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‘I have no problem praising your attributes either. Like the fact that you’re an amazing dancer. And an exceptional kisser. Come over here and put those lips on me.’
‘Don’t change the subject.’
‘I never wanted to be on this subject in the first place. Especially as it isn’t easy for me to talk about.’
‘Mine wasn’t easy for me to tell you either.’
‘Is this where I give in or risk another battle with you?’
‘No. But I still want to know.’
‘Kiss me first, Sage.’
‘Xandro...’
His jaw clenched and his gaze fixed itself on the high ceiling. ‘Fine. For the sake of peace, I’ll let you win this round. But I’m making love to you again when I’m done with this wretched story. So prepare yourself for that.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
‘BEFORE I WAS BORN, four generations of my family lived in Ayia Hera. It’s a medium-sized village on an island south of Skiathos. Like most of those places, one family tends to own and run things. In my family’s case it was the Theakopolous family. They employed ninety per cent of the village and controlled the infrastructure. Turned out that they controlled the authorities, too.’
Sage rested her chin on his chest, anxiety already whipping through her. ‘What happened?’
‘My grandparents worked directly for them. She was the cook and he was their driver. The Theakopolouses had one child, a son my mother grew up with. No one expected anything to happen between them. As a cook’s daughter, she was never going to be good enough for him. Besides, at twenty-one he was engaged to someone else.’ His lips twisted. ‘But he chose to indulge himself on the side anyway.’
‘He...didn’t force himself on your mother, did he?’ she asked.
He glanced at her for a moment. ‘No. As far as I know it was consensual. A one-night thing that could’ve been brushed under the carpet. Except she got pregnant with me.’ Dark clouds shifted through his eyes as exhaled harshly. ‘My mother was young, with stars in her eyes. But that changed soon enough. There wasn’t to be a sudden declaration of love or even support. Hell, there wasn’t even going to be the concession of having her baby in her family home, the way she’d been born. When she plucked up the nerve to reveal her pregnancy, my father denied any involvement.’
Sage’s hand stilled on his chest, her instinct warning her that there was more to the story. ‘What did he do?’
‘His fiancée’s parents got wind of the possible scandal and threatened to end the engagement. The potential loss of a dynastic merger couldn’t be allowed. The terms of reparation did not go in my family’s favour.’
‘Xandro...’
When he glanced at her, his eyes were a stormy grey. The deep breath he took did nothing to soften the harsh mask of painful recollection on his face. ‘They could’ve allowed my grandparents to take my mother away, as they wanted to do. But the offer to disappear quietly wasn’t enough apparently. For one night’s indulgence, they decided that only my family’s total disgrace would suffice.’ He paused, his mouth flattening in a furious line that whitened the edges. ‘Several items of jewellery went missing from the Theakopolous household. Enough to interest the authorities and ensure the culprit would pay a high price. A custodial price.’
‘They accused your mother?’
He shook his head. ‘They accused my grandparents. A member of the household staff warned them. They had every intention of defending their innocence, until the items were found in their possession.’
‘They were framed?’
‘Conclusively,’ he answered with chilling fury.
‘All of that to deny the pregnancy?’
‘It was effective. After all, if the parents of the unwed girl suddenly named the village prince as the father of her unborn child but then were branded as thieves, who would’ve believed them? They also hoped that without her parents’ support my mother would be forced to get rid of the baby.’
‘Oh, God.’
His jaw clenched tight. ‘She was only eighteen years old, with a lifetime of being whispered about in front of her, and parents who would have no means of supporting her had they been in jail.’
‘So they left.’
‘In the middle of the night, with little more than the clothes on their backs.’
Sage didn’t need to hear the rest of the story. Xandro had been born in New York. And that was where his story started. But he wasn’t finished.
