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‘You are a journalist. What was I supposed to do? Hand you my life story and stand back and wait for it to be splurged around the globe?’
Arrogance poured from his voice and she looked harder at him, trying to see the man she’d thought she’d fallen in love with. But he was gone.
‘A travel writer hardly constitutes a journalist. What are you so afraid of? Why are you hiding away?’ She couldn’t understand why he was so anxious about the press. Although they had been interested in them in Athens...true. ‘A high-powered businessman like you must understand their interest—especially when you’ve just secured a big deal.’
His eyes narrowed and he inhaled deeply, his furious gaze never leaving hers. ‘I am not afraid of anything. I simply prefer to keep my private life private.’
‘You mean your mother?’ Curiosity piqued, she pushed further than she would have done before. What did she have to lose? Nothing. She was leaving.
‘By acknowledging my past I would be bringing my mother back into my life and I have no wish to do that—no matter how hard she tries.’
‘Why do you want to shut her out of your life? She is your mother.’
‘She gave up that right when she walked out.’
The fierceness of his words weren’t lost on her, but she had no intention of engaging further in this discussion. All she wanted to do was leave. She’d tried to love him, tried to be what he needed, but she couldn’t do it any more.
‘I cannot stay here—not like this.’ She gestured around her at the luxury of the villa, which must be staffed for him to have had it all lit up and ready for their arrival.
Indignation began to bubble up, bringing all her childhood insecurities with it. She looked at his brooding expression, her gaze locking with his, and wondered how she’d ever thought he was a gentle, loving fisherman.
His blue eyes almost froze, they were so glacial, and his jaw clenched, hardening the contours of his face until he looked as if he’d been chiselled from stone.
‘There is one thing we need to get clear. You will not challenge my decisions.’
Each icy word hung in the air, freezing around them, reminding her of the kind of winter morning in England when her breath would linger in a white mist, suspended in the cold air.
Serena blinked hard a few times, trying to focus her gaze and see the real Nikos where he stood now, shrouded in the amber light from his villa’s garden. The man she’d fallen in love with three months ago, given her heart and her virginity to, had never existed. Just as the man who’d filled her nights with such passion this past week didn’t exist. This cold, ruthless man was the real Nikos.
She couldn’t stay here—not just in the villa, or on the island, but in Greece. She would rather go home to England and face her family’s disapproval and disappointment at her pregnancy than commit not only herself but her child to a life dominated by him. She hoped Sally would be behind her...that they could find another way to fund more IVF. Nikos couldn’t be the only option. He just couldn’t be.
She wanted to tell him she was leaving, but the words wouldn’t come as he stepped towards her. His handsome face had softened slightly, giving her a tiny glimpse of the man she wanted him to be, and she had to remind herself it was just her imagination.
‘You can live in London, if that pleases you, and still have the money you require for your sister. But you will become my wife.’
His hand reached out, his fingers stroking her cheek, and she closed her eyes against the throb of desire which burst to life deep inside her.
‘I can’t, Nikos.’ She opened her eyes as her voice whispered her inner turmoil. ‘I can’t live like that and I can’t marry you.’
To accept those terms wouldn’t be brave—it would be foolish. She’d be bringing her child up with the same insecurities and guilt that she’d had. Far better for one parent to raise their baby and love it completely than for it to realise one day that it was responsible for two unhappy lives.
‘I don’t want my child to be illegitimate. This is my heir.’ His hand snapped back and he straightened, towering above her, dominating the very air she breathed.
‘Our baby is not something to strike a deal over. I will not marry you, Nikos. I have made a big mistake and I am leaving—right now.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A SCORCH OF rage so intense it froze him to the spot hurtled through Nikos. She was leaving. Memories of the disappointment he’d felt as a young boy combined like thick syrup with the anger for his mother that he’d carried for most of his life. He’d loved his mother, just as any boy would, but the total devastation of being abandoned by the one woman who should never have turned her back on him had scarred him deeply. So deeply he’d never intended to commit himself emotionally to anyone.
