Modern Romance November 2019 Books 5-8. Dani Collins

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      My insides shook but I forced myself to hold his gaze. ‘You’ll want to discuss this, I’m sure, but can it wait till—?’

      ‘I’ll want to discuss this? Are you for real?’

      A drowsy Andreos stirred in my arms, his senses picking up on the frenetic emotions charging through the air.

      ‘Miss, would you like us to—?’

      ‘Leave us.’ Axios’s tone was deep. Implacable.

      I wasn’t in the least bit surprised when the staff hurried away.

      ‘How did you find me?’

      It seemed a monumental feat for him to drag his gaze from Andreos.

      ‘Through an act of sheer coincidence. The owner of this resort happens to be a business acquaintance of mine. He was on a rare tour of his property when he spotted you. Had he not chosen to take his yearly tour this last week…’ He stopped, shaking his head as if grappling with the sheer serendipity of the occurrence that had led him to me.

      My chalet was on the beach, and I made the short walk to the gorgeous timber-clad structure aware of his every step behind me.

      ‘I intended to come back—I promise.’

      ‘You promise? Why should I take your word on anything? You told the staff you were visiting friends when all along you intended to abscond from our marriage. And now you’re hiding in a resort on the other side of the world under a false name. Not to mention you seem to have had a child during that time. I am assuming the child is yours?’

      ‘Of course he his. Who else’s would he be?’

      He went as rigid as an ice statue, and what little colour had flowed back into his face on the walk from jetty to chalet receded momentarily before fury reddened his haughty cheekbones once more.

      ‘So I can add infidelity to your sins?’

      ‘Infid—? What are you talking about?’ Shock made my voice screech.

      Andreos whimpered as I laid him down in his cot, and then went back to sound sleep.

      ‘We used contraception on our wedding night, as I recall,’ he rasped with icy condemnation.

      ‘Well, I wasn’t on birth control. I never have been. And, while I’m not an expert, I’m sure there’s a caution that states that condoms aren’t one hundred percent foolproof.’

      ‘And I’m suddenly to accept that the protection that has never failed me before suddenly malfunctioned with you?’

      I wasn’t sure why the reference to other lovers drilled such angst through me. His lovers, past or present, were of no consequence to me. I had no hold over him, nor did he over me, when it came right down to it. All that had brought us together was my father’s greed and manipulation.

      ‘I don’t know what to say to make you believe me but I know the truth, Axios. Andreos is yours.’

      Piercing eyes locked on mine for the better part of a minute. ‘If he’s mine, why have you hidden him from me for the better part of a year?’

      His voice had changed, turned grittier, and he even looked a little shaken as his gaze swung again to Andreos. He started to walk towards the cot as if compelled, then stopped, shook his head.

      ‘Why is he here on the other side of the world when he should be in Greece, with his family?’

      It would have been so easy to blurt out everything that had happened to me since that dreaded visit to the doctor in Switzerland. and the urgent summons to hear my diagnosis three gut-churning days later, when it had been confirmed that there was indeed a growth in my cervix.

      But I was also told I was pregnant, and that any further exploration, even an initial biopsy to ascertain its malignancy or benignity, would jeopardise my baby.

      I could have told him about the latest scans I had in my suitcase, taken by Dr Trudeau in Switzerland, and his recommendation to take action.

      But if Axios’s presence here wasn’t warning enough that the time I’d bought for myself was over, the look in his eyes said I wouldn’t escape scot-free.

      Nevertheless, I wasn’t the same woman he’d married. Harrowing decisions made in the cold grip of fear had a way of changing a person.

      ‘Why does it matter to you, anyway? I thought you would be glad to see the back of me for ever.’

      A ferocious light glinted in his eyes for a heart-stopping second before he took a step towards me. ‘You married a Xenakis, Calypso. You think simply packing your bag and walking out through the door is the end of it? That you simply had to hightail it to the other end of the world for your marriage vows to cease to have meaning?’

      I stemmed my panic as his words rankled. ‘Our vows had meaning? I could’ve sworn you challenged me to find a way to make them stop having meaning.’

      His eyes narrowed. ‘You think this was the answer?’

      ‘It was my way!’

      ‘Perhaps I should’ve added an addendum that finding a way needed to involve discretion and consideration. Nothing that would throw a spotlight on me or my family. My mistake. Tell me, Calypso, do you think disappearing off the face of the earth for over a year screams discretion or consideration?’

      I shrugged with a carelessness I didn’t feel. ‘You didn’t stick around long enough to hash out another course of action. I did what was best.’

      ‘What was best for you, you mean?’

      My senses wanted to scream yes! Caution warned me to remain calm. To talk this through as rationally as the tower of formidable fury in front of me would allow.

      ‘You still haven’t told me why you’re here.’

      He made another sound of incredulity. ‘Because you’re my wife! Because the whispers need to cease. Because you will not jeopardise everything I’ve worked for. And that’s just for starters.’

      ‘Ah, now we’re getting to the bottom of it. You’re here because of what my absence is doing to your business? Is that it, Axios?’

      With lightning speed warm fingers curled over my nape. His hold wasn’t threatening, simply holding me in place so that whatever point he needed to make would be accurately delivered.

      ‘While no one would dare say it to my face, rumours of my wife fleeing our marital home has caused ripples in my life. The kind I can do without. So make no mistake: I intend to remedy that. Whatever point you intended to make, it ends now.’

      Each word contained a deadly promise—an intention to have his way that stoked the rebellion that had gone dormant in the last year back to life.

      ‘Believe it or not, my walking out had absolutely nothing to do with you.’

      ‘Enlighten me, then, matia СКАЧАТЬ