She couldn't reveal her true feelings

Zare Forturini was convinced that Laine Balfour would say or do anything to get her hands on the Forturini wealth. "It's a pity, " he said contemptuously, "my brother didn't notice your hard, self-centered heart before he became infatuated with you. "

Laine loved young Cristo Forturini--like a brother. So she endured Zare's unbearable insolence and accompanied him to Italy where Cristo lay ill.

And she tried to hide her feelings when she found herself falling in love with a Forturini, after all . . . even though Zare's fortune had nothing to do with it.