The Billionaire's Claim: Redemption

It isn’t like you’re totally innocent in all this.

No, I’m not. I know what I’ve done, but I can’t pretend I’m okay with what I just learned.

My eyes burning, I wait until he falls asleep…which doesn’t take long. He just had an orgasm.

But I can’t go back to sleep. I’ve just been handed a huge bombshell.

Slowly I get up, put on the robe and go to the studio. I didn’t put the blinds down earlier, so the full moon in the sky fills the room with silvery light.

I make my way around the canvas toward my portrait. I can’t make out any details beyond the hazy shape of a girl on the canvas, but that’s okay. I don’t need the light.

I sit under the portrait, my back against the wall. I draw my legs to my chest, then hug my knees, making myself as small as possible. There’s a faint whiff of thinner in the air, and I close my eyes, propping my chin on my knees. The sound of waves surrounds me, and I let my mind drift.

Time stretches. I sit in the same position until my butt’s numb from the hard floor. Finally, I shift, stretching my legs out and leaning back until my skull touches the wall.

“Ah… Grandpa. I messed it up. What should I do now?”

Chapter Twenty

Elizabeth

What should I do now?

The question hangs in the studio, but no answer comes. Grandpa’s portrait doesn’t have the power to act as a conduit between us.

Still, I sit under the portrait because it’s the only way I can be as close to him as possible.

&nb

sp; “Where did I go wrong? I definitely made a wrong turn somewhere, didn’t I? Road trips are so much better. I can always go back to the beginning and start over. With life…it’s impossible.”

I inhale softly. I can almost imagine I’m smelling the turpentine from Grandpa’s studio in Tuscany.

“You know Tolyan? No? Oh, right. He’s sort of new in my life. He used to work for Grandma Shirley. You remember her? I don’t think you approved of her much. She didn’t like you either. Said you made me too soft and wild. Actually, her exact words were ‘uncontrolled and undisciplined.’ Control and discipline are very important.”

Gauzy clouds slowly cross the sky, muting the moonlight.

“Tolyan switched his loyalty because I helped him find his son and bring him to the States. He didn’t even know he had one. His girlfriend abandoned the poor boy in an orphanage. Shirley didn’t care about his ‘personal life.’ But I also know he could switch sides again if somebody gives him something he didn’t even know he wanted.

“Anyway, he told me he could make me disappear. I didn’t ask exactly what he meant, but I’m pretty sure he would’ve faked my death or something, because he also promised to move my money to some secret account that only I could access, so I could live happily wherever I wanted. The only catch was that I had to be alone, cut off from everyone. Can’t exactly show up in front of my brothers or cousins if I’m dead. Tolyan thought I’d be happier that way. And maybe he’s right…because what I’m trying here? It isn’t working.”

I raise a hand and run it against the bottom of the frame. It feels cool and smooth against my skin. I leave my hand up, so I can stay more connected.

“I thought Dominic would be happy if I gave him the portrait. It’s what matters most to me—it always will be one of the things that mean the most—and he has it. He could do whatever he wanted with it—keep it, sell it, burn it.” My voice cracks with pain at the idea of him burning it, but that’s why I gave it to him. “I thought I’d be free if he could just let go of his anger… No more pain. No more regret.”

I pause, then drop the hand from the frame, suddenly feeling unworthy. I fold my hands in my lap, ladylike, as Grandma Shirley taught me.

“Do you think Dominic came to St. Cecilia to celebrate? Or do you think it was something else?” I dare not say it might’ve been for me, because that’s preposterous. At the same time… “I was so disoriented when I opened my eyes in the hospital. Do you know he stared at me like he truly cared about me? I haven’t seen that look on his face for a decade.” My eyes prickle, the skin around them growing hot with tears. “I thought I was hallucinating. I had to ask who he was to make sure I wasn’t with someone who merely looked like Dominic. Stranger things have happened. I knew something was definitely wrong when people told me he was my fiancé, but I didn’t care. It was so nice to have him be nice to me. So I played along…pretended like I didn’t remember anything because then…maybe he wouldn’t hate me anymore. How could he hate someone who just had a concussion and couldn’t even remember her name?

“Being alone with a Dominic who doesn’t hate me on a private island would’ve been dream come true, much better than what Tolyan offered. I didn’t have to be alone, and I could be so, so happy…at least until I have to return to the States.”

Then what’s the problem? a soft voice that sounds awfully like Grandpa’s asks me.

“It isn’t going the way I imagined. Dominic still has contempt and disgust for me, maybe even worse than in Hawaii. He won’t touch me at all. He continuously rejects what I’m offering. He’d rather…take care of himself than be with me. I mean…that says all, doesn’t it?”

I exhale roughly, my gaze focusing on a spot somewhere beyond the night clouds.

“If we’re both just going to be miserable, I should miraculously recover my memory and go back to L.A. Tolyan’ll come for me. He can keep me safe.”