Uncovering the Silveri Secret - By Melanie Milburne Page 0,43

'I'll stay.'
CHAPTER TEN
THE snow had long melted but Bella kept putting off returning to London. She was aware of the clock ticking on her time with Edoardo. By tacit agreement neither of them mentioned her upcoming engagement. Bella felt as if the girl who was about to become engaged to Julian Bellamy was someone else entirely - nothing to do with her. It was like living a parallel existence. She had compartmentalised her life in such a way as to have it all, or at least to have what she could while she could.

And Edoardo was what she wanted.

Since the night he had revealed his past to her, she had started to see him for the sensitive and strong, resilient man he was underneath his cynical fa?ade. He was an intensely private person. She had never met a more private person. He loathed gossip. He didn't have time for idle chit-chat. He was a man with a strong work ethic; he didn't believe in people being handed things for free.

He made Bella see her privileged background quite differently. She didn't like admitting it, but she had taken so much for granted. She hadn't thought much about the sacrifices her father had made in order to provide her with an inheritance that was beyond the dreams of most people. She felt incredibly guilty for resenting that her father hadn't focused all of his attention on her. But Edoardo made her see that her father had been working to provide for her, not for himself. Her father had been stung badly by the divorce from her mother and had spent the rest of his life rebuilding his empire so Bella could have a secure future. Her father had not said the words, but he had shown it in his actions.

As the week was drawing to a close, Bella went down to the village for supplies and was shocked to see a couple of journalists with cameras at the ready step out of a car as she came out of a shop. She put her head down and turned to go back the other way but within moments they were striding alongside her on the footpath.

'Tell us about your relationship with the reclusive Edoardo Silveri,' one journalist said as he followed her along the footpath. 'Is it true you are currently staying with him at Haverton Manor, the house that once was your family home?'

Bella put her head down and kept walking. She knew from experience it didn't matter what she said; they would twist it to make it sound like something else entirely.

'A local source told us Mr Silveri was a teenage rebel with a criminal past,' another journalist said as they came alongside. 'Would you like to comment on what it's like to be involved with a bad boy who made good?'

Bella swung her gaze to the pushy journalist. She could not bear to have Edoardo painted in such a way. 'He's not a bad boy,' she said. 'He's never been bad. It's the people who let him down and hurt him who are bad. They're the ones who should be exposed and brought to justice.'

'Word has it Mr Silveri would never have made it without considerable help from your father,' the first journalist said.

Bella turned to face them. 'That's not true,' she said. 'Edoardo was always going to make it in spite of his background. That's just the sort of person he is. He's strong and determined. My father saw those qualities in him and nurtured them. He would be very proud of the man Edoardo has become. Now, please leave me alone. I have nothing more to say.'

Bella pretended to do more shopping until she was sure she wasn't being followed before she drove back to Haverton Manor. She wondered if she should tell Edoardo about the paparazzi in the village but then decided against it. She didn't want anything to spoil the rest of the time they had together. It would all too soon draw to a close. She couldn't stay down here for ever, even though she longed to. But she couldn't settle for anything less than total commitment. If Edoardo didn't love her enough to want to spend the rest of his life with her, then she would have to walk away, even though it would break her heart to leave him.

Bella had only been back at the manor half an hour when she got another call from her mother. She answered it while she was