The break in her whisper tore at his fragile composure. She did? How?
‘I saw your picture on the Internet,’ she added.
Not gut instinct, then. Of course not. Conflicting emotions soared—his ability to trust his instincts had been severed, but now his instincts were screaming at him. He’d screwed everything up.
‘Right.’ He glanced around the hostel’s lobby, his unhappiness with the shabby surroundings mushrooming. This wasn’t a safe place for her. Especially now. ‘Grab your stuff and I’ll take you to my hotel uptown. You can stay in a suite there for now.’
His brain whirred. He’d spoken before thinking—because she might not want a hotel, she might want ahome. And shehada home. But she’d not been there in decades. ‘Or you can move into the Fraser mansion on the Upper East Side,’ he offered. ‘I keep it fully staffed, but I’m not there much myself, so that will give you your own space.’
He wanted her to understand all that he’d kept for her. All that washers. It was so important that she understand. ‘We’ll meet with the legal team tomorrow to settle the inheritance. Then you can take your pick of the other properties owned by Fraser Holdings.’ He hesitated. Why was she frowning?
‘Or simply buy your own place,’ he swerved, trying to give her choices, trying to read her mind so he could supply the right options. ‘Whatever works for you. But I don’t want—’
‘Whoa, wait.’
Roman paused, desperately trying to pull out some patience.
‘I’m not going anywhere today. And I don’t want to speak to any legal team tomorrow.’
She...what?
‘Why not?’ he asked. Why didn’t she want to speak to the lawyers? Did she mean she had something else to do tomorrow, or did she mean she didn’t want to speak to them atall?
There was a rebellious expression in her eyes. One he recognised with a sinking feeling.
‘Because I live here—this is what I can afford. And I have shifts working in a bar in Columbus Circle today and tomorrow.’
What she could afford? Working in a bar? But she didn’t have to do that any more. Never. He could help her. Hehadto help her. He was her brother, her only blood relative. And, in this way, this was all he could do. ‘Eloise, I don’t think you understand—’
‘Ellie.’
He blinked at the soft, implacable reminder. ‘Right, Ellie.’ He drew a breath, trying not to be patronising but knowing he was failing already.
If Violet were here she’d be rolling her eyes right now, then softly steering him. Telling him not to focus on the damned finances. But they were important. Their existence was going to impact Eloise’s—Ellie’s—life completely. Roman wanted her to have everything she’d been denied for so long. This was the only tangiblething he could do for her.
‘You’re now worth upwards of five billion dollars in real-estate dividends, share options and a trust fund set up in your name twenty-one years ago,’ he tried to explain. ‘You can afford to live wherever you want. And there’s no charge to live at the hotel, or at the Fraser mansion, because those places belong to you too—you’re my sister.’
He gritted his teeth the second he’d said it. Simultaneously, she flinched.
Yeah:sister.
It was strange to him—he had no other sisters, no brothers either. But did she have other siblings in that family that had stolen her? Rage swarmed, clouding his vision. She was so precious. She had been so tiny and she’d beentaken. The protective urge overwhelmed him. He had to ensure the failures of the past would never be repeated. ‘And no way am I letting you continue to work in a bar,’ he growled.
‘Excuse me?’ She glared at him. ‘Who made you the boss of me?’
Roman froze, realising his mistake too late. The boss. The bully. He winced inwardly as once more Violet’s words echoed. Emotional control...he’d lost it already. He’d lost it the moment he’d fallen apart in Violet’s arms and he couldn’t get it back no matter how hard he tried.
Could he have made more of a mess of this?
To his absolute horror, Ellie’s expression slowly crumpled. He watched as she furiously worked, blinking back tears that escaped her eyes regardless.
‘I don’t think you understand. I don’t want the money.’ She sniffed. ‘I don’t want any of this. I’m not ready to meet you, to deal with all the lies they told me...’
She wasn’t ready to meet him.
He didn’t know how to make any of this better. He’d been unable to reach out and rescue her all those years ago and he was helpless—useless—once again. He absorbed the hit as calmly as he could, trying to stay composed. But compartmentalising wasn’t working. Feelings flooded. He needed a moment, just like Violet had suggested. She’d been so damned understanding.
He blinked.Understanding?He could only try. Eloise had been through hell and he was bossing her—pushing too fast—even though he thought it in her best interests. But even if it was, was he never going to learn? He needed to listen. He needed to engage. Or at least try.