Now I understood that from the very beginning, his closeness had been a lie. Five years of what looked like quiet devotion without a shred of real feeling. All of it a carefully constructed fraud.
I had no reason to stay any longer.
Don Hale knew nothing of the truth. When I finally agreed, relief softened his face. He helped me to my feet quickly, tears glistening in his eyes.
"Adrian, you've finally come around. You're a good girl. I've always cared for you, you know that. He's gone, but the living still have to go on."
He paused, then let out a long breath. The amber rosary bead between his thumb and forefinger had gone still. "I'll transfer half the Moretti Family's front-business holdings to your name. Enough that you'll never want for anything. Go, child. Leave this place and don't come back. Forget Julian. Live your life."
My eyes burned. I held on for a long time before the tears didn't fall.
My parents had never loved me. In their eyes there was only Adrian Winslow. My promised husband hadn't loved me either; his heart belonged to her alone. Even Julian, the one I believed cared for me most, had kept her at the center of everything.