Read Online Beautifully Revealed by Bethany Bazile - Free Book Online Page A

comes for you to leave me…” he lifts his head and the single tear trickling down his face breaks me.
    I step closer to him and wipe it with my thumb, and his eyes close at my gentle touch. The entire time in Chicago he held these emotions back, and I wish he would let me help him. He can’t keep everything bottled up forever, it will suffocate him. I’ve been suffocating on my pain for years and I don’t want that for him. That single tear is the only sign of grief I’ve seen him express all week and it worries me.
    He reaches out and cups my face in both his hands, his green eyes so stormy with emotion they’re almost a shade of gray. “When you leave me I won’t be the same man, it will break me to pieces. I need to hold on to what’s left of me.”
    “Please don’t do this, ” I beg.
    “Ella, what happened with Lucas is tearing me up. I haven’t touched you in a week because I’m afraid of what I’ll do to you to erase his touch. I want to fuck you until you feel me in your sleep. I want to fuck you till you have no memory of any other man. I warned you before you left that Lucas would manipulate you, now I want to punish you so badly that I have to leave.”
    He did warn me, but I wouldn’t listen because I was so sure of myself, I would never betray Liam. I never dreamed Lucas would take the choice away from me. I know I can’t stop him, but he shouldn’t be the one leaving.
    “I’ll go. This is your home; I should be the one to leave.”
    “No . Where would you go?”
    “I’ll find a place. Maybe I’ll go stay at the Brazilian Court.”
    “Ella, you know how expensive it is to stay there? You won’t take my money so stay here and I’ll go downstairs.”
    “ You’re not the only one with millions in the bank! I can afford to stay at the Brazilian.” I scream at him in frustration. I didn’t mean to say that much, but I hate when he throws his money at me.
    “What do you mean? You have millions in the bank?” He eyes me suspiciously. I know I messed up big now. This slip-up is going to cost me, he’s going to take this as another lie and use it to push me further away.
    “I have a hefty bank account and a substantial investment portfolio.” The confession weighs heavy on my chest. I have never disclosed this part of my life to anyone , not even Lucas. A wry smile appears on his face and he shakes his head in disbelief.
    “Maybe you should go , because it seems like I’ll never be done discovering your secrets.” He heads into his study, angrily slamming the door behind him.
    I pack quickly, only taking what I can carry , hoping I’ll get a chance to come back. I pause at the study door, lightly pushing it open, but Liam doesn’t look up. He knows I’m there, but he refuses to have any more contact with me so I leave with a heavy heart.
    ********
    Last night was horrible. Not that I didn’t see it coming or deserve it, but sleeping without Liam is hard. When I finally did fall asleep I was comforted by dreams of him. If I could, I would erase the last two weeks because going to Vegas was a mistake. I thought I needed to fix my friendship with Lucas, but I should’ve been more concerned with maintaining the peace I had finally found with Liam.
    Anna’s death was agonizing. I never experienced death on this level , I’ve always been unattached and unfeeling. In my early years with Damon I often thought death might have relieved my pain, stopped the suffering. I used to look at it like it was salvation, but experiencing the death of someone I loved like a mother ripped my heart out. As much as I wanted to ball up in a corner and cry, I stayed strong for Liam.
    The weight of his guilt combined with his grief was too much for him to bear alone. I needed to help him grieve more than I needed to grieve myself, but last night I finally shattered. Alone in an unnecessarily large hotel room, the grief finally consumed me. Flashes of the years I spent with Anna, imagining what life