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A muscle throbbed in his jaw. He stared at her, the stark truth of her words so simple, so right.
‘Can’t you see how right this is? We could have everything we both want in life. I’m not going to distract you from your responsibilities. I want to help you with them. I want to be your partner in every way.’
‘No.’ A harsh denial, when his heart was bursting through him, begging him to agree to what she was proposing. But his attitudes were forged from the coal fire of pain and were immovable.
‘No? Is that all you’ve got?’
He glared at her. Damn her fire and spirit. Couldn’t she see this wasn’t going to work?
‘I’m sorry, Daisy. I’m...flattered that you care for me.’ She made a scoffing noise. ‘But our marriage will work better if we treat it as a business arrangement.’
He began to move to the door but she stalled him with a fierce cry. ‘You stop right there.’
He turned to face her, his expression like thunder, matching the strength of his feelings.
‘I will not spend the rest of my life in a marriage like you’ve just described. I should never have agreed to this.’
‘But you did, and you’re here, and soon our baby will be born.’
‘I don’t care. If you’re telling me our marriage is going to be so cold, then to hell with it. I want a divorce.’
He stared at her, panic strangling him for a moment, making it difficult to frame a response. ‘That’s not possible.’
‘Oh, don’t be so ridiculous. Of course it is. It’s not what you want, but it’s absolutely possible. You’ll still have your heir. I’ll even raise our child here in the RKH so you can be a part of his or her life. But no way am I going to tie myself to you for the rest of my life knowing you’ll never accept that you have feelings for me.’
The ultimatum was like an electrical shock, galvanising him. He stared at her for several moments and then nodded. ‘I need to think about that.’
This time, when he left, she didn’t try to stop him.
Daisy stared at the closed door with an ache in the region of her heart. She’d done it. She’d laid all her cards on the table and he’d refused to admit he cared for her. She’d been wrong, then. It w
asn’t love. Not from him, anyway.
And now? He was thinking about granting her a divorce.
God, where had her request come from? Fear? Anger? Had she hoped it would snap him out of his state of denial? That it might wake him up and force him to be brave?
She was trembling all over, the fight knocked out of her by the shock she might get exactly what she’d asked for. Another divorce. Another failed marriage. But this one, so much worse than the first. The idea of not having Sariq in her life in any capacity filled her with a hard lump of pain.
But wasn’t it better this way? A lifetime was a long time, and she couldn’t see that this would get any easier.
The next day she played the piano Sariq had had brought to the palace the day after she’d arrived. She played Erik Satie because there was a pervasive sadness moving through her and Satie suited that. She played for almost two hours, and didn’t hear the door pushing inwards. Nor was she aware of Sariq standing in the door frame, watching her, his eyes running over her as if committing her to memory.
When she finished playing though, he shifted and she turned, her blood pounding through her veins at the sight of him. He wore trousers and a business shirt. She wasn’t prepared for that.
‘Well?’ It was like waiting for the executioner’s axe to fall.
He moved towards her, coming to stand by the piano. ‘I refuse to keep you here against your will.’ His face was grim. ‘I was wrong to pressure you into this marriage. I acted on instincts. I panicked. If you were serious about wanting a divorce, I’ll grant it.’
Oh, crap. It wasn’t what she wanted. But what she needed, he wouldn’t give her, so that meant divorce was her only option. ‘Fine.’ She couldn’t meet his eyes. She wanted this over. Like ripping off a plaster.
‘You will need to stay in Haleth, as you offered. Once our child is born, we can come to a custody arrangement.’
Was she imagining the emotion in his voice? She didn’t know any more. Perhaps her own feelings were so strong, so urgent, that they simply coloured her perception.
She nodded, still not looking at him.
‘I apologise to you, from the bottom of my heart.’
