"You’re fighting a losing battle,” he says, his voice dangerously low. “I suggest you save yourself the pain and step aside.” I can’t believe my ears. Anger rises up my throat. “You don’t scare me, Mr. D’Amato," I snap. “Erik belongs with me, and I’ll fight for him no matter what it takes.” ***** A grieving aunt. A powerful billionaire. And a baby caught in the middle. When Pamela loses her little sister, she vows to raise her nephew, Erik, all by herself. But Massimo D’Amato has other plans. His proposal is simple: A two-year marriage contract or she'd never see Erik again. As they both fight for Erik’s future, feelings they never expected begin to grow. But love was never part of the deal nor were the secrets that could tear them apart.
더 보기(Massimo)..MY COMPANY BUILDING is quiet when I walk in.My assistant, Theo, is already on his feet, following me down the hall leading to my office with a tablet in his hand."You have three meetings this morning, Sir. The board is still pushing for the Vegas deal. And your mother called again.”I grunt. “Tell her I’m busy.”“She also said to remind you that you should come back to Italy for the celebrations. Also, she wants to meet with Pamela. She doesn't like that you're keeping things from the family.”I pause for a second, then keep walking. “Noted.”Inside my office, the view of the city greets me like always. The tall buildings, the traffic below, the endless movements of potential clients and workers. There's no room for stillness or any form of quiet. It used to feel powerful. Now it just feels... empty.Theo rattles off the rest of my schedule."Also, Pamela’s card has been sent out. The driver will deliver it by 9pm this evening. Should I confirm when she gets it?"“No ne
(Pamela)..“I…I NEED TO make a call,” I tell Bonnie who's still staring blankly at me in confusion. “I'll be right back.”I stand from the couch and rapidly make my way to the kitchen, because Erik is fast asleep in the bedroom and I don't want to wake him up. My fingers hover over Massimo’s contact for a full minute as I debate whether to call him or not. Finally, I force myself to. I can’t just accept all that money without finding out if it had been an accident. I mean, the man thinks I'm a gold digger. What would have made him change his mind so quickly? Plus, I'm still in a state of shock.The phone rings twice before he finally picks up. “Pamela,” his voice is cool, almost professional. “I didn't expect to hear from you so soon.”“Fifty thousand dollars?” I whisper into the phone so the nanny won't hear. “And a black card? What is this, Massimo?”“Ah, I see you've received the notification,” he said but I catch a hint of amusement in his voice. “That's good. My assistant co
(Pamela)..“You're everywhere,” Bonnie shrieks, shoving her phone in my face for the tenth time.I've already seen the headlines a thousand times that morning. And right next to it is the photo of Massimo and I kissing back at the restaurant, which had been the highlight of the evening.“Everybody's talking about it,” Bonnie continues. “I can't believe my best friend is the talk of the town. You're almost like a celebrity.”Celebrity seems like a long stretch. And the only reason people are talking is because I agreed to fake a relationship with Massimo in front of the cameras.“Oh, come off it, Bonnie. You know that's not true,” I counter.“Of course it's true. I checked your social media and your followers have tripled overnight. A lot of people are interested in you now.”Well, while that might be the case, it also didn't mean I wasn't getting a lot of hate either. I can recall seeing a post about Massimo and I and the comments had been ruthless. Every single person had thought
(Pamela)..LUCKILY FOR ME, the paparazzi are all gone by the time we set out to leave. We get into the limo and the driver speeds off. When I check my phone, it's almost 10 pm. I've never been out this late before, not even when I was in college.My mind skips back to the conversation I just had with Katrina at the ladies’ bathroom. I wonder if I should bring it up or not. Today has been a very hectic day and opening a whole can of worms is not the best way to end it.But my curiosity gets a hold of me.“Is it true?” I ask Massimo.He turns to face me, his brows nearly touching his hairline in confusion. “Is what true?”“That Kal made Anna sign an NDA?”“Who told you that?”“It's not important.”“It's Katrina, isn't it? She just never keeps her mouth shut.” He exhales. “So?”“Yes, he did. He made her sign an NDA, like we all do.”“Why?”“Because our reputation is that important, Pamela. You just don't understand, do you?” Massimo asks, an edge in his voice. “Being a D’Amato is not
(Pamela)..I SLOWLY MAKE MY way to the wash basin, feeling Katrina's eyes on me the whole time. I don't know why but I just feel that beneath her syrupy sweet smile, she doesn’t really like me.Which is crazy to me because I don't even know her. I've only just met her for the first time tonight but she wears her disapproval of me on her sleeves.“So?” She turns to me, a big wide smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. “How does it feel having Massimo all to yourself?”I frown in disbelief. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”Katrina chuckles. “Funny that Elsa said the same thing to me and yet she had Massimo wrapped around her finger.”What is her obsession with Massimo? I mean, isn't she engaged to his brother?And who is this Elsa everyone keeps talking about?“Who is she?” I ask tentatively. “This Elsa?”Katrina's smile disappears. “Like I said, she's the one that had Massimo wrapped around her finger. It was pathetic really, how a powerful man like Massimo could bo
(Pamela)..MY BODY STIFFENS at the mention of Massimo’s brother, Kal. I take in a deep breath and try to relax my already shaky nerves. But I'm barely holding myself together. First, the kiss I never saw coming and now this?“He's here right now,” Katrina continues, as soon as she notices my discomfort. “I can call him over if you want. It'll be a wonderful reunion.”“No need to do that,” Massimo says immediately, like he's scared of something. And he should be because I'm not in the right state of mind to meet his brother yet. After everything he's done to Anna and I, I don't think I can hold myself together if he comes over right away. “Oh, well. . .it's a shame. I'd better head back,” the woman says as she straightens. “It’s been lovely meeting you, Pamela. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”“Don't count on it.” Massimo hisses.It's hard not to notice that they have a lot of tension between them. But none of it is any of my business. I just need to get throug
(Massimo)..THE TABLE is dead silent.Pamela picks at her food, barely eating, and I can’t blame her. There’s nothing to say between us, and I know it’s partly my fault.I never should have kissed her, especially not on the lips. I should have followed Veronica’s plan, kept it simple, and played my part.But the moment I looked at her, in that red dress, with that beautiful face, and every other little detail that reminded me of Elsa, I just couldn't resist. No matter how hard I tried. The truth is that I didn’t kiss Pamela because I wanted her. I kissed her because, for just a second, I wanted to know what it felt like to kiss Elsa again. After almost five years since she passed away.And I don't know how to explain that to her. She'd never be able to understand exactly how it feels. And I know she'll always hate me for barging into her life and making her do things she never wanted to do.For the first time since this whole fiasco started, I feel a little sorry for my actions. B
(Pamela)..THE LAST THING I see before I can make sense of what's happening is Massimo’s lips crashing down onto mine. At first, it feels like I'm dreaming. Like this isn't real at all. It has to be a prank, right?But after a few seconds in, the fog in my head clears and I finally realize that this isn’t a figment of my imagination nor is it a prank.Masimo D'Amato is actually kissing me.Right in front of all these people. I hear the rapid clicks of the cameras behind us and the the muffled gasps from onlookers. They're all as shocked as I am.I don't understand it. How and when did we go from arch enemies to this? This wasn't even part of the plan. We were only supposed to hold hands like a couple as we walked into the restaurant and that was it. That was what we agreed on, or at least, what I assumed we agreed on. Massimo never mentioned anything about kissing each other in front of the media.I should have known better. I should have seen it coming. This man always did what
(Massimo)..MY MOUTH HANG OPEN the moment I see her.She looks exactly like Elsa.The slope of her neck, the curve of her hips, the delicate lines of her face. . .all of it is so identical to my late wife.How the hell did I not notice this before?Pamela shifts slightly under my gaze, smoothing her hands down the crimson dress that hugs her body in all the right ways. The color suits her, just like it always suited Elsa.A sick feeling knots in my stomach.I’ve spent weeks in her presence, spoken to her, argued with her on so many occasions. And yet, it’s only now when she's dressed like this, with her hair styled just so, that I finally see it.For the past five years since I lost the love of my life, I never gave any other woman the time of day. And most of them have tried their hardest to win me over. But none of their silly tactics ever worked. None of them ever stirred anything in me.Until now.Until Pamela stepped out of the room, dressed completely different and looking lik
(Pamela)..I HAVE BEEN crying for the past two hours.Maybe even longer because I lost count. The tears keep pouring uncontrollably, and I keep digging into my handbag to pull out more tissue wipes. The same bag that my little sister, Anna, had gifted me on my last birthday. The memory brings a fresh round of tears to my eyes.I still can’t believe that I won’t see Anna ever again. It’s as if I’m in a nightmare that just doesn’t want to end. I desperately want to wake up, to hold my little sister again, to stroke her long, black hair and tell her that everything is going to be OK. But everything is not going to be OK. Because Anna is dead now.She died three hours ago, while pushing out her baby. I thought she was going to make it. She had a very determined look on her face that I have never seen before. I had even held her hand throughout the delivery process, whispering words of encouragement in her ears.“You can do this Anna,” I whispered. “Just one last push.”“Yes, Anna,” the...
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