammed shut, and she started fighting back tears. It felt like she had just hurt Niccolò, but...what choice did she have?

And besides...

She remembered all too late she had a bigger problem to deal with as she sat down.

Was she really going home to the man who would eventually kill her?

Chapter Three

PAYTON PINCHED HER nose before calling her husband. “I’m so sorry,” she wheezed out, “but I don’t think I should come home tonight. I think I came down with something and I don’t want you to catch whatever this is.”

“Yeah, that’s smart, but what about tomorrow’s party?”

“Maybe we can cancel—”