Page 36 of Bride of Betrayal
Angelica’s eyes shimmered. ‘They’re here, in Madrid, that’s why I jumped at the opportunity to come here for work. They’re in a suburb just outside the city. Now that Aldo is dead, they’re finally safe.’
Anger surged inside Leo. ‘They should have always been safe.’
‘That wasn’t your fault. Aldo was toxic, more toxic than you ever could have imagined. There’s no point looking back.’
Leo felt cold inside. ‘We were both in a prison of Aldo’s making. I’m so sorry.’
He thought back to the day of the funeral, all but dragging her to a church to force her to marry him. He shook his head, ‘How could you let me treat you the way I did?’
She shrugged a little. ‘I didn’t know who you were any more, who you’d become. The Leo I knew would never have threatened another person but you’d been in prison. I had no idea how that might have affected you. I knew you must believe I’d betrayed you. And after Aldo using my family to blackmail me, I was hardly going to trust someone who clearly hated me.’
He shook his head. ‘I never hated you, Angel… I was angry, betrayed…but what I feel for you is not hate.’
It certainly isn’t love, either.Not that she wanted love, she told herself hastily. Been there, got the heartbreak T-shirt. What they had now was the remnants of the chemistry that had first brought them together. And maybe now that was gone too…not for her, she could still feel every part of her humming just to be near Leo, but maybe this would have pushed him too far.
Even so, Angelica felt as if a weight had been lifted from her entire body. This was the first time she’d ever willingly told anyone about her family.
There was something very fragile between them now. As if scaffolding had been ripped away, leaving them exposed, with nothing to hide behind. She felt vulnerable. Now he knew…and she had to be sure.
‘You won’t use this information to…threaten them or hurt them, will you?’
Leo looked at her and numerous expressions crossed his face, disbelief, horror, disgust and then anger. He stood up. ‘No, how could you think such a thing?’
‘Because I’ve lived with that fear for the last three years.’
Leo paced back and forth. He stopped and looked at her and his face was stark. He said in a slightly more modulated tone, ‘Of course I wouldn’t do anything to harm them, or use them against you.’
Angelica sucked in a breath. ‘Thank you.’
Leo said, ‘If Aldo had touched you…’
Angelica stood up. ‘But he didn’t. He couldn’t. He was a coward.’ But she understood what Leo meant. If Aldo had really wanted to violate her, she wouldn’t have been able to stop him.
‘That’s where you were going to the day of the funeral? To see your mother and brother?’
Angelica nodded. ‘Yes, I was coming here.’
Leo looked at his watch. ‘You’re here now, you shouldn’t have to wait any longer.’
Angelica’s heart beat fast, her eyes widened. ‘You mean it? Now?’
Leo nodded. ‘I’ll get my driver ready.’
Angelica put a hand to her mouth, afraid the emotion would tumble out, and then she acted on impulse, crossing the space to Leo and throwing her arms around his neck. For a moment he did nothing, as if stunned, and then his arms came around her and they were welded together, torso to torso, hip to hip. ‘Thank you,’ Angelica said brokenly and pressed a kiss to his neck. His scent flooded her nostrils and by the time she pulled away she was shaking.
‘I’ll just…freshen up and let them know.’
She left the room before she threw herself back into Leo’s arms and got ready in a daze, not even sure if she wasn’t dreaming. She was afraid to pinch herself and wake up.
She pulled on some fresh clothes, trousers and a shirt, and got a soft leather jacket out of the wardrobe. She pulled on flat boots. She did her best with some make-up to try and look less…emotionally wrung out.
When she went back into the main part of the suite, Leo was on the phone. He terminated his conversation, eyes raking over her. He said, ‘My driver is waiting downstairs. He’ll take you wherever you need to go.’
Angelica felt as if she were on a precipice. What happened now? After this? Where did this leave them?
He said, ‘Maybe we can talk after you’ve spent some time with them.’
Angelica nodded. ‘Of course.’ She went to make her way to the door but Leo didn’t move. She looked back. ‘Aren’t you coming?’ It hadn’t even occurred to her that he might not be with her and she didn’t want to analyse the significance of that now.
