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She shook her head. She felt light-headed—almost dizzy. How could he stand there with that contemptuous look on his face as if he was the one who’d been tricked?
‘You’re unbelievable! You deceived me. And you kept on deceiving me.’ Her voice sounded jagged. ‘Not just about some tiny, stupid detail but about who you were. Don’t you see how that makes me feel?’ She stopped abruptly, like a train hitting the buffers.
Laszlo’s face was cold and stone-like. ‘I imagine it feels no worse than realising my background had some bearing on your feelings for me.’
The contempt in his eyes seemed to blister her skin.
‘Besides, my grandfather’s wealth is not pillow talk: I don’t discuss the state of his finances with every woman I sleep with.’ He gave a short laugh.
Prudence felt the room lurch as the implication of his words sank in. She clenched her hands together to stop them shaking.
‘I wasn’t “every woman”. I was your wife. Or have you forgotten?’
He shook his head slowly. ‘I try to forget every day, pireni. One day I may finally do so. But, either way, I will never forgive you. And you’re still fired.’
There was a frozen silence. Prudence could taste rust in her mouth—the corrosive tang of failure. Her body felt limp, spent, her mind reduced. She had no words left inside—or none that had the power to reach him anyway. It was over. And
now that it was, all she wanted to do was get away from him as quickly as possible, with all that remained of her dignity.
‘Fine. Then perhaps you could call me a taxi for the airport? I should like to leave as soon as possible.’ Her head suddenly felt impossibly heavy, and she pressed her hand against her temple.
Laszlo watched her. Even though anger still festered inside him, he found himself reluctantly admiring her courage in defeat.
‘If that’s what you’d prefer,’ he said.
His voice was that of a stranger: polite, solicitous, but remote. It pricked her like a needle and she felt a cold, creeping numbness begin to seep through her body at this poignant reminder of the irrevocable shift in their relationship.
‘Our car is at your disposal, of course.’
Prudence shook her head. ‘Thank you, but no thank you,’ she said stiffly. ‘I’d be happier making my own way.’ She hesitated and then, lifting her chin, said flatly, ‘I don’t know what you’re going to say to your grandfather, but please would you pass on my apologies for what’s happened? I really am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused him. And I’m also sorry not to be meeting him. He sounds like a remarkable man.’
Pausing, she stared fixedly at a point above his head.
‘And there’s something else—’ Noticing the irritation on his face, she shook her head. ‘It won’t take long.’
He nodded but suddenly she found she couldn’t speak. She knew what she needed to say—she just wasn’t certain of how to say it. She just knew that as long as she remained ‘married’ to him her life would never be her own.
Gritting her teeth, she drew a quick breath—for what more had she to lose?
‘If I’d known you were here I never would have come. But...’ She paused and took another breath. ‘But I’m glad now that I did. Seeing you again has made me realise that I need to draw a line under what happened between us.’
Her face felt suddenly hot and dry and her unshed tears felt like a burden of lead. But she would not cry. Not until she was on that plane home.
Watching his eyes narrow, she smiled stiffly. ‘Don’t worry. I’m not going to go over it all again. Let’s just agree that we were both too young and we made mistakes.’ She hesitated. ‘But we’re older now, and wiser, and so we can put them right.’
‘Put them right?’ echoed Laszlo. His words were expressionless but there was a glimmer of emotion in the hammered gold of his eyes.
‘Yes,’ Prudence said flatly. She swallowed. ‘I mean obviously neither of us wants to meet again. So I think we should take this opportunity to sort our relationship out once and for all.’
The air felt suddenly tight around her. Gasping, she lifted her chin and found herself on the receiving end of a bone-chilling stare.
‘I see. So what exactly are you suggesting?’ Laszlo said softly.
Prudence tensed. Whatever inner strength she had, it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough to dig a hole big enough to bury the past and the pain. And she was done with digging. She needed closure. Something formal. Something that would let her get on with her life. And now maybe she’d found it.
‘Our marriage is over. We both accept that. All I’m suggesting is that we make it official. I think we should get a divorce, however we do that.’
Her voice trailed off and there was a small, tight pause. Her cheeks felt hot.
