Chapter 18

The next morning, Matthew watched from the window of his home study as the movers in their dull blue overalls took box after box of Miranda's belongings and placed them in the rear of a large white van. They worked efficiently, their professionalism showing in their quick and sharp movements.

Just a few minutes later, the van was closed, the boxes secured tightly in its insides and it took off. Behind it, a small white sedan followed closely. Even from this height and distance, he could recognize Miranda in the passenger's seat of the sedan.

Was it because lately, he had spent every waking hour thinking about her? He didn't know. What he knew was that he could pick her out from a distance, and she looked positively distraught. Her head was bowed, her shoulders drooped, her face the very image of sadness.

As the car followed the moving van out of the compound and the gates closed behind the car, he saw her turn her head and gaze longingly at the house and for a moment.

What a good actress. Her show, however, was over.

Matthew stepped away from the window and walked to the desk, his mind a raging mess. He had trusted her, helped her, given her a job and a house, given her money and she had betrayed him. He thought he was doing something good, saving a woman from being raped and assaulted, and aiding her in breaking free from an abusive family.

No, none of that. He was being a fool. That was what he had been doing.

Matthew sat at the desk and powered up the computer on it. As the system came to life, he wondered, if the Miranda Dunne he had spoken with, eaten with, and housed was a fraud, then who was she really?

Walter had been able to provide a little information about her family, but he never felt like he needed to pursue it. After all, from the time he met her to this day, she gave him the impression that she was all but estranged from her family. So, he felt like there was no reason to get any information on them.

Now, however, the ruse was up. He had discovered that she not only was not estranged from her family but was in regular contact with them. And she had wanted his money.

Matthew ran his hand through his hair and sighed. The system had finished booting and he opened the information database that he operated and typed the words "Dunne Accountancy" on it.

Several files and links popped up. He clicked the first one and from there, made his way down the list. There was a lot of information on the company and the people that ran it but after scanning through the fifth result on the list, one thing was clear. The Dunne’s were in debt. Deep debt.

Harrison Dunne was the founder of the company, and who Matthew assumed was Miranda's father, had filed for bankruptcy twice in the past year, with both files getting rejected. A little more digging told Matthew that Harrison Dunne had a gambling problem and had borrowed money from some "microfinance banks" which Matthew was sure was a front for loan sharks. They had probably used their influence in the banking world to deny Harrison Dunne his bankruptcy case.

Sara Dunne, who was listed as a co-owner of the firm, was not doing well herself. All her credit cards were in the red, with tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

Matthew stared at the information on the screen and felt the pressure in his head increase. Bankruptcy, debt, loan sharks. It all seemed to corroborate the conversation he had overheard last night. It was all planned. Everything.

He thought back to the first time he had seen Miranda. That fateful evening over a month ago. What part of it was true and what part was planned?

She had probably come to meet Karly and probably entered the wrong room, but he could imagine her greed got the better of her. After all, why offer yourself to a millionaire when you could bag a billionaire instead?

His brain filled in the blanks.

She was probably in the midst of offering herself to Karly when she decided to make a high-risk and high-demand move. Accuse Karly of rape and appeal to the billionaire's conscience. Her gamble had paid off. He had given her everything she needed and wanted.

But he guessed her family was not patient enough. They wanted the money now. Hence, the implicating phone call. He stapled his hands and closed his eyes. Leaning forward, he thought to the time they had spent in the hospital.

The gentleness in her words when she spoke, the deep emotion in her eyes when she looked at him, the way her body curved towards him when he spoke. Everything. Everything was a lie. That Miranda Dunne was a fraud, never existing. And he had fallen in love with that fraud.

Matthew ran a hand through his hair, fighting the urge to pop some drugs into his mouth, numbing his feelings. He placed a hand to his temple and looked down at the floor, deep in thought. He wanted to build a future with her.

Slowly, steadily, and carefully court her. As much as his broken mind would allow. Maybe in a few months' time, he would tell her everything there was to him and then maybe in a few years, they would get married. That is if she had not run away screaming.

But now… there was no hope for a happy ending for him. He would never trust another woman again. Never love another. He did not know when exactly the tears came all he knew was that his face flooded as his heart bled.

The door to the study opened and Matthew looked up and saw his assistant through the tears in his eyes. Coughing, he wiped his face and turned to stare intensely at the window.

"Sir," Walter said, none of the shock his face displayed could be heard in his tone.

"Yes," Matthew replied gruffly. "Speak."

"I have settled Miss Dunne in her new residence. I shall begin the transfer of her employment documents to the affiliate company. Barring any issues, she will be able to resume work at the company tomorrow."

Matthew nodded. If he really wanted to, he could make her life miserable. But even though she lied to him, he did not want to leave her homeless and unemployed. He had given her a job and a house out of the goodness of his heart. He had been made a fool of but still, he left her with the things he had given, knowing fully well that he would never give her anything else.

"Fine. You can go," Matthew said but Walter did not move.

"I apologize if I am being forward, sir. But may I know the reason why Miss Dunne is being relocated and transferring jobs. She seemed unhappy with the entire issue.

Matthew gritted his teeth. "She's a liar, that's why," he spat.

Walter seemed taken aback by the venom in his voice, but Matthew cared little. He continued. "She lied and played me for a fool." He pushed the chair back and shot to his feet. Walking to the window where he watched her leave, he clasped his hands behind his back and tried for calm.

"Dunne Accountancy. That is the name of her family's company," Matthew said with his back to Walter. "Her father is a gambler who has filed for bankruptcy twice. Her mother is thousands of dollars deep in credit card debt. It was all a ruse to get money from me."

"A ruse," Walter repeated, disbelief tinting his voice.

"Yes, a ruse. I overheard her last night talking about pawning things to get money. Plotting with her family to abuse the help I extended to her." Matthew pounded the windowsill with a fist. "It was all a ruse.

"But Mr. Devin," Walter began hesitantly. "Are you certain that that is truly the case? I find it hard to believe that Miss Dunne would do something of the sort. It may very well be that her family is pressuring her into whatever this issue is."

Matthew stared at the front yard of the house, eyes unseeing. "You don't understand. You can't trust them. You can't believe them. They all lie. She lied. That's not hard to believe. She lied to you and…she lied to me as well."

There were a few minutes of silence as the two occupants of the room dealt with their own thoughts.

Walter broke the silence by saying, "I will be taking my leave now. Please take care of yourself and rest."

Matthew did not turn to watch the man leave. He stood at the window cursing himself and Miranda Dunne. He hated her and he missed her.

Miranda sat on the bed, took in the unfamiliar room, and fought back tears. This was the fourth room she had been in in the past month. Every change in housing upended her life and was preceded by a traumatic experience but this one was the worst by far.

She had been kicked out by the only person she loved.

She could still remember the look of betrayal on Matthew's face as she opened the door of the small house, arms full of shopping bags. She didn't have to think too much to know that he had overheard the conversation she had with her sister.

And he had caught her with the bags on her way to the pawnshop.

She had tried to reach out to him, tried to explain, tried to make him understand. But it was all for naught. He had walked away.

The next day the movers had come, and it was obvious her time in his house and life was over. Walter had handed her the documents for a new house and a new job in another company. Matthew was cutting whatever ties he had with her.

He was pushing her away. The new house he had found her was on the other side of the city, same with the job. There was no way they would ever meet again.

Miranda covered her face with her palms and tried to breathe through the pain. Her family was right. She was really a cursed person. She had to keep that in mind whenever she tried to find happiness. She would never be happy. She would never be loved.

Why did she pick up the call? Why did she let her sister talk her into such a trap? She had sent them what remained of the fifty thousand dollars that Matthew gave her weeks ago, but they wanted more. She was yet to receive her first salary, so she really had no money to give.

The only thing she could do was to try to pawn some of the things she had, hoping that when she was paid, she could get them back, but Matthew had heard her conversation and assumed the worst. Now, she had ruined the only relationship she had and would probably ever have.

Exhaling, Miranda walked to the cupboard and picked out the jacket Matthew had given them the first time they met. The dry cleaning had stripped the material of his scent, but she still found comfort wrapping it around herself.

She returned to the bed and tucked herself under the sheets. It had been a very long day. She had experienced true heartbreak and had been driven out of a house. She was emotionally, physically, and mentally drained.

She put her hands through the arms of the jacket, fell on the pillows, and cried herself to sleep.