Keyonna’s first instinct was to crash in through the bushes and slap that bitch. Instead she found herself turning blindly from the shocking scene and heading straight for the house and up to the room where their boxes were already packed for the trip.
They’d planned to take a flight to Nick’s beachside villa deep in the beautiful province of Santorini, but now all Keyonna was thinking was how she needed to get away. This was her worst nightmare! Her back rested against the closed door of the room as she began to breathe heavily. She felt like she was about to have a seizure, torn by different emotions that wanted to rip her apart. Shock, rage, disappointment – hurt. Blinking rapidly, she swore over and over, “I will not cry, I will not!”
It took another minute to regain her composure, and then her mind began work in fast forward. She threw in some things from the bigger cases into a smaller one. When that was packed, she tore out of her wedding gown and changed into jeans and a shirt.
“The bastard,” she fumed out loud as she zipped into a jacket. Well, she’d heard and seen enough to know where she really stood with him. Oh, she’d secretly hoped that he was beginning to have feelings for her, but after witnessing that romantic little scene she knew she was wasting her time.#p#分页标题#e#
Still boiling, she pulled her hair up into a ponytail and then finally grabbed her bag and made her way out the back of the house. Luckily for her, she was able to evade the staff and guests until she was outside the grounds and headed for the road.
She hailed the first cab that came in sight. “Get me to the airport, fast.”
Heaving a sigh of relief that she’d been able to make her escape within such a fast period, she settled into the rear of the taxi. No one would even notice she was gone before it was too late. Keyonna rested her head back, feeling like there was a boulder in her chest and not a heart that beat and lived. Looking down at the heavy diamond and platinum bands on her wedding finger, Keyonna couldn’t help but shudder. She’d had no alternative but to marry Nick; he’d seen to it that she was solidly trapped. But growing feelings for him had been her choice to make and she’d been a fool to fall.
She could have known she couldn’t handle meaning nothing to him. He’d laid it on the line from the start that this was all about the end game and getting his inheritance. Romance had nothing to do with it. She remembered the words he’d said that should have warned her: “Love? Do I even know what that means?”
No, Nick, you have no idea, Keyonna thought with despair as she stared unseeing out of the car window. He’d never understand her kind of emotions, the true, honest-to-goodness feelings from the heart.
Then and there, Keyonna damned the consequences as she swore to go far, far away. Away from the devastation of betrayal and away from Nick.
Chapter Eleven
How Keyonna survived the next several hours she’d never know. All she remembered was that she jumped on the next available flight to the last place she felt Nick would think to find her.
Keyonna knew her main flaw was always doing things without thinking them through first. It was her impulsive streak that had got her in this mess in the first place. If she hadn’t kissed Nick at that party, she wouldn’t be here on the run from her own wedding, leaving everything behind and not looking back.
She just needed some time to sort herself out; she knew that. For the first time in her life she’d fallen hard and the rude shock of realizing she was never going to be anything but a pawn to Nick had hit her hard.
And now here she was, days after and still not sure where her life was headed. She didn’t even want to think of what could be happening back home and what everyone could be thinking. Especially Nick.
But then Keyonna told herself she didn’t give a damn what Nick thought. He’d had his wedding. She’d fulfilled her side of the deal and she wanted nothing more to do with him. She should have kept it strictly business no matter what, because then she wouldn’t be all messed up inside feeling hurt because Nick didn’t care. He never had and never would.
There, in the heart of Verona Italy, Keyonna had spent almost two weeks losing herself in the historic city as she tried to piece herself together. She’d found a gorgeous hotel surrounded by the most eye-catching attractions in the city. She was glad for the classic luxury of her room and the lovely view she had from her window.
Part of her wondered if perhaps there was another reason why she’d picked this city. Nick had spoken of his family being from here and how he’d liked to visit especially since they had a number of homes not just here but all over Italy. Keyonna really hadn’t been thinking straight when she bought the ticket with cash but now that she was here, she felt calmed as the days went by.