Amanda was slowly putting the pieces together and she didn’t like the picture she was seeing. “Are you renting a room here?” she asked, still in denial of what was likely the truth.
Viktor didn’t answer. He could see by her reactions so far that the news would not go over well and he felt like he was living a nightmare.
She looked at him with a confused look that broke his heart. “Viktor, who owns this?”
He tried to swallow but there was no moisture to be found in his mouth. “I own it,” he finally admitted.
“Viktor, how much money do you make?” she then asked as a look of distress filled her face.
“Let’s just go inside and we’ll talk,” he suggested.
“Answer me!” Her eyes were fixed on him and it was impossible to escape what was coming next.
He looked her in the eyes as he answered, “Almost 20 million last year.”
Amanda gasped as if she had just been punched in the gut. The news truly shocked her and she didn’t know how to react.
“Amanda, I love you,” he said, hoping they could put this behind them but she just looked back at him as though he had torn her heart out. “Say something,” he pleaded.
Breathless and in shock, she didn’t utter a single word in response. She suddenly felt very lightheaded and wanted to get out of the car. She opened her door and immediately fell out, lacking the strength and balance to stand. Viktor quickly ran to her side and lifted her up.
He carried her into the house and put her on the bed in a guest room, which was almost as big as her entire apartment in Boston. He came back a few minutes later with a bowl in case she threw up again and a bell to call him with. He retrieved her bag from the car and placed it on the dresser. He then dug her phone out of it and placed it on the nightstand next to her.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, bent over with her head in her hands. He sat down next to her.
“You lied to me,” she stated without lifting her head.
“I didn’t lie …”
“No, that’s right, you just deceived me. It’s totally different!” she said with venomous sarcasm that left no doubt she viewed it the same.
“I wanted to tell you.”
“Get out.”
“Amanda, please.”
“Get out,” she said again as she broke down crying. “Get out. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear your excuses. Leave me alone.”
He wasn’t ready to give up that easily. “Amanda.” He reached out and tried to take her hand.
“Get out!” she screamed, leaving him no choice but to comply or risk upsetting her further.
After he left, she fell to the floor and curled up in a ball sobbing uncontrollably. Viktor could hear her break down after he shut the door. He wanted so badly to hold her. He stood there for a few minutes, waiting to see if she called for him. She never did. He walked to the living room and slumped down on the couch, hoping she would be willing to talk to him once she calmed down.
Chapter 23
Viktor waited a couple hours before trying to check on Amanda. He knocked on the door. When he got no response he knocked again and then slowly opened it. She was curled up in the bed. He couldn’t tell if she was asleep or not.
He stepped over quietly, not wanting to wake her if she was asleep. When he got near, he could see she was alert but she wouldn’t look at him. He stood for a minute looking down at her trying to think if there was anything he could say that would heal the rift between them.
“I’m sorry,” he said, not knowing what else to say.
“I have a couple questions,” she said softly and then rolled over to look at him. Her eyes were red and puffy and she looked absolutely exhausted. “I don’t want you to lie to me on a technicality because I don’t word the question just right. You’re not stupid, you’ll know what I’m asking and I want the truth.”
“I understand.”
She closed her eyes and took a few breaths before asking, “When you say ‘your company’ do you mean that as in the company that employs you or the company that you own?”
“I own it.”
She was silent for a minute before asking her next question, “Did you already have plans to be in Italy when I told you when I would be there?” When he didn’t answer, she repeated the question.
He ran his hand down his face and took a deep breath. “No.”
She nodded with tears in her eyes as if it were the answer she expected.
“The first hotel we stayed in. The one in San Diego …”
“I own it,” he answered, knowing already that was her question.
“And the vineyard?” She barely got the question out.
“I own that as well.”
“Wow … I’m really naive.” She turned away from him and curled up in bed, wishing she wasn’t alive. She felt terrible physically and the pain she felt now in her heart only added to her misery.
He walked to the bed and fell to his knees beside her. “Please forgive me.”
“Our whole relationship has been a lie,” she said as her voice broke.
“That’s not true,” he objected. “I love you. That’s not a lie.”
“You lied to me from day one. You knew I didn’t want this. So you hid it from me. And now what? I’m just supposed to overlook it?”
“We don’t have to live like this,” he reasoned. “I just want to be with you. I don’t care where I live.”
“You think you mean that but you don’t. You’re accustomed to this lifestyle … I would have never dated you had I known.”
“Do you love me at all?” he asked, wondering how she could turn it off so quickly.
The question angered her. “I don’t know
