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And then he walked into the living room and destroyed all that love with a few choice words and unspoken implications.
“I have to be careful,” he said, his voice low, his gaze imploring. “After everything that my family has endured these last few years, any hint of scandal hurts us tremendously, and it hurts the business.”
“I completely understand. I’m more trouble than I’m worth. Perhaps I should go.” She lifted her chin and started to walk past him, but he grabbed her by her upper arm, stopping her.
“I don’t want you to go,” he whispered. “I want you to explain to me what happened between you and that man. I want to know why they’re saying this all over the media and who could’ve spread such lies about you.”
“That you make me explain myself is bad enough. Why can’t you just accept my word as the truth?” She glared at him, felt the tears starting to form in her eyes, and she blinked them away. She refused to cry. Refused. “It didn’t happen. My former boss pushed himself on me and I was struggling to get away when his wife walked in and saw us. Rather than agree with me when I told her he attacked me, he never said a word. Let her accuse me of being a slut and a whore who threw herself at her husband and then she fired me.”
“Shit,” he muttered, loosening his grip on her. His expression softened. “I’m sorry, Paige.”
Paige jerked away from his touch. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. What’s done is done. I thought I’d moved on and put it behind me, but apparently my scandalous past will follow me wherever I go.”
“Perhaps we should do a press release denying the accusations…” he started, but she cut him off.
“No. I refuse to have to explain myself. I’d rather let the story die.” If they kept talking about it, everything would become worse. She knew Carolyn Leonard was behind this. And she didn’t want to give that woman the satisfaction of letting her know it bothered her.
“But what if the story doesn’t die? What if it grows and gets worse?”
His complete lack of faith in her was so disappointing, she didn’t know how to express herself. Words failed her. She needed his support, not his doubt and his worry.
She could understand where he came from too. He had much to protect, an entire company and his family’s image. Anything said detrimentally could destroy it, piece by piece. Lies hurt just as much as truths. And Matteo, along with his family, had endured enough scandal these last few years to last two lifetimes.
Her story only added to the mess. It was best if she distanced herself. Now.
Without another word, she started for her bedroom, ignoring Matteo as he called her name, increasing her steps until she came to her room and darted inside, slamming the door behind her. Reaching behind her neck, she undid the clasp of the necklace she wore, the diamond pendant and delicate gold chain spilling into her palm. She studied it for a moment, entranced with the stone’s brilliance. The necklace, the gesture, it had meant everything to her that night.
Now it meant nothing.
She went to her dresser and set the necklace on top. No way could she keep it. It didn’t belong to her any longer. Just like she didn’t belong to Matteo any longer.
The tears started. An endless waterfall of them coming so fast she could hardly see. This was it. She was done here, at the Renaldi home, in Manhattan, in all of New York City. She should go back home, where it was safe and boring and nothing horrible or wondrous could ever happen to her again.
Frustration filled Matteo to his absolute boiling point. Paige had been locked away in her bedroom for over an hour and refused to acknowledge him when he pounded on the door, bellowed her name, demanded that she come out and talk to him.
He could just barge into her room. He’d done it before. But something told him he needed to respect her boundaries this evening. She was upset, taken to her very limits, and he was afraid she might break completely if pushed too far.
Seeing her so upset broke his heart, broke his soul. He didn’t know how to fix this problem he created. It wasn’t that he hadn’t believed her, he just needed to get to the truth. The article had devastated him and he’d immediately thought of Matty. His sister and his brothers and his mother, all the hardship and heartache they’d all endured since the death of their father and the subsequent scandal that followed when it was discovered that Stasia wasn’t a blood Renaldi after all, but a Worth.
He’d quite honestly freaked the hell out. And handled Paige all wrong. Clearly she’d been the victim of a near sexual assault. Like an asshole, he’d implied she’d actually been involved with the monster that had been her former boss.
