For Angelo (Full-Length Standalone Italian Billionaire Romance)

by Marian Tee

  The words were completely unexpected and for one moment, Angelo simply stood there, stunned. Her family was…here? His agile mind ran through a series of possibilities, and only one scenario made sense. Somehow, her family had found out about the scandal beforehand…and they had come here to—

  There were several scenarios for this, but none of it was something Angelo was willing to contemplate.

  No jumping to any fucking conclusions, Valencia.

  He took a deep breath and entered the living room.

  Lane was seated alone on a couch, and across her was a couple in their mid-thirties while a much older man stood by the windows, turning to face the room as soon as Angelo opened the door.

  “Signor Valencia,” the older man said stiffly. “I hope you pardon us for the intrusion.” The Midwestern drawl in his voice was unmistakable, as well as the aloofness of his expression.

  All faces were properly expressionless, and if Angelo had been a little less smart than he was, he could have been fooled by it.

  But he wasn’t.

  The tension in the room told him plenty enough, but it was Lane’s pale face that yielded everything.

  He looked at her, only her, because whatever the world thought, she was his greatest concern, his greatest treasure.

  “Are you alright, tesoro?”

  Lane nodded vehemently. “Yes.” Her eyes told him not to worry, and his lips twisted. Even now, even when their whole life was about to crumble around them, her masochistic little heart was only worried about him.

  He saw her gaze dart to the old man, and Angelo immediately said, “I’m certain you are all aware of my identity, but nonetheless courtesy dictates that I introduce myself.” Striding forward, he introduced himself first to the other woman in the room.

  She took his hand and as she shook it, she said quietly, “You have beautiful manners, Mr. Valencia.”

  “I’m flattered that you think so.” His voice was noncommittal. He didn’t believe for one minute the woman meant a word of it.

  And he was right.

  Releasing his hand, Nellie said, “I only wish you showed the same courtesy to Lane.”

  Ah.

  “Nellie, please.” Unable to help it, Lane rose to her feet and went to Angelo’s side.

  “It’s alright, tesoro.” He took her hand in his and squeezed it without taking his gaze off the other woman. “Your mother isn’t saying anything untrue.”

  “Amazing.” Nellie laughed, the sound brittle. “I did hear you were devastatingly well-mannered, but I thought it was pure exaggeration. I guess I stand corrected.” Her tone turned cold. “But I also mean what I said. It would be better if you had been as courteous with Lane. It would have been better if you stood by her instead of your ex-girlfriend—”

  “Nellie, we already discussed this—”

  “No!”

  Lane’s voice trailed off at Nellie’s furious cry.

  A muscle started ticking in Angelo’s jaw. “Mrs. Christopoulos was collateral damage, and I owed her a personal apology. I wanted her and her husband to know that I would do everything I could to minimize the harm—”

  “And what about Lane?” Nellie demanded. “What about the harm done to her because she was foolish enough to get involved with someone like you?”

  His jaw clenched. “I didn’t force her—”

  “Why would you need to? You’re rich and handsome. You have a way with words. Lane’s a smart girl, but she’s also inexperienced and she didn’t stand a chance—”

  “Don’t make it seem like he seduced me,” Lane cried out, “because he didn’t. I chose to love him, and I’m proud to love—”

  “Then you are a fool,” Nellie screamed. Ray tried to calm her down, but she shook her husband’s arms away. “He’s a man who likes to hurt women! He’s twisted, Lane! How can you like someone like him? How can you even think you love someone like him?” Guilt was an agonizingly heavy burden on her shoulders as she recalled the way she had laughingly encouraged Lane to go after the man she wanted. But God, how could she have known Lane would fall for someone like Angelo Valencia?

  The anguish on the older woman’s face was unbearable, and Lane choked out, “Because I love him, Nellie. Because I’m as twisted as he is—”

  Nellie moaned.

  “I know it doesn’t sound right, b-but I like what he’s doing—”

  “Goddammit, Lane,” Norman cut her off harshly. “Can you hear yourself, child? Do you actually understand what you’re saying?” He turned furiously at the Italian, spitting, “I hope you’re happy. You’ve managed to defile someone innocent—”

  “It’s not like that!”

  “Do you know what she’s gone through?” Norman shouted. “Because if you do, then you’re the coldest son of a bitch, to still want to hurt someone like her—”

  “Stop making it seem like it’s his fault,” Lane begged.

  “I don’t know how the hell you can make it seem like you love her when everything you’ve done so far is only causing her pain—”

  “Stop it,” Lane screamed. “Please. Stop it—”

  Nellie was crying.

  Norman was breathing hard.

  And that was when she felt it.

  Angelo, dropping her hand.

  Angelo, letting go.

  She whirled around to face him, her heart beating madly, fear coursing through her veins like ice.

  She forgot about Norman, Nellie –

  She forgot about everything else and focused on keeping Angelo with her.

  “Angelo?”

  ****

  Sometimes, people had to choose how to love.

  When they were lucky, to love was to choose to stay.

  When they were not, to love was to choose to…let go.

  And for Angelo, this moment had come.

  The words of Lane’s family would have done little to nothing to a man who loved himself more than he was capable of loving anyone else. But for someone like Angelo, the words were but echoes of his greatest fears.

  His real fear.

  And it was not that he was worthy of being loved, which he had felt when he was with Jaike, who was and had never been meant for him.

  His real and only fear was that in loving Lane the way he needed to, he would hurt her in a way that could never be repaired.

  Anthony Carras was a sadist, and Jaike’s mother – the woman he loved – a masochist.

  He had loved her the only way he knew how, and she had died because she had loved him the only way Anthony had taught her to.

  And now, Angelo thought sickly, he was practically following in his uncle’s footsteps.

  Was he not the one who opened Lane’s eyes to the truth about herself?

  How certain could he be that he would not do the same thing his uncle did, would never hurt her to the point that she would break?

  If he really loved her, why was he even in her life?

  And Angelo heard himself say, “They’re right.”

  Lane whitened. “What are you saying?”

  But Angelo was no longer looking at her. He was turning to Nellie, and his voice was stiff and colorless as he said, “I’d appreciate it if you ensure that she’s gone within the hour.”

  “What are you saying?” Her voice was shrill with fear. But Angelo still didn’t look at her, and when he started to turn towards the door, she ran to block his way. “Look at me!”

  His gaze met hers, but they were eyes that no longer saw her.

  No.

  “Please,” she choked out. “Stop this. You d-don’t have anything to be afraid of. I won’t leave you, okay? I love you, and you love me, and that’s the only thing that’s important. Right?”

  But still, he looked at her like she no longer existed.

  “Listen to me.” She hated that she was screaming, but she couldn’t stop herself. Even with him standing right in front of her, he just felt so far away. She reached up to cup his face. “I won’t be like Jaike,” she s
aid jerkily. “I’m not going to leave you—”

  Angelo finally looked at her.

  “I know.”

  But the way he said it only terrified her even more.

  “That’s why I need to leave you.”

  And this time, he stepped around her and walked past Lane.

  For one moment, she could only stare at him, unable to believe that he was really going to leave her just like that.

  The door closed behind her.

  She whirled around to face her family.

  Nellie said tremulously, “Lane—”

  She shook her head wildly. “Don’t. D-don’t say a word. He’s going to change his mind—”

  “Baby, please just let it go.” Nellie started to cry.

  She backed away. “No. No. No!” And ignoring her family’s cries, she ran out of the living room. She caught sight of Angelo and called after him.

  But he didn’t turn, only climbed the stairs steadily.

  She followed him, pain chipping away at her heart, her mind reeling.

  Just yesterday they were so happy.

  So happy.

  And now, it was all falling apart.

  Angelo entered to his room and she followed him inside, saying shakily, “Can we at least talk about this?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.” He took off his jacket and threw it on the bed before unbuttoning his shirt.

  Her jaw dropped.

  His shirt fell to the floor.

  “Are we going to m-make love?” she whispered.

  He looked at her like she was crazy. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  She stared at him dumbly. “Why?”

  “Because it’s been a tiring night, and after a hot shower, all I want to do is go to bed and forget what’s happened.”

  And he actually started to do that, heading to his bathroom like everything was normal.

  Like the fact that he was throwing her away didn’t mean—

  No.

  She couldn’t think like that.

  Angelo was already taking a shower by the time she managed to follow him inside, and again all she could do was stare at him. Each blast of water coming from the shower was like a slap to her face.

  “Stop this,” she said dully. “Please.”

  But Angelo didn’t even only look at her, didn’t even act like she was there, staring at him while he kept breaking her heart.

  So damn normal, she thought numbly.

  He was acting so damn normal, reaching for his towel when he was done with his shower and wrapping it around his hips.

  He walked to the sink, his side actually brushing her, but still he didn’t pay her any attention.

  She watched him reach for the razor.

  He started to shave.

  Their eyes met in the mirror, and she saw in his gaze that he was not going to change his mind. It was over, over between them—

  Oh God, it was OVER between them.

  Over, over, over and Lane knew, just by looking at him, that if Angelo believed replacing her was what it would take to make her realize the truth—

  Just like how he had used the Italian model to drive his point home—

  Lane went crazy.

  She snatched the razor from his hand. “No!”

  Angelo whirled to face her, his face stunned. “What the hell—”

  “Do you think I’m going to make it easy for you?” she screamed wildly. “You really think I’m going to let you go just like that? I’d rather shave my name on your head before I let you go to another girl!!!”

  And everything went black.

  Everything just went black.

  And the next thing she knew, the world was spinning, Nellie was sobbing for her to stop, and Ray was holding her back from—

  From what?

  The world continued to spin, but her blurry vision started to clear.

  And that was when she saw Angelo, a bleeding cut on his chest—

  The sight made her cry out, snapping her out of her madness. She looked down at her hand, and with another cry she let go of the bloodstained blade she was still clutching. Had she taken the blade off? Had she tried to hurt him?

  She choked out, “Angelo—”

  And still, he only gazed at her in silence, like she didn’t deserve a single word of explanation.

  “I don’t care what others say about us. I don’t care what they think. I’m proud of the way we love each other. C-can’t you be proud of it, too?”

  It was her last attempt, her last plea for him to love her.

  But it failed, as it was bound to.

  Because right now, the coldness of his gaze was Angelo believing he was doing the right thing – the best thing – for the woman he loved.

  Only she didn’t know this.

  She looked at him and saw the man she loved, the man she was forcing to feel pride for something that he so obviously wanted to forget and found shameful—

  He looked at her and saw the woman he loved, so damn much he would rather bury his heart anew than drag her down with him—

  “Let’s go, baby.” Nellie slowly drew Lane away.

  And she allowed it.

  And he allowed it.

  Because they loved each other too much, and sometimes, love made people see with their fears instead of their hearts.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Life continued the way it was meant to be.

  It had been three months since Lane disappeared from his life, and not once did Angelo even think of finding her, of seeing her. The memories were enough. They would always be because Angelo believed that he had done the right thing.

  Love became a steady numbing pain that kept him company day and night, making him feel both alone and not alone. It never let him forget that she was gone, but it also served to remind him that he had done the right thing.

  That one day, she would have a chance to fall for someone who was normal, someone who would never hurt her, the way Angelo could.

  An eternity could have passed, and regret would never cross his mind.

  Or at least it couldn’t have…

  Until the day he saw her again—

  And found out how much he had failed her, not realizing until it was too late that her love for him was as great and true as his.

  ****

  It was another day, one that was just like any other because it was a day that she wasn’t beside him. The part of him that existed on autopilot knew that he was in Alabama for an international legal conference, one he had already made his excuses for but had changed his mind about at the last minute.

  The other part of him didn’t give a damn. This part of him only dwelled in the past, in the days when he still had Lane. Angelo knew that by choosing to remember her every day, he would never stop loving her.

  Which was fine with him.

  The problem had never been how much he loved her.

  The problem was letting her continue to love him when he didn’t deserve her.

  Arriving at the conference in the middle of a famous politician’s talk, Angelo did his best to draw as little attention to himself as possible. The dimly lit surroundings helped to hide his identity, and he walked swiftly to the first vacant seat he saw.

  He sat back, listening absently to the speaker, and a minute later, the vacant seat beside him was occupied.

  “Excuse me—”

  Angelo stiffened.

  He looked up, unable to believe what he was hearing. But he also knew he couldn’t be mistaken. That voice was one he heard every night in his dreams.

  And he was right.

  It was her.

  She appeared unaware of his identity, and he realized why when he saw that her glasses had slipped down to her nose.

  She sat beside him, and Angelo’s entire form tensed. Half of him urged Angelo to go, the other half of him had become surprisingly…masochistic.

  Just one more second to inhale her scent, just one more second to feel her this close—r />
  Just one more second to pretend that they were still together.

  Her head was bent over her bag, and she was fumbling for her things.

  He wanted to offer his help but he forced himself to shut up, knowing that the illusion would shatter the moment she realized he was beside her.

  “Finally,” he heard her sigh.

  She had her phone in her hand and then she was busily typing.

  He read the words and saw that she was taking down notes for the talk.

  Had she gone back to school? Was she doing this for her family’s law firm? Was she still single?

  So many fucking questions, and yet all he could do was force himself to keep still in his seat, his gaze straight ahead. He wanted to stare at her but forced himself not to. If he stared at her too long, sooner or later she would notice him.

  And leave.

  He didn’t want that.

  He needed just one more second to pretend, one more second that he wished could last forever—

  Every second that passed made his desperation grow.

  He reached for his phone in his pocket, wanting to text the speaker and bribe him to talk for two more hours. Goddammit, he would give the man his entire fortune if he could keep Lane seated beside him forever.

  But in the end, he kept his phone in his pocket. The screen could illuminate his face and give his identity away, and that he was unwilling to risk.

  She was still typing, still listening attentively, and he found himself listening to the cadence of her breath. It was the most beautiful sound on earth, the sound of his sole reason of existence, and his fingers tightened on the armrest.

  God, he wanted to hold her to him so damn much.

  God, make this second last.

  But God didn’t listen to sinners like him, and Angelo felt sick as he heard the speaker conclude his talk.

  Any moment now the lights would open.

  He should go now.

  If he didn’t want her to see him—

  If he really loved her the way she deserved, he shouldn’t force her to relive the shameful agony of being with him.

  He started to stand up.

  The lights switched open.

  He heard her intake of breath.

  And Angelo knew it was too late.