His Discarded Bride #thefictionawards2019

Part Seventeen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Leilani sipped on her liqueur and waited for his response.

"You can stay here for a few days, but you will need to return home at some point," Vittorio stated.

"By home, you must mean Australia." She knew he meant 'by your husband's side,' but she made her statement, regardless.

"Renato is a decent man; you could do a lot worse," he remonstrated. "Why are you empowering these news mongers? Do you know for a fact that Renato has been unfaithful to you?" he put forth.

"Well, yes; of course I do. I wouldn't be here otherwise," she maintained.

"He admitted that he slept with the woman?" Vittorio persisted.

"No, of course not. What man would? He denied it all, but I know it happened. Camilla called me and told me that she had gone to London with Renato and that she had been sleeping with him, and then just a couple of days later she was seen coming out of his apartment. You can't get any guiltier than that," she said.

Vittorio raised his grey brows; wiry with age, "Is that so?" he prodded.

"Oh, for goodness's sake, if you have something to say, then just say it, please," she said, exasperated. Vittorio had welcomed her in when she arrived unannounced on his doorstep, offering her refuge and an ear to listen to her woes. It was becoming apparent that he was not going to side with her simply because she wanted an ally.

"There are always two sides to a story, as I'm sure you know. If I were you, I'd pay more attention to the words of your husband rather than those of the press or a jealous woman," he advised.

Dropping her head into her hands, she kneaded her forehead with the joints of her fingers. "I just want to leave him; there is no trust between us." She was exhausted, feeling as though all of her past and present issues had joined forces to deplete her emotional reserves.

Vittorio stood up and took her glass from her. "I've had the spare room made up for you. Go lie down. You will be able to think better after you've rested," he urged.

The idea of a nap was welcome. She wasn't one to take a day to sleep, but she felt tired and in need of one right now. "You won't make me go straight back to him will you?" She felt like a child asking the question, but she dreaded any further confrontation. Leilani had left Renato in a huff, telling him she needed time to clear her head, and she walked down to the village on her own, where she bumped into one of Renato's grounds keepers.

She asked him to take her into Benevento, and he'd nervously agreed. The poor man probably felt torn between pity for her and fear of his employer. No doubt everyone knew of her public shame, her sham of a marriage, and her inability to keep her husband satisfied for more than a week.

She then took a train from Benevento into Rome and found her way to Vittorio. He was the only refuge she had.

"Go rest, and we will sort things out when you wake up." He ended the conversation and sent her to her room.

The curtains were drawn, the room was dark and cool, and the bed was very inviting with the cover turned down in anticipation of her arrival. She stripped down to her underwear and crawled between the sheets, sleep claiming her only moments after her head hit the pillow.

She felt a hand running through her hair, massaging her scalp and trailing sensitively over her face. It was soothing and sensual, and she leaned towards the source of such pleasure, searching for more. Renato's mouth on hers brought her quickly to reality, and she scurried from him, scooting to the middle of the bed. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, upset that Vittorio had betrayed her so soon.