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‘Where?’
‘To see your mother. I can come as support.’
Her laugh sounded genuine but as she disentangled herself from his hold he saw fresh tears were streaming down her face.
‘I needed your support five weeks ago.’ She shook her head and wiped the tears away then straightened.
‘Let me give it to you now,’ he urged. ‘I wasn’t there for you...’
‘No, you weren’t.’ Her shining eyes bored into his. ‘And I don’t blame you. I understand what a shock it must have been for you having your sister turn up out of the blue and learning about your father.’
‘I should never have cut you off.’
‘No, you shouldn’t, but I knew the type of man you were when I married you. I knew you didn’t do forgiveness. One strike and the person’s out—humiliating you was my strike and I accept that...’
‘No, don’t accept it. I was a fool to behave like that.’ A fool and a cruel, selfish bastard. ‘If I’d any idea what you were going through I would never have...’
‘It doesn’t matter!’ She took a deep breath and got unsteadily to her feet. ‘None of it matters any more, don’t you see that? Our marriage is over and it’s time I learned to stand on my own two feet.’
The freezing fog in his brain thickened, making his ears ring. ‘It doesn’t have to be over. We can start again.’
‘It does.’ She folded her arms across her chest. There was something in her stance that made her appear taller. ‘We could forgive each other everything that happened, draw a line in the sand and start again, but I’ll never forgive you for what you did to get your revenge.’ She shrugged her shoulders but the whiteness of her face belied the nonchalance she was trying to portray. ‘That was despicable and I hate you for it.’
On legs that were surprisingly weak, he got up to stand before her. Something was scratching at him, clawing at his chest, making it painful to breathe. ‘You said that you loved me.’
‘And I did love you. With all my heart. All through my amnesia I kept thinking you were holding back from telling me you loved me to keep the pressure off my recovery but the truth was you never loved me, did you?’
The pain in his chest increased. He couldn’t form any words. Not one.
‘You killed my love and all my trust in you,’ she spat. ‘If I ever marry again it will be to someone who wants more than just my body and my business brain.’ Her voice caught but when she continued her tone didn’t falter. ‘It will be with someone who can love me too and trust me with their heart. I have to hope for that.’
And with that she turned her back on him, picked up her clutch bag from the table and headed for the front door.
‘Where are you going?’ Things were moving too quickly. She couldn’t just leave like this. ‘Look at the weather out there.’
The rain was lashing so hard it fell like hail against the windows.
She didn’t turn around. ‘I’m going to check into a hotel and in the morning I’m going to go home. My home. Mine and Melissa’s flat. After that, all I know for certain is that I have to stop relying on other people to hold me up and learn to hold myself up. If Melissa stays in Australia then I will give her my blessing.’ Then she did turn and gave the smallest, saddest of smiles. ‘Maybe I will fly out there too. I don’t know.’
There was nothing left to say. He could see it in her eyes. Anna was going to walk out of the door and this time it would be for good.
She didn’t say goodbye.
She closed the door with the softest of clicks but the sound echoed like a ricocheting bullet.
Stefano stood on the same spot for an age, too numb and dazed about everything that had just happened to take it all in. A part of him expected—hoped—that the door would swing back open and she’d walk back in and tell him she’d changed her mind.
It didn’t happen.
Her discarded shoes lay on their sides where she’d thrown them. Her feet were bare...
His legs suddenly propelled themselves to the window that overlooked the street below. He pushed it open and stuck his head out, uncaring that the storm soaked him in seconds and blinded his eyes.
Through the sheet of water running over his face he caught a glimpse of a red dress disappearing into a cab. Seconds later the cab pulled away from the kerb and soon he lost sight of it.
Anna had gone.
* * *
