Dark Little Lies Read online

  I aired out the whole house and dusted the table tops. Lucas had left some papers on the coffee table, so I picked them up, and as I was carrying them to another spot, I caught a glimpse of the contents. It was his financial statement.

  Intrigued, I shuffled through it briefly, feeling taken aback as I realized it as something he hadn’t disclosed with me. The statement displayed some of his financial assets, easily rounding up to millions on top of millions. I slumped down on the couch, trying to get my thoughts in order.

  Why would he have kept something like this from me? Didn’t he trust me?

  I felt the all too familiar lump in my throat growing again and swallowed hard in an attempt to force it down. He didn’t trust me. That was the only reasonable explanation. My mouth tasted bitter and sour, as if I had just eaten something spoiled. My stomach churned and the chili wanted to make its way out. I stood up and rushed to the bathroom, my lunch evacuating itself from my body with force. I felt sick to my stomach, literally. All this time I had worked so hard to not become like my mother while Lucas had obviously seen me as her equal. Someone who would be after his fortune.

  I had just flushed the contents of the toilet and rinsed my mouth off, when I heard the door snap shut. Lucas’ deep, warm voice boomed from the hallway, filled with happiness and joy. I didn’t want him to know how badly his deception had affected me, so I hurried to the living room to meet him.

  His bright smile faded as soon as his eyes fixed on my face. His perfect, baby blue eyes. How could he?

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice alert and worried.

  I took a few strides to the couch, picked up the papers and showed them to him. “Why did you hide this from me?”

  It took him a moment to realize what the papers were. “Because...because it doesn’t mean that much to me. It’s just there.”

  “Is this why the chef called you a billionaire? I thought it was a joke.”

  Lucas nodded, his face neutral, almost emotionless. “Hear me out. All of that is from mine and Xavier’s company. It’s more successful than I let out,” he sighed and pointed at the papers. “I wasn’t born into all of this, it just kind of happened. We were really lucky.”

  “Does Xavier even come from money?” my voice grew louder as I remembered what he had told me.

  Lucas frowned and shook his head. “Well, no. But I never said anything because that kind of lifestyle has never interested me. It’s not why we got into business at all. We were just two kids out of college, doing what we loved.” He took a few strides towards me but I lifted my hand up and stepped back.

  “You lied to me,” I said, hearing the tremble in my own voice.

  “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “I couldn’t care less whether you have money. But the fact that you knew how I feel about my mother and her choices, and still decided to keep this from me, makes me think that you don’t trust me,” I said as tears rose into my eyes. “That you think that deep down I’m just like her— ” A sob escaped my mouth and I slammed my hand on it to stifle it. “—after your money.”

  Lucas lifted his eyebrows, his expression was almost amused for a second. “Of course I don’t think that!” he said with a slight chuckle.

  His reaction seemed to have only made me feel worse. “Did you ask me to stay with you because you’re rich and you wanted to save me?”

  The smile turned into a grimace. “No, Amelia, I didn’t. Please believe me,” he said with more urgency in his voice.

  “Why should I when you’ve been lying to me all this time?” By now, my tears had broken free of their chains and ran down my skin, leaving a salty, bitter trail behind. “You knew how I felt about her. You knew that I’ve always been determined to create my own success. And by being my knight in shining armour, you’ve knowingly let me become what she is. And you know I despise and loathe her mentality!”

  My whole body was shaking from the realization that I had become my own mother. I was no better. Instead of creating my own path, I had let Lucas lure me in and take care of me. I felt sick, like I needed to throw up again.

  “But I don’t mind taking care of you,” Lucas said, taking another step in.

  I stepped back, putting more distance between us. I was so angry that I’d allowed him to cradle me into this feeling of safety and false hopes, only to have been deceived—again. “I don’t want to be taken care of! I want to take care of myself. Like I always have. And you of all people should know that!” I shouted out.

  “I just wanted to help you!” he quipped frustratedly.

  Why couldn’t he see my point?

  “I don’t want your help! You took the choice away from me by not telling me the truth. If you trusted me, you would’ve told me but instead you let me become just like the person I have little respect for. As if I had been after your money all this time.” I took a deep breath in, trying to calm my shaking body down. “I promised myself years and years ago that I would never let myself become dependent on a man to support me.”

  I dropped the paper from my hand and strode to the bedroom where I pulled out my bags and shoved my clothes into them with urgency.

  Lucas followed me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

  “Don’t touch me!” I yelled at him, and instantly saw the shock in his baby blues as he shuddered and stepped away.

  “But Amelia..,” he began and his expression became more and more defeated by each passing second.

  “I thought I could trust you. I thought you understood me. That you cared about me,” I sniffed as I shoved the last few pieces of clothing in one of the bags. “But obviously I was mistaken because this whole time you’ve heard me talk about my goals and dreams and still you let me get into a situation I’d promised myself to never be in.”

  I wiped my tears away and grabbed my bags from the floor.

  “Please, don’t go,” Lucas begged as I stepped out of the bedroom.

  “You thinking I was after your money and taking the choice away from me are the worst two things you could have done to me,” I said in a cool, icy tone, devoid of any emotion. “It’s everything I’ve tried fighting against my whole life.”

  I turned away without looking at his face and opened the door, letting it close behind me. Tears ran down my face as I walked the steps down, and then up to my mom’s door. I knocked on it and seconds later, she opened it, standing in front of me with a puzzled look on her face.

  I broke down completely. “I’m sorry for everything, mom,” I managed to say between sobs. “I should’ve never been with him. Can I come home?”

  My mom stood there for a while before she wrapped her arms around my trembling body, and then pulled me inside.

  I hope you enjoyed the third book in the Tempted series. What will Lucas do now that Amelia’s gone? Will he be able to win her back and get his HEA? Click here for the fourth and final book, Sweet Little Love.

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  About the Author

  Gabrielle Snow writes intriguing and sexy contemporary romance novels (often featuring alpha billionaires) - also her personal favorites to read.

  Gabrielle loves all things romantic and steamy - she is, for the lack of a better word, a hopeless romantic with a little bit of spice added to the mix. Sometimes real life doesn't deliver enough of it, so books and films are her favorite pastime.

  You could say that Gabrielle finds opposites attractive: she enjoys sunny weather but finds more inspiration for her novels during rainy days. One of her favorite ways to spend a rainy day is indoors, writing a romance novel with a glass of wine in hand (red, without a doubt).

  More books from Gabrielle Snow

  SECRET SERIES

  Secret Lies(Book
1)

  Secret Deal (Book 2)

  Secret Affair (Book 3)

  Secret Obsession (Book 4)

  Secret Ways (Book 5)

  MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS SERIES

  Forbidden Attraction (Book 1)

  Forbidden Promises (Book 2)

  Forbidden Acts (Book 3)

  FROM LOSS TO LOVE SERIES

  Enticingly His: A Single Dad & Nanny Romance (Book 1)

  Ambiguously Hers: A Single Dad & Nanny Romance (Book 2)

  Indubitably Yours: A Single Dad & Nanny Romance (Book 3)