Page 28 of Midnight Revelations

Aaron gave him his best disapproving glare before moving off around the room.

“Do I want to know what the fuck is going on?” Jordan asked.

“Nope, because it’s my family and I don’t want to know.”

“Poppy?” he asked, his dark gaze landing on her.

I knew Jordan had his suspicions about Lucrezia, so I didn’t want to fuel them further by admitting that Dad’s attention had fallen on her and I was doing my best to place it elsewhere. After a few weeks, hopefully he would put her down as one of a string of girls and that I was just in a horny phase. Since that was true of him, he would think I was just replicating him.

“Some days you just need a distraction,” I replied vaguely.

“Sometimes the biggest lie is hidden in the truth.” I swear that guy had the supernatural ability to see inside your head and pick out the answer he wanted. “She’s a good distraction.”

We stood and watched her chatting to Natalie. There wasn’t a heterosexual male in this room who hadn’t given her a second or third look.

“I hope you know what you’re doing?” Jordan said in a low tone.

“You saw those photographs as well,” I replied. “I need to protect her.”

I didn’t say her name, what was the point?

“I’ll try and hack her tracker so we have eyes on her at all times.” He spun to look at the painting behind us again. “I get it, I really do.”

Jordan moved away and left me with my turbulent thoughts.

I finally realised what sacrifice was. The only woman I wanted in the world was the only one I couldn’t have. To save her, I had to drag my own heart out of my chest and leave a gaping hole in its place.

***

Chapter Eleven

Lucrezia

Catarina was a huge fan of the gossip columns, scanning them for hints of a scandal. It was her favourite pastime and I tended to listen to her vaguely in the background. Ash hadn’t replied to my message and I sat mulling over that fact with my tablet on my knee so I could pretend to be working. It was when Catarina mentioned his name that my ears picked up.

“Ash seems to be the talk of London society. He’s been seen out and about with this knock-out blonde on his arm.”

My blood turned cold and all my internal thoughts silenced. Catarina chatted on in the background and I tried to pull myself together before I fell apart or erupted into chaos.

“Are there photos?” I asked.

“Yeah, wanna see them?”

My lips were smiling as my heart started to tear in half. “Absolutely. I want to see what this mystery woman of Xavier’s looks like since those three are always together.”

It was a horrible lie, but I didn’t want Catarina to see how interested I was in Ash when I barely gave a reaction to anyone else she discussed. The woman was stunning, and she complemented Ash, who was beside her in every photograph. She constantly hung on his arm, smiling up at him, her breasts pushed against him. In some of the photographs, Ash was looking down at her and I desperately wanted that look to be at me.

Just remember, Angel, that this is a game of darkness and deceit. Don’t trust anyone and keep your head down. I will find you at the end of this and claim you.

I tried to cling to his words, but the images left me shaken beyond what I was prepared to admit. Once before I had overreacted and walked away. If I did it again, there was no guarantee that he would follow me.

“They look very happy together,” I said in a low voice.

“She certainly looks happy with herself bagging a billionaire who looks like Ash. Lucky bitch!” Catarina wrinkled her nose at the story. “I wonder why Ash has become a social butterfly when he stayed away from the limelight for years?”

Please, please, please let him be trying to divert attention away from us.

Surely he wouldn’t have found someone to fall in love with so soon after our time together in Paris?

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