And she should never have let Raul take her shoe off, because now there was all the hassle of getting it back on.
And happiness seemed determined to elude her as she climbed out of the vehicle.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ Maurice asked as she approached.
‘Out,’ Lydia snapped.
‘Your mother is worried sick,’ Maurice said as they walked briskly through the foyer, though he waited until they were in the elevator to say any more. ‘I’m trying to save your family’s business and you walk out on the one person who could help do just that.’
‘I came for a drink.’
‘He wanted to take us both to dinner. I’ve said to Bastiano that you’ll be there tomorrow.’
‘Well, you shouldn’t have,’ Lydia retorted.
They got out of the elevator and Lydia headed for her suite. ‘I’m going to bed.’
‘Don’t you walk away from me,’ Maurice told her. ‘You’ll be there tomorrow night, with a smile on, and—’
‘Maurice, why do I need to be there?’ She pointed out what Raul had this morning. ‘I don’t hold the deeds to the castle—my mother does. And I don’t actually like the idea of turning it into a retreat. There’s absolutely no reason for me to be there.’
‘You know there is.’
‘But why?’
Say it, Maurice, Lydia thought. Have the guts to voice it out loud.
‘Because Bastiano wants you.’
‘Then you need to tell him that I’m not part of the deal.’ Her voice was shaky. The truth, even if deep down she’d already known it, was actually very difficult to hear said out loud. ‘In fact you can tell Bastiano that, as of now, I no longer live or work at the castle.’
‘Lydia, he’s a charming man, he’s extremely wealthy, and he’s very interested in you.’
‘Well, I’m not for sale! I’ve told you—I’m leaving.’
‘And where are you going to go? Lydia, you’ve got no qualifications, no savings...’
‘Odd, that,’ Lydia responded, ‘when I’ve been living at home and working my backside off for the last six years.’
She was done, she was through, and she dug in her purse for her keycard and let herself into her suite.
Maurice knocked loudly.
Oh, my God.
She could not take even another night of this.
She didn’t have to, Lydia realised as she recalled Raul’s advice.
‘You can walk away from anyone you choose to and you don’t have to come up with a reason.’
She had many good reasons to walk, Lydia thought, and started throwing her possessions into her case.
‘Your mother is going to be very upset...’ Maurice called through the door, but he fell silent when it was opened and Lydia stood holding her case.
‘I’m leaving.’
‘What the hell...? Lydia...’
Lydia could see a bit of spittle at the side of his mouth, and she could feel his anger at her refusal to comply.
When she always had in the past.
For the sake of her mother Lydia would generally back down when things got heated—but for the sake of herself she now stood her ground.
It was as if the blinkers had been lifted, and she could now see the control and the pressure he exerted.
And she would play the game no more.
No, she could not save the castle and, no, she would not meekly comply just to keep his mood tolerable. She could almost feel the eggshells she had walked on dissolving beneath her feet.
She marched to the elevators and he followed. He reached for her as she reached the doors and suddenly she was scared.
Raul had been right to be concerned.
She was scared of Maurice and his temper.
Oh, she wasn’t running to Raul—she was running away from hell.
Maurice slapped her.
He delivered a stinging slap to her cheek and pulled at her hair, raised his other hand—but somehow she freed herself.
Lydia ducked into the elevator and wrenched the doors closed on his hand.
‘Thank you,’ she said. With the gate safely between them she spoke in a withering tone. ‘Now I know for a fact what an utter bastard you are.’
She did not crumple.
Lydia refused to.
And she refused to waste even a single tear.
She was scared, though.
Scared and alone.
And she would have run into the night.
Without Raul, absolutely she would have run.
But instead of going down Lydia pressed the elevator button that would take her to his floor.
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