Page 52 of Entwined

THE CAD IS IN PARIS. Living it up. Drinking champagne and dancing with countless beautiful women on his arm.

I hate him.

He’s shining, lighting up the world while I’m living in the shadow he cast.

It’s cold and lonely.

The dove misses her master. But he’s changed. According to the press,EL Diablois gone, replaced byEl Salvador. And who is that woman next to him, Nicole Townsend? When pictures of them first surfaced on the web it was reported that she was his PR person. She dressed in business suits with her hair in a bun and glasses perched on her nose. But the pictures of them together from last night, tell a different story. One I’m not sure I want to know the ending of.

Has he moved on? Was it real at all or was my heart consumed with love that was cast by Stockholm Syndrome?

It’s been months, but my feelings have yet to change. If anything, they only grow stronger the more I read of him changing his entire life around.

I need to stop.

I set up a Google alert on Christos. Cyber-stalking him for any tidbit of his life. Holding on instead of letting go. The web was dark when he was in China. I couldn’t find a thing about him. But now, my secret file that I keep on my laptop is full of pictures of him taken at various charity events. His smile is real in every photo. He’s become the golden man of my dreams, the one I glimpsed once before the stars came crashing down.

I’ll never let go of the dream I glimpsed of the two of us together.

Freedom.

It's all I've ever wanted.

But I know we can fly together.

He left me a broken shell of who I was. But who I am now is perhaps who I was always destined to be.

I see that clearly.

I believe deep in my heart—Christos and I truly belong together. His handsome face is on the cover of every magazine. The internet is full of pictures of him giving his millions away to countless children's charities. My dark one is now the golden one, and I won't let him leave me behind.

He won't shine for anyone but me.

I gave him light.

I deserve his bright future.

But first I need to prove to him just how strong I've become. Together we can rule the world, chart our own course and soar higher than the stars.

I slam the lid of my laptop shut, picking up my cell. “Jecca? Does the invitation to your half-sister’s cotillion still stand?”

“Of course, you dolt! Get your boney American ass over here! I’m about to stick a fork in my damn eye from all the drama. She’s wretched. Absolutely wretched!”

“Who? Your step-sister?”

“No. Daddy’s new wife. She’s a bloody cow! I swear, if you don’t get here soon, I might stab her with my fork. She’s such a shrew and I’ve heard rumors my father is already cheating.”

I roll my eyes. Jecca has a lot of “high class” problems. Which is partly why I initially declined her invitation to spend the weekend in Paris, opting to stay here and study. But I can’t focus on school, when I know he’s so close. I might not find him, but I must try.

“It won’t take me long to pack. Do you still have an old dress, I can borrow?”

“I have hundreds. There will be a ticket waiting for you at Heathrow.”

“I can pay for my own flight.”

“I already booked it.”

“You did?”

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