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‘If you think for one second,’ she whispered, ‘that I believe a word of this, you are sorely mistaken. And youwillregret it.’
CHAPTER TWO
EMILYLEFTTHEHOSPITAL, saying that she needed time to prepare for Javier’s return. She had meant with regard to their house in Frigiliana, but in reality she needed that time for herself. Because if things went the way she thought they would, then these would be her last days as Mrs Javier Casas.
Emily pushed against the iron gate that opened into a small courtyard at the front of the house. The slash of fuchsia bougainvillea was stunning against the brilliant white of the wall, but the build-up of leaves and bits of rubbish blown in by the wind hinted at a neglect Emily felt in her soul.
She hadlovedthis house. With an enthusiasm and fervour that had been all-consuming, she had spent hours filling it with her early forays into decorating, unable to quite believe that this was theirs. It was a far cry from the small two-up, two-down in Morden she had moved to when her mother had married Steven. Her stepfather liked things practical, and practical usually involved beige in one form or another. But this, she thought as she shook out the front door key, this had been herhome.
For less than a nanosecond she paused, key half turned, wondering what she would find on the other side of the door. Would there be a woman’s shirt in the bedroom? Lipstick, toothbrush...? But that didn’t ring true. No matter what had passed or not passed between them, Javier had a moral line that would not be crossed. No. He would have remained faithful, but from fidelity to his vows rather than her.
She pushed against the door and was hit by a wave of nostalgia so strong and so powerful it rocked her where she stood. Even the smell was the same. Thoughtlessly she put her keys on the small side table to the right of the door as if she’d last done it only yesterday and walked towards the dining room table they’d spent two argumentative hours and five thousand euros on. The price was still inconceivable to her but she couldn’t deny how stunning it was. Carved from a single piece of oak, it was the colour of honey and warm to the touch, no matter what time of year. Even now she couldn’t resist reaching out to run her hand along it. They had feasted in this room, laughed until they had cried, they’d even made love on this table, so caught up in their desire for each other that plates had smashed against the floor. She’d bet that if she looked down she would still see the stain from the red wine they’d spilt that night. Instead, she looked into her memories and saw herself sitting here night after night alone, as she’d waited for her husband to come home, one lonely dinner after another.
The stairs in the left corner led up to the master and spare bedrooms, but she chose to follow the hallway on the right that led through to a stunning living area with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view that literally stole her breath. Although the house was a stone’s throw from the heart of Frigiliana, it was situated at the top of the road that led away from the cobbled streets and lively restaurants and down to the bottom of a large gorge. Clinging to the edge of town, their home looked out onto the deep green foliage of the other side of the gorge and, if lucky, you could spot the occasional mountain goat.
Emily had spent hours staring out at that view. She had never seen such vibrant greens, set against a blue that no man could recreate. To the right of the room was a small white and green tiled patio that overlooked the lower level and swimming pool. Her mind threw memory after memory at her. She heard her own shocked cry turn to laughter as Javier swept her up fully clothed and jumped into the water with her. Laughter that had turned quickly into moans of delight and pleasure as he had peeled off her clothing piece by piece until there was nothing left between them.
Standing there now, looking down at the pool, Emily wondered if that had been the last time she’d made love to her husband, feeling that there was something so incredibly sad about not knowing. Her heart aching, she turned back to the room. Nothing had changed, she thought, as she looked up at the large rough-hewn white walls. A blank canvas she’d thought she’d paint her future on. A future that had never come to pass.
He hadn’t changed a single thing, but the entire house was clean of dust—as if someone came at least once a week to air it. And it made her unaccountably angry. Angry that her departure had cost him nothing like the years of agony it had caused her. Angry that he had not changed a single thing, while everything in her life had been thrown wildly off-course.
And he’d done it again. His ‘memory loss’ had upended her entire life, disrupting her work schedule, and for what? So that he could have fun at her expense? So that she would return to his bedside and nurse him back to health as if nothing had happened? As punishment?
Well, a lot had happened and while some things had changed—she had built a successful career and found a self-confidence she had desperately needed—some things hadn’t. And one of those things was access to their joint account. And suddenly Emily wanted to see just how much hecouldn’tremember.
Javier fisted his hand as the car took another corner on the winding road leading to Frigiliana, ignoring the concerned glances the driver flicked his way in the rear-view mirror. It didn’t matter that Javier knew every twist and turn on this road by heart—he probably could have driven blindfolded—but the moment he felt his stomach lurch he was back in the car that had been hit so hard and fast by a truck whose driver hadn’t seen the poorly lit sign for the roadworks it had rolled the car mid-air and landed Javier and Esteban upside down.
The moment his sister had enticed his mother away from his hospital room, he’d reached for his phone and called his driver. Thankfully he was okay, aside from feeling guilty and fearful, no doubt thanks to Renata. It had taken almost ten minutes and more energy than Javier had expected to reassure Esteban that he was still employed.
The moment he’d ended the call, thepolicíaarrived. The two uniformed men had been quick to assure him that he was under no suspicion and that they just wanted to know what he remembered from that night. Reluctantly admitting that he had been less than truthful with his family and doctor about his memory, he’d told the officers what he knew, refusing even for a second to put Esteban in a vulnerable position.
The officer had nodded without even a blink. ‘Happens more than you think.’
They’d departed, leaving Javier wondering just how often billionaires faked amnesia.
Javier wasn’t entirely sure why he’d gone along with it. Initially it hadn’t been intentional. He’d seen Emily standing there and his mother had misunderstood. But the fact that Emilywasthere, that shehadcome... It had shocked him into silence. She looked exactly like she had in the picture in that magazine. Older, more assured, with just a little hint of cynicism that hadn’t been there before.Beforeshe’d left him without a thought or second look.
Then the damn monitor had kicked off, happily declaring to the entire room just how much her presence affected his blood pressure. He’d nearly ripped off the electrodes then and there. But even he’d seen that she’d been as affected as he had.
And then had come the fire. Oh, it had been incredible to see. He’d always known it was there—she couldn’t have been capable of the incendiary passion that had kept them in bed for the entire first week of their marriage otherwise. But she’d never let it so close to the surface.
If you think for one second that I believe a word of this...
In the back of the car closing the distance between him and Emily, Javier smiled. It was the powerful woman he’d always known her to be, but hadn’t seen before. From the first moment he’d laid eyes on Emily, he’d fallen hard. It was the strangest thing—justknowingthat this was the woman he’d marry, the woman he’d spend his life with. A knowing that had proved wrong. So utterly and incomprehensibly wrong it had threatened to shake the foundations of his sense of self.
So why had she come? She could have easily had the hospital contact Renata or Gabi instead. Yet she hadn’t. And, judging by the time of her arrival, she must have been on the first flight out. Thinking back to the hospital, his first reaction had been one of shocking relief—and then such an intense state of confusion. Because she had left him, walked away from him without a word or a second glance, the memory of her abandonment making him want to lash out. To punish her. He had been tempted to allow this amnesia thing play out, curious as to how far he could push the wife who had abandoned him, but his conscience had overruled it. He’d known that he’d have to come clean with her the moment she’d left the hospital. He wasn’t so much of a bastard as to completely upend her life to suit his own needs.
But he wouldn’t have been discharged from hospital on his own, and he refused to convalesce at Renata’s house. He rubbed at the scar on his collarbone. He knew exactly what kind of care he’d have received there. His stomach turned—this time not from the bend in the road, but the argument he’d had with her.
‘A son should be with his mother.’
NotLet me look after you, orLet’s get you better.Once again, as it always did, the world turned around Renata. His sister had shot him sympathetic looks, the siblings bonded by an understanding of their mother that no one else would ever share. He hated the idea of Gabi being subjected to Renata’s tantrums, but when he’d asked her to come and live with him years earlier Gabi had rejected his offer, insisting that Renata needed her. Javier drew a deep breath. His mother’s manipulations were extensive, but if she followed her usual pattern she’d be silent for at least a good few days. And then she’d be in touch as if nothing had happened, asking him for money.
Which gave him the time he needed to finally deal with Emily once and for all.
‘We all know that’s just a ruse.’Annalise’s accusation from before the accident ran through his mind.
Jaw clenched, hand fisted, Javier had ignored the past for too long and it couldn’t be avoided any longer.
