Page 45 of Forgotten Greek Proposal
Of all the things he’d never wanted Lucie to relive, this had been at the top of his list.
To relive it meant she would have to relive her pain and distress.
But he couldn’t hide it from her or try and sweeten it. The truth he owed her was the full truth.
If he’d been a better man, he’d have said to hell with consequences and told her the full truth a week ago.
But a week ago he hadn’t known he loved her. Hadn’t known Lucie’s happiness and peace of mind would come to mean more to him than anything.
‘Did you sleep with her?’
He didn’t drop his stare. ‘No, but she led you to believe that I did.’
Whatever little colour that had returned to her cheeks vanished.
‘When we first discussed marriage between the two families, it was agreed, at my suggestion, that I would marry Athena—she was Georgios’s only blood daughter so it made sense to me. But just as I wouldn’t entertain Alexis marrying Lydia, Georgios refused to let Athena marry me. Marrying you was at his suggestion. The fact the world has always regarded you as his daughter meant our marriage would have the same effect. At some point Athena learned she’d been first choice.’ Now he did close his eyes. ‘She came to me.’
‘Came to you?’ she croaked. ‘What does that mean?’
‘She came to my offices.’ He forced himself to look back at her. ‘After everything about the marriage was agreed and you moved to Greece, you spent a lot of time with her. She knew you and I hated each other and seemed to think my suggestion of marriage to her meant that I must want her. She tried to seduce me.’
A pulse was throbbing in the base of her throat. ‘Tried?’
‘Yes. Tried. She kissed my neck, I pushed her away and told her to leave. She left. The first I knew that she’d gone straight to the apartment to see you was when I got home. You were waiting for me. You checked the collar of my shirt, saw the lipstick mark she’d left on it and that was it. You hit the roof. You refused to let me explain myself. You stole my car keys out of my hand and told me the wedding was off.’
‘I didn’t believe you?’
‘You wouldn’t let me speak to explain. You were in a terrible state.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I thought then that it was anger but it was distress. I think Athena hurt you very much. The things she said to you. She told you about Georgios insisting that you be the one to make the sacrifice of marriage for the sake of the family. Told you why.’
Her pretty eyebrows had drawn together. ‘Why would Athena do that to me? Our relationship has always been fractious but I never thought she hated me.’
‘She is poisonous.’
‘She’s been a sister to me since I was three years old.’
‘Sisters because your mother stole her father from her mother.’
Her eyes squeezed shut.
‘In Athena’s eyes, it is the truth,’ he said.
‘But I was achild.’
‘Her mother is poison. The whole Tsaliki family and anyone who marries into them is poison or becomes contaminated by it. They are all selfish and out for themselves—it is why our fathers fell out and separated the business into two. My father learned Georgios was taking bribes. Athena saw a chance to hurt you and she took it. To her, it was a bit of mindless entertainment to ease the boredom of her life. She had no care for your feelings because she is incapable of caring for anyone but herself.’
‘Then you should have taken what she was offering because you have no care for my feelings either,’ she whispered.
‘Your feelings matter more to me than anything.’
Her gaze levelled back on him. ‘Oh, I think I’m as expendable to you as I so clearly am to everyone else.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘Why not? We’re speaking truths, aren’t we? You let me believe you were holding back from me because you didn’t want to take advantage of my missing memories…’ Lucie closed her eyes, fighting with everything she had to hold on to her composure.
She’d instigated their lovemaking.Shehad. Not Thanasis. Right until the very end, he’d fought away from it.
Oh, God, she couldn’t bear to remember how beautiful it had been. How beautiful he had made her feel. Howlovedhe’d made her feel.
