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She couldn’t be allowed to love him. He would end up destroying her. Just as his father had destroyed his mother. It was inevitable.
‘This was sex, Alex. Just sex.’ The lie practically lodged itself in his throat. ‘This is exactly who I am and I am happy with that. But since you insist on reading more into it than that, it cannot happen again. We will marry, as agreed, I’ll gain control of the Lefebvre Group and I’ll appoint a new board to pass it on to, to ensure that Rainbow House, and any other assets, are protected.’
‘So you want to protect your mother’s legacy from your father, yet not get your hands dirty?’ It was the sad, almost sympathetic edge to her tone that really twisted in his chest the most.
He gritted his teeth. Alex must never know how much it cost him to answer her.
He’d been foolish to let himself get caught up in their charade, allowing himself to think, even for a moment, that there was anything real to it. He’d been stupid to allow her to convince him to look into the stable block conversion that his mother had once planned. And he’d been reckless to even consider taking over the role of Chairman of the Lefebvre Group and appointing a board of his own.
He needed to get back to the original plan. Stop his father from destroying his mother’s legacy and then walk away. Run, if he had to.
‘That’s exactly what I intend to do,’ he growled, unsure whether he was more furious at her or himself. ‘Now get dressed, we’re leaving. You have a dress fitting and I have a life to get back to once this is over.’
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE NEXT FEW days bled into each other, a tense blur for Alex, until one week stretched into two, then three.
Gone was the Louis who had caused her to abandon herself to the wanton desire that had seemed to fuel them both equally. The Louis who had taught her to revel in his obsession with her body as he’d licked and kissed and tasted his way over every last square centimetre of her trembling flesh.
They had reached an uneasy truce following their argument. They’d had to. Not only for the paparazzi but also for the estate hands and chateau staff, none of whom could be allowed to suspect there was any animosity between the soon-to-be-wed couple.
Alex was almost grateful for the whirlwind of planning and decisions, from her wedding dress to the music, the flowers to the food. At least they kept her mind occupied and the pain at bay.
But it wasn’t always so easy. When Louis showed her around the estate, ostensibly so that he could teach his future bride about its history, and how the estate had employed people from the local area for centuries, she could almost fool herself into thinking it was real all over again. Especially when he so proudly recounted to her how his great-grandfather had been unmasked and hunted down as one of the most effective, dogmatic leaders of the Resistance during the Second World War, and local farmers had been prepared—only too willing—to conceal and protect such a man as Albert Delaroche on their farms, even after several of them had been tortured or taken prisoner.
But when she called her father, after she had finally been granted permission to advise him of the highly guarded date of the wedding, she wasn’t prepared for what he had to say.
By the time Louis returned, Alex still hadn’t moved from the chair by the window, her mobile phone still clasped in her hand. He knew something was wrong the moment he walked in, the immediate concern etched onto his face only making her feel worse.
He strode across the room and for a moment she thought he was going to haul her out of the chair and into his arms.
Ridiculous notion.
Instead, Louis stopped dead in front of her.
‘Did something happen? Did your father upset you?’
She shook her head.
‘He didn’t like the respite holiday idea? Rainbow Court?’
She’d turned the words over and over in her mind all afternoon, but they still didn’t come any easier. There was no soft way to put it. She just had to tell him.
‘I told my father we had set a date, I explained. He thanked me for letting him know.’
But he hadn’t congratulated her, or celebrated with her, or anything really. He’d just listened politely, thanked her and then, to her surprise, he’d asked her if she was doing it to save Rainbow House. She couldn’t tell Louis that she’d harboured some secret fantasy he might tell her that wasn’t something she needed to do. At least, not for him. Maybe tell her he did love her, and that she should only marry Louis if she wanted to.
No, she couldn’t tell Louis. She could barely admit that to herself. Alex shook her head as if to dislodge the fanciful idea.
‘He did tell me something about your mother.’
‘My mother?’
The sense of foreboding swelled up inside her even though she tried to quell it. He waited in silence for her to continue.
‘He asked why you had never taken up your role as chairman of the Lefebvre Group before now. I told you Jack was at Rainbow House around the time your mother used to visit regularly?’
‘Yes, yes.’ He shrugged irritably, but she got the sense there was more going on beneath the surface. If only he would let her in.
