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One with small, chubby arms thrown above his head in innocent abandon.
My son. My world.
The other curled on her side with one arm braced protectively over Andreos and the other draped over her belly.
My wife.
But not for much longer. Unless I took steps to do something about it.
Resolution slid home like a key in a lock I didn’t even realise needed opening. Now I did—now the possibility of more beckoned with a promise I didn’t want to deny.
Shaking out a light throw, I tucked it over both of them, then stepped back.
Calypso made a distressed sound in her sleep, an anxious twitch marring her brow for a second before it smoothed out and her breathing grew steady.
Was her stomach still bothering her? I frowned as that niggling returned.
My hand clenched over the door handle.
Were her secrets disturbing her sleep? Could that be the last stumbling block I needed to overcome to make this marriage real? If so, could I live with it?
The breath locked in my lungs was released, along with the bracing realisation that, regardless of what the secret was, it needn’t get in our way. If she was prepared not to let it.
Very much aware that several things hung in the balance, I stepped out, shut the door behind me and returned to the living room. But through all my strategising and counter-strategising my resolution simply deepened.
My grandfather had sacrificed and nearly lost everything in his dealings with one Petras.
But perhaps it was time to draw a line underneath all that, let acrimony stay in the past where it belonged.
Perhaps it was time to strike yet another bargain.
A more permanent one.
* * *
Thailand was magical.
Or as magical as a place could be when I knew that dark shadows crept ever closer. Knew that my stolen time was rapidly dwindling away.
It marred my ability to enjoy fully the sheer magnificence of our tropical paradise except on canvas, with the paints Axios had supplied me with, which conversely helped in keeping my true state under wraps for a little longer.
The discomfort in my abdomen which he had erroneously assumed was my period kept him from the jaw-droppingly stunning master suite of our Bangkok villa at night. And when we were required to make an appearance together at one of the many events marking the successful merger of Xenakis Aeronautics and a major Thai-owned airline he was painfully solicitous, showering me with the kind of attention that made the tabloid headlines screech with joy.
The kind that made my heart swell with a foolish longing that I knew would make the inevitable break all the more agonising.
The kind he’d showered me with over the last few weeks but that now came with a speculative look in his eyes. As if he was trying to solve a puzzle. As if he was trying to make our situation work.
But my guilt at the subterfuge was nothing compared to the grief tearing my heart to shreds at the thought of leaving Andreos.
When, after four days in Bangkok, Axios announced that we were relocating to Kamala in Phuket for the remaining three days, for a delayed honeymoon, I knew I couldn’t hide from my feelings any longer.
I was in love with Axios.
Even knowing he didn’t feel the same couldn’t diminish the knowledge that I’d been falling since that night on the balcony. Since I’d agreed to for now. But, contrarily, accepting my true feelings meant I couldn’t in good conscience burden him or my precious baby with the battle ahead.
I was in love with my husband. And to spare him our marriage had to end.
Tucked inside the bamboo shelter of a rainforest shower, I gave in to the silent sobs tearing my heart to pieces, letting the warm spray wash my tears away. When I was wrung out, I carefully disguised the tell-tale signs of my distress with subtle make-up before leaving the suite.
