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Before his security chief could answer Giorgos’s mobile rang. He froze, his gaze locked on that of his soldier. They both knew very few people had his personal number. He forced out a breath as he snatched the phone from his pocket and swiped the screen.
‘Giorgos, it’s me.’
His sister scrambled to speak before he had the chance to.
‘Eleni. Where are you?’ He was so relieved to hear from her he barked his words like bullets. ‘Come back to the palace now. Do you have any idea of the trouble you’ve caused?’
But she didn’t answer immediately—and her pause put Giorgos back on high alert.
‘I’m not coming back yet, Giorgos. I need time to think.’
‘Think? About what?’ Giorgos didn’t think at all before berating her. ‘Your fiancé is already here. Or had you forgotten that you’re about to go on tour with him?’
The image of her calmly walking away with that other man replayed in his mind—walking away from her duty, from her country. How could she? He’d never have believed her capable. She’d always embraced her role and been accepting of her future. Everything was perfectly prepared and the plans had been in place for over two years. This was an excellent match for her—she well knew that, as royals, their lives could never entirely be their own.
‘I can’t do it, Giorgos.’
‘Can’t do what?’ His impatience almost got the better of him.
There was another moment. Giorgos listened closely to the unnatural silence, sensing a new level of danger.
‘I’m pregnant,’ she said softly.
He closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t bear to think.
Pregnant.
With one word he was transported back to another time—to another woman. The split-second recollection of the devastation that had ensued slammed into him as if it had been yesterday.
‘Prince Xander isn’t the father,’ she added.
It was his worst nightmare—he’d longed to protect her from exactly this kind of mistake.
‘Who?’ he finally whispered. ‘Who?’ That ferocious anger was unleashed.
‘It doesn’t matter—’
‘I’ll kill him. I’ll bloody—Tell me his name.’
‘No.’
His rage ran unrestrained and he shouted into the phone. ‘Tell me his name, Eleni. I’ll have him—’
‘Call off the hounds, Giorgos. Or I swear I’ll never return. I will disappear.’
His jaw dropped and he was stunned into silence by her interruption. Eleni never interrupted him. Never swore or answered back. And she sure as hell never made threats. What had happened to his sister?
Again a reprise echoed in his head—of his own headstrong argument with his father, his own defiance that had led to such destruction. Recklessness and impulsive action like this led to chaos and calamity. The last thing he wanted was for her to suffer a lifetime of guilt and regret. He knew too well how heavy that burden was.
‘It doesn’t matter who it was,’ she followed up firmly. ‘He didn’t seduce me. I was a fully willing participant. I made the mistake, Giorgos. And I need to fix it. Tell Prince Xander I’m sick. Tell him I ran away. Tell him anything you like. But I’m not marrying him. I’m not coming back. Not yet. Not till I’ve sorted it out.’
Shock at her rebellion almost made him stagger. ‘Are you with him now?’
‘I’m not marrying him either,’ Eleni said.
Giorgos muttered a series of swearwords through gritted teeth. She was so damn naive.
‘This child is mine. Pure N
