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"Yeah. You would." Her head slowly lifted, and there was fear in her eyes as she gazed up at him. "I couldn't help it. I just got so...angry." Her lip started trembling anew. "I picked the lock to your study."
Ah.
He had a dossier on Pippi on his desk, and Amelia would've been too curious not to leaf through it.
"I suppose that's how you learned about Pippi."
Amelia could feel herself turning pale. Acheron didn't do nicknames. He had never called her 'Amy', not even when they were alone. And yet he called the other girlPippi.
Desperation filled her. She had always known that the day would come that she would lose him, but now that it finally happened, it was so much worse than she feared. Socialites and heiresses were no threat to her. They would always be too shallow for Acheron. But a do-gooder like Pippilotta Jones?
"That girl..." It was a challenge to speak in a level voice when she was so tempted to cry. "She was the one who helped me that day. Wasn't she?"
A clipped nod, but if Acheron thought that wasn't going to reveal anything, he was sadly mistaken. She knew him well, after all, and that one nod said everything. He might not have realized it yet, but that girl already owned his heart.
"You care for her."
"Amelia—-"
"Don't bother lying." Her voice shook. "I know, just by looking at you." Her lips curved in a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and the sight damn near broke his heart.
You made this happen,he wanted to snarl.You kept pushing me away. You did everything to drive me away. So stop fucking looking at me like I betrayed you.
"It doesn't have to change anything," he said curtly. "She knows you're here, and she's okay with it."
"I'm glad." But it was a lie. Even knowing that she owed him so much that the least she could do was be happy for him, she just couldn't do it. After everything they had gone through, they were supposed to be together. They weredestinedto be with each other. Why couldn't he see that? Why?
Acheron started talking to her about doctors and rehabilitation programs, and Amelia pretended to listen even as more and more insidious thoughts filled her mind. There was no question about Ms. Jones being a nice girl, but that was exactly the reason why she would never be a good fit for Acheron.
Acheron stayed with her for the rest of the day, leaving only when they had finished having dinner in her room and she had already showered and tucked herself into bed. Just as he was about to reach for the door, she made her move, whispering his name in a frail voice.
She saw concern flicker in his gaze as he turned to her, and her heart swelled with hope.I knew it.That girl had only temporarily turned his head, but in the end, no woman could ever come between them.
"Pippi...she's a nice girl, isn't she?"
Acheron slowly nodded.
"You were a nice boy once, too." She turned to her side as she pulled the covers up to her chin. "And look what I turned you into." Amelia let her eyes slowly drift close, and her voice deliberately took on a sleepy tone as she mumbled, "Don't make the same mistakes I did."
He didn't answer, but the sound of his sharply drawn breath was all she needed.
Her words had taken root, and if everything fell into place, he would realize the truth.
Men like him would only ruin nice girls like Pippi.
****
BACK IN ISLA DE FLORES, the grandfather clock in the living room chimed out a heavy, melancholic tune. It was one of the few Jones heirlooms the family had left, and growing up, Pippi had always been just a little fearful of it. At ten foot tall and made of heavy oak, the clock had seemed like an ominously omniscient figure, one that seemed to portend bad tidings every time its hand struck twelve.
But that was then, and this was now. She was no longer a child but a grown-up woman of twenty-three years. She should know better already, and yet a part of her wanted to cry the moment she heard the clock's haunting melody play in the air.
One o'clock,Pippi thought.
And he still wasn't home.
