Page 91 of Modern Romance May 2026 Books 1-4
‘So you just sorted it all behind my back like some delightful surprise? Like you sorted the problem of Emiliano talking to a mechanic you can’t trust?’ She couldn’t believe him. ‘You’re not a fairy godmother with a wand to fix everything. Don’t you understand that some things can’t ever be fixed!’
‘Of course I know that!’ he roared. ‘But this could be made better.’
Not better.Unbearable.
‘We can work together, Lily.’
‘Well, this wasn’t us working together, was it? This was you doing whatever was necessary to get full control. Of me. Of them.’ Just as he had his damned company. ‘Is Emiliano never to be allowed a girlfriend while he’s racing?’ she asked.
He blinked. ‘What?’
‘Because you don’t want him to have any distractions. Focus is all-important. Right?’
He shoved his fists into his pockets. ‘It takes time to learn to compartmentalise.’
‘Do you think you compartmentalise?’ she scoffed. ‘You have no balance at all. It is nothing but work. You have no real family relationship with him. You have no social life. Barely a sex life and heaven forbid a love life. You’ve cut everythingbutwork out of your life. It’s unfair to ask Emiliano to do the same. Don’t project your own failings on him. As I said, he’s not as emotionally incompetent as you.’
‘My failings?’
She stared at him and slowly shook her head. ‘The thing is youalmosthad me. You almost got everything you wanted—my stupid surrender. Do you know I actually was starting to reallylikeyou?’
More than like. And he knew it. Because he winced.
‘We don’t have much in common at all, Massimo. I might be independent, butI’mnot heartless.’ She swept her hair back from her face. ‘In the car tonight when you couldn’t resist me, I felt so desired. I thought I was truly wanted.’
She’d thought he ached for her in the way she ached for him. That what was between them was something whole and lovely andmorethan anything she’d known before.
‘You were wanted. Youare.’
‘No, I’m only ever a means to an end.’ She pressed her fist to her chest. ‘I needed to be eliminated from Emiliano’s radar. But then I got pregnant so I had to be kept…satisfied.’
She’d been such an idiot. She’d wanted to achieve; whether anyone noticed or not, she just wanted to move forward in her own life. And now it felt as if he’d taken all of it away from her. But he’d also given her something she would always protect.
‘Lily, don’t—’
‘Call it as it is?’ She could hardly stand to look at him. ‘You’re a hypocrite. So noble in your quest to get Hearnshawe to succeed, upgrade safety mechanisms, protect Emiliano. But it’s all a smokescreen. You’re just ruthless. You did just want revenge on your grandfather. You blur the lines to get what you want, which makes you as morally grey as my family. In fact, you’re even more self-centred than they are. You’re like the man who hurt you most. You’re him, needing to keep an iron grip of control over everything in your life.’
As controlling as his grandfather. As her father.
He whitened. ‘I don’t just make unilateral decisions. I build a team, defer to expertise. I do my best—’
‘I’m not talking about the team or even Emiliano now. I’m talking about the rest ofyourlife. The massive amount that you just ignore. I thought it was arrogance, but actually it’s just sad.’
Anger flickered in his eyes, but he didn’t respond. The truth was he never would have given her a second glance.
‘You never wanted to marry. You never wanted me. You never wanted this baby. So let’s just say it’s not yours,’ she said. ‘Then you can just go away and stay away.’
‘I can’t do that.’
‘Yes, you can. You have to. Not for me, but for yourself. I don’t think you even know what you truly want.’ She dropped her gaze. ‘You’ve spent all your adult life trying so hard to take care of the company, take care of Emiliano. Everything to honour your parents because you think you failed them. You think you failed me, too, except that did takebothof us.’
Silence.
‘But I won’t be another thing you have to feel guilty about and do your best with. Your entire life you’ve been working to someone else’s blueprint. You should have better favourite things to do than choosing from colour swatches on a screen. Are you brave enough to go for whatyouactually want?’
Did he know what that even was? Couldn’t it be her? Why couldn’t he want more fromher?
But he didn’t answer.
