Before he could reply, she pushed open the door and walked onto the bustle of the street, hailing a taxi. If he wanted to talk to her, he’d just have to come with her. As if he’d read her mind, he was beside her in the taxi before she could say anything. She glared at him, not sure whether to be angry or pleased he’d followed her.
‘Central Park. Seventy-second Street.’ She had no intention of asking Liev where he’d like to go. She was going to do what she’d planned—a walk to Bethesda Fountain, where she could find some shade to relax in and try to stop thinking about last weekend, the way it had changed her life and how nothing could ever be the same again. At least that had been her original plan.
The taxi moved through the afternoon traffic and the silence stretched between her and Liev, as it had done all week, but she wasn’t going to be the one to break it. She wasn’t going to be needy and ask him why he hadn’t called her. She was only his fake fiancée, after all. What rights did she have? If you were his fake fiancée, you should never have gone to bed with him. The mocking voice in her mind intensified as her anger increased. She’d been such a fool. It was worse than her prom night because she’d wanted it to happen, wanted to be his, even for one night. She’d been swept away by the passion of being whisked off from everyday life to an idyllic island setting. Had that been his intention all along?
As soon as the taxi pulled over, Liev got out, settling the fare before she had a chance. She stepped out into the sunshine; her earlier bravado, brought on by the shock of seeing him standing there when the elevator doors opened, vanished.
‘Shall we walk?’ He gestured to the wide path which led into the park, and the self-assured expression on his face was almost too much.
‘It’s what I came here for.’ She didn’t wait to see if he was following, but moments later she knew he’d fallen into step beside her; even if she hadn’t glanced at him, she would have known. The tingle which shimmied down her spine told her he was close. It also warned her that her body hadn’t forgotten his yet.
‘The engagement feature has done all it was expected to—and more.’ He dropped the words between her, but she stopped, not able to concentrate on walking and thinking of that photo. The one where she’d looked so happy, so in love. Had he noticed that too?
‘So my job is done?’ She looked up at him, his expression serious as she studied his face, looking for any hint that he felt something for her. He looked down into her eyes, the grey of his stone-like. Was that what he’d come here to say? That her job was done and their fake engagement was now over?
She didn’t want to hear that. She didn’t know if she could say goodbye to the man she loved, but she was far too proud to tell him or even hint at deeper feelings. She thought again of the love letter, of those words written in beautiful flowing handwriting, from one lover to another. It was all she’d ever wanted—to be loved like that.
As Liev’s expression hardened, she knew that would never be possible. Everything about him was cold and severe. His challenging stance as they stood in the sunshine of the afternoon, the sounds of the park all around them, told her all she needed to know. He didn’t want her for anything other than forging his way into society. Now that had been achieved, she was surplus to requirements.
‘It is, yes.’ His lips set in a firm line and she could see his jaw clenching. Whatever had come to life between them on the island was now gone. If she was honest with herself, she’d accepted it had died the minute a new day had dawned.
* * *
Liev watched Bianca nod as they stood there, couples and families moving around them, seemingly oblivious to the tension which stretched almost to breaking point between them. She barely had any make-up on. Her hair, normally sleekly styled, was loose around her face. She looked so vulnerable, so emotionally exposed, it stabbed at him, plunging into his conscience and his heart. He’d done this to her; he was responsible for breaking her, for taking a fiery and passionate woman and destroying her.
He savagely pushed that guilt aside. She was the one who’d sold her body, bargained with her virginity, just to get a bracelet. He would never have asked that of her, never have taken it, had he known. She was as driven to achieve her goal as he was. But what exactly was that goal? Why was the bracelet that important?
He’d been seeking revenge for his parents, for his lost childhood. She should have just been an instrument to gain access to the man who’d offered his father that dubious deal, but instead he’d hurt her in the worst possible way, forced her to do something she’d never have done if it hadn’t been the only way.
‘Bianca,’ he began, but she swiftly cut him off.
‘Don’t, Liev.’
‘Don’t what?’ Guilt cut through him as he saw the pain and mistrust in her eyes. It hurt that he’d done that to her. It hurt because she’d unlocked something deep within him he’d thought crushed by the hand life had dealt him, something he wanted, although he’d never thought he would.
He couldn’t comprehend it. He cared for Bianca, in a way he thought he’d never care for another person again. But Bianca, like Dario, had only ever been a means to an end. They didn’t have any kind of future together.
‘Don’t say you are sorry. Not when using me so spectacularly was always part of the plan.’ The pain in her voice was so clear, so sharp, it almost cut him.
He wanted to tell her that making love to her had never been part of his plan. He hadn’t intended to kiss her—other than publicly for the sake of their fake engagement. But he could see it in her eyes, in the dark accusation within their depths. She thought he’d used her in the worst possible way, just to advance his name. How could he ever tell her it was so much more?
‘I am sorry, Bianca, because I care for you.’ The effort of keeping his voice firm and steady made it sound unnaturally harsh.
She looked suspiciously at him. ‘That’s a lie. If you cared you wouldn’t have left it all week to come and tell me. You’d have told me before we left my grandfather’s home, before we left your island villa. You would never have let me believe I’d become nothing more than just another notch on your bedpost.’
‘You could never be that.’ He took hold of her arms and looked into her face, wanting to kiss away the pain. This was killing him as much as it was her. ‘I didn’t come and see you because I couldn’t face acknowledging what had happened between us. That night should not have happened. Not like that.’
That much was true. He’d put everything aside, forgotten everything, just to be with her, just to explore the passion and desire which had simmered since that day at the auction. He’d wanted her in a way he’d wanted no other woman, beguiled by her innocence, driven by desire.
Their recent time together had shown him who he could have been and who she really was. It had made him yearn for things he’d thought off-limits to an undeserving man such as him, and whatever it was, it had to end. Right here. Right now.
He couldn’t allow it to deter him from his graveside promise. He would avenge his parents, even if it meant turning his back on the only woman to have ever made him feel emotion.
‘I came to give you this.’ He held out the box which contained the bracelet, watched as her dark eyes glanced down at it, then back at him. He could see she wanted to take it and run. He put it back inside his jacket pocket, the agony of knowing it was all she wanted too painful.
‘Does that mean our engagement is over?’ She turned and walked on, leaving him no option but to fall into step beside her again.
He should say yes, but something held him back. She might have achieved an exclusive which had portrayed the ultimate love story to the world, opening the doors