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His eyes glinted, his gaze dropping to her mouth before his expression tightened. ‘The moment you informed me you were carrying our child, very little else ceased to matter except ensuring your safety and welfare.’
She shook her head. ‘Don’t wrap it up in concern for me. You wanted me out of the way, hidden away like some dirty little secret—’
‘Hidden away, yes, but not like a secret.’ His jaw gritted for a moment before he continued. ‘My other reasons still apply but...my father’s generals, men he trusted, tried to target the throne within hours of his death. Montegova was birthed through war and bloodshed. My people can be a little...bloodthirsty. Luckily, I had a network of trusted men who don’t believe in senseless violence and tyranny.’
‘Is that why you’ve kept an eye on the current general?’
He nodded. ‘I vowed that we wouldn’t get caught with our guard down ever again. That included removing you from any possible line of attack.’
She gasped. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’
‘I was going to, eventually. But...this last week was special and I selfishly wanted to hang onto it.’ She was busy catching her breath when he added, ‘And then I was made aware of your mother’s activities.’
Her heart dropped. ‘My mother?’
His lips firmed. ‘She was pitting tabloids against each other, hoping to start a bidding war on a story about you. And me.’
A hot wave of shame engulfed her. But even through it, bitterness at his actions remained. ‘And so you bought her off.’
‘I offered her a different...better alternative.’
‘An alternative?’
‘A chance to celebrate her coming grandchild, rather than capitalise financially on the occasion. An interview with a journalist of my choice, to be aired with your strict approval once the baby was born and once you’d vetted every word. In return, I offered to settle her debts.’
‘What else did you do? Tell her to pressure me to marry you? To keep all of this from her own daughter under
threat of persecution from your non-disclosure agreement?’
His lips firmed, but he didn’t deny any of it. ‘Perhaps I was delusional but I didn’t want to entertain the thought that this week would end with you refusing to marry me. Dio mio, the possibility of you leaving me, despite everything I’d done...’ He shook his head. ‘I’m used to winning, Violet. To being in control.’
‘Because everyone around you expects it? Don’t you know that’s unrealistic?’
‘If I can’t hold myself accountable, how can I expect others to be?’
She frowned, her heart lurching at the pain in his voice. ‘Are you talking about your father again?’
Cold bleakness filled his eyes before they dropped to the hands clutching hers. ‘I wasted years believing he could walk on water. I even excused him when he didn’t display much affection, when he seemed especially harsh.’ He shrugged. ‘Trying to live with that lie has been...hard.’
She didn’t realise she’d twisted her fingers to entwine with his until he lifted hers to kiss her knuckles. ‘He shattered your trust, but not everyone is like that.’
‘Perhaps it was my misfortune to encounter those who reinforced that belief.’
‘Am I lumped with that lot?’
Her heart leapt when he immediately shook his head. ‘Not you, Violet. You turned my suspicions inside out. Dio, you turned me inside out,’ he rasped fervently. ‘Your passion. Your beauty. Your spirit, challenging me at every turn. I was addicted to you long before I had you in Tanzania.’
Her heart banged against her ribs. ‘What...what are you saying, Zak?’
‘That telling me about the baby was the perfect strategy I used to attempt to bind you to me. I could’ve picked anywhere in the world to bring you but I picked this island because I wanted to show you what we had in common. What we could achieve together.’
‘I saw,’ she murmured, almost too afraid to hope. ‘I saw and I yearned for it. So much it frightened me.’
He froze. ‘Violet?’ Her name was a thick, husky imploration.
She swayed towards him. ‘Yes, Zak.’
‘Tell me what you meant to say this morning,’ he repeated.
