“You thought I was after his money? I never was.” Maria offered a sad smile. “My English wasn’t very good when we met, and it has taken me a long time to learn. He was the love of my life, and he broke my heart, and every single promise he made me.”
“I’m not like him.”
“You like Adora now, but in time, she will not meet your standards. Your parents will tell you that she’s an embarrassment. You’ll choose money over her.”
The way her eyes glazed over, Tobias saw she was reliving some kind of memory.
“He promised to be with you?” Tobias asked.
“I had a ring,” she said. “We were going to get married, but he picked wealth, and cast me aside like old garbage. I saw the news of his fancy wedding. The pain was unlike anything in the world. He got to move on. I didn’t. I don’t want that kind of pain for my daughter. I’m sorry, but you will never love my daughter, or give her what she deserves. If you’re a man of honor, of your word, you will let her go, to be with someone who’ll love her no matter what.”
She nodded her head and left the way she came. He didn’t try to stop her.
He still held the employment form in his hand.
There was no way he could live with Adora being with anyone else. She belonged to him, and only to him. He pondered Maria’s words. She’d known him for years, and even she believed he was incapable of love. Was he that much of a bastard?
Love was overrated, he’d convinced himself. It made people do stupid things. He slipped off the desk, placing the form down, knowing his parents were slowly ruining any chance he had with Adora. Just because he wasn’t capable of feeling love, didn’t mean that he, himself, didn’t want her falling for him.
He did.
They were messing with his plans, and time was running out.
“Sir, Adora Garcia is here to see you.”
Just hearing her name make his heart skip a beat. Making sure his suit was impeccable, he let his PA know to send her in, and then not to allow for any interruptions.
Adora entered and gave his PA a sweet smile. He went to his door, and flicked the lock in place before standing in front of his woman. Adora was his woman. She’d been his from the moment he took her virginity, and had her screaming his name.
Neither of them spoke for the longest time. Just being near her made everything better.
“Your parents are going to ruin my chances at college,” she said. “You have no idea how hard it was for me to make that happen.”
“I’m not going to let them. You leave them to me.”
She licked her lips, and her gaze landed on the floor at his feet.
“What is it?” he asked.
Finally, she lifted her head. “They’re going to ruin everything, and I don’t know what to do.”
He cupped her face, wiping away her tears. In a quick selfish moment, he wondered if she was pregnant. Not to annoy his parents, but because he wanted to claim her as his own. This went far beyond pregnancy for an heir. He wanted her all to himself, and he was selfish enough to get what he wanted.
****
Adora had debated coming to Tobias’s office.
She knew the kind of reach his parents had. The lawyer that she’d said “no” to moments before seeing Tobias in the morning had been waiting for her as she left campus grounds. He’d let her know exactly how ugly his parents could be, and what they would do if she didn’t take the money. She’d not taken the money, and he told her to think about it. What he’d said though … they would destroy her.
Any chance of the future she had planned would be completely wiped out.
“What you do,” Tobias said, wiping her tears away, “is you let me take care of them.”
She shook her head.
“No, listen to me, baby girl.” He held her firmly, and she stared into his gaze, feeling herself once again falling for him. The feelings he evoked inside her, often made her wonder if she was crazy. They barely knew each other, but he made her heart pound and her pulse flutter. She got butterflies in her stomach, just by being close to him. Even his scent held her captive. “I know my parents. Let them think they can win. I’ve got everything I need for them to stay away from you. You’re not going to be abandoned. I’m quite insulted that everyone seems to think that’s what I’ll do.”
She couldn’t help herself. She laughed, and he smiled with her.
“I didn’t speak up for my brother, Adora. Let me speak up for you. Give me this chance to make something right between us.”