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But Eden had lost her ability to put up with Kassandra's manipulations when the other woman arranged to usurp Eden at Aristide's side for a Broadway performance they had planned to attend. Kassandra had turned the evening into a business event and Aristide had expected Eden to gracefully back out of attending the play with him.
She had been livid and refused and they had had the worst fight of their marriage. She had accused him of being in love with the other woman. He had told Eden she was being both childish and selfish and flat-out refused to reconsider taking Kassandra to the play. Eden had rejected his peace offering of changing the entire seating arrangements to include one more person and had stayed in the hotel rather than go with them.
The following morning, they were driving upstate to spend the weekend away from his business pressures when Eden again voiced her grievances. Aristide had dismissed her complaints as if they were ludicrous. He had not taken her seriously at all and the more he stonewalled her, the angrier she became, until the rage inside her gave vent to a demand for a divorce.
In her desperation to be heard, she had believed they were the only words that might penetrate his stubborn Greek skull. She'd been right. He'd listened all right. He'd been shouting at her in rapid-fire Greek she couldn't begin to decipher when they were hit by the truck.
Eden now recognized how poorly she had handled the confrontation with her husband. She should have built up to it, pointing out Kassandra's undermining as they went along instead of hitting Aristide with it all at once in what he considered a fantastic claim. But if she'd messed up, so had he.
He had rejected her claims outright and had not taken her seriously at all…not until she said she wanted a divorce. He'd been paying attention then, and remembering his look of horror gave her a small measure of hope.
Aristide did not want their marriage to end. But she did not know if that was because he was a typically possessive Greek male who wanted to raise his children in a two-parent household, or if he personally could not stand the thought of losing Eden. It was a question she could no longer stand to go unanswered.
She was pregnant again, just like before, but this time she wasn't going to bury her head in the sand, making assumptions about his feelings based on his actions. She wanted the words. She had to know…one way or the other.
As scared as she was of both losing her baby and of Aristide's coma, she was also filled with determination. She was going to rock the boat on her marriage until her husband got seasick and sent the wicked witch flying off on her broomstick…or until he admitted he would rather have Kassandra in his life than Eden.
The accident had clarified a lot of things in her head. She wasn't giving up on her marriage, but she wasn't playing the doormat wife any more. She wasn't going through another pregnancy like the last one, where she got left behind in Greece "for her own good" while he worked in New York more than half the time.
Nor would she tolerate Kassandra's constant belittling of her, no matter how subtly the woman played it. She didn't think Aristide was sleeping with his assistant, but the other woman had too much of his loyalty. There was fidelity of mind as well as body and Eden was determined to have both from her husband.
Aristide was a wonderful father and there was nothing she wanted more than for him to be with her to raise their children, but he lacked in the husband department and it was time that changed.
She had lacked as a wife too, she saw now. She'd been too afraid to incur his anger to stand up for herself, too unsure of her place in his life to demand it fully. She wasn't going to be that way any more. She deserved better and so did he.
Marriage had changed her, she saw now. She'd wanted so desperately to gain Aristide's love and make it work that she'd become a woman she didn't always recognize or like any more. The change had begun during her time as Aristide's lover, but she didn't care what had made it start, she wanted it stopped.
She wasn't going to end up like her mother. She wasn't.
The next three days went by in a haze for Eden. Aristide did not wake up and every hour he laid in a coma in another hospital room, her heart bled a little more. She loved him so much and the thought of even trying to live without him sent her blood pressure skyrocketing, incurring a long lecture from the doctor.
His family had arrived and taken up residence in the hotel, but spent most of their time at the hospital. Phillippa had brought Theo and, thankfully, Rachel willingly cared for him with her own two children while at the hotel. She brought Theo in to visit Eden and that helped, but she could not forget for one second that her husband's life remained precarious.
She ached with the need to be by his bedside, but did her best to remain still and calm to retain the unstable hold she had on her baby.
Her father called from Hong Kong, where he was away on business. Once he learned her injuries were not life threatening, he made it clear he had no intention of flying home early on her account. She was hardly surprised by his lack of overt concern. As with Aristide, she had always taken a poor second to business with her father.
The doctor kept his promise and apprised Eden each morning and evening of Aristide's condition, no matter that she had frequent updates from his family. He was kind and she found his visits less stressful than Aristide's family. She did not have to hide her condition or worry for her baby from him and Adam Lewis turned out to be an unexpected friend.
Leaning heavily on Sebastian's arm for balance, Eden made her way slowly down the hall toward her husband's room. She'd refused to use a wheelchair, not wanting him to think the worst when he saw her and possibly suffer a setback because of it.
Adam had told her that Aristide had not asked about the baby, but that didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it. It was just like her strong husband to hide his worries, even from a doctor.
But her bleeding had stopped completely and the latest ultrasound had come back with good news. The doctor had assured her the short walk would not hurt the baby, but, due to her lingering concussion, she still wasn't supposed to be up and walking around a great deal.
Nevertheless, she'd taken a shower and washed her hair, leaving it to fall in a straight brown curtain around her shoulders. Aristide preferred that style and she was so happy he had woken from the coma, she wanted to please him. She had donned a set of pajamas that could pass for loungewear. She hoped Aristide wouldn't notice the IV shunt in her hand before she had a chance to tell him all was well with the baby.
No one had told him that she was in hospital as well and, according to his mother, he hadn't asked. Eden found that very odd, but then maybe he was still angry at her for bringing up divorce. She could see his pride balking at her temerity and she almost smiled.
They had a lot to discuss, but right now all she wanted to do was see the man she'd married and assure herself he truly was awake and going to be all right.
She walked into the room, her eyes hungry for the sight of the man she loved. She'd missed him so much during the hours of loneliness in her hospital bed while memories, both good and painful, filled her mind, reminding her just how much she would be giving up if she let her husband go.
Nothing could assuage the perpetual ache in Eden's heart left by her husband's absence. Which said a lot about the probability of her ever walking away from her marriage if there was any chance at making it work.
Aristide was sitting up in bed and tears of relief wet her eyes. She'd tried so hard to remain emotionally detached from his coma, but she'd been scared to death she would save her baby only to lose her husband.
His dark head was visible because of his height, but Kassandra Helios stood at the head of the bed, blocking Eden's view of his face.
She had always felt at a disadvantage next to the other woman and even more so now. Eden's looks were average, no matter what Aristide said in the midst of passion. But right now she knew her pale complexion could best be described as wan and her nondescript gray eyes were dull from her concussion.
The last thing she wanted right now was to face her nemesis. "I thought only family were allowed to visit critical-care patients."
The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Too many people in this room considered Kassandra exactly that.
Kassandra turned, her smile imbued with so much false sympathy Eden had a sudden urge to be sick that could not be blamed entirely on morning sickness. "Surely I qualify. I've known him longer than any other woman in his life besides his mother…why, we're practically brother and sister."
Eden couldn't argue the claim, but she didn't buy it. The sly witch felt sisterly toward Aristide in a pig's eye. However, she bit back the retort she wanted to make. Now was not the time to take her stand against the enemy.
Before she had a chance to reply in any way, Kassandra spoke again. "We are friends as well and I have been so worried," she said with an affecting break in her voice. "I have barely stirred from his side. It did not occur to me to make myself scarce now…that I would be unwelcome."
