The Millionaire's Marriage Revenge

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Casually glancing around the sea of faces below them, her heart leapt when her eyes found Lucas once more. So he hadn’t gone! As if he knew exactly what she had been thinking, he raised his glass in silent salute and her thoughts scattered to the four winds as she realised nothing was over yet.

Unfortunately she lost sight of him again when she and the winners descended to the floor and were surrounded by admiring friends and family. It took time extricating herself from everyone who wanted to speak to her, but as soon as she was alone Sofie searched the room again, with the same negative result as earlier. Tired of playing games that had her emotions see-sawing wildly, and knowing she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to make small talk with anyone right then, she sought for a means of escape and found it beyond the door to the terrace.

Outside in the warm summer night air, she made her way to the parapet and leaned on it, looking out over the city. The light was fading and all around the city began to twinkle. She had never regretted moving north, only the circumstances that had made it necessary. She had done a good job of vanishing off the map and couldn’t have chosen a better place to make a fresh start, even though she had been terrified that Lucas would find her.

When time passed and he hadn’t discovered her hiding place, she had started to think she was safe, and look what had happened—Lucas had come back into her life. The very thing she had been afraid of for so long, because, however much her heart wanted to see him, her brain knew it wasn’t safe to do so. Now, more than ever. It had gone beyond the reason for her leaving. There were things he didn’t know and, though he had a right to know them, she feared what he would do if he found out.

Life, she had learned years ago, could be cruel, causing people to make choices they shouldn’t have to make. It had broken her heart then and she had barely survived. She didn’t think she would be so lucky if fate played its hand a second time.

Just then a soft breeze blew her shoulder-length brown hair across her face and at the same time a tingle of awareness ran down her spine. She spun round, her breath hitching in her throat as she saw the source of her turmoil stroll out of the nearby shadows.

Up close he was still the handsomest man she had ever seen. A shaft of light from the windows highlighted the almost blue-black of his hair and the intense blue of his eyes. She could remember those eyes smiling at her with such love in them it had taken her breath away. Now, though, it was hard to read what he was thinking. He had closed himself off from her.

Lucas stopped a few feet away, a faintly mocking smile hovering around the corners of his mouth, whilst his eyes ranged over her. Once upon a time such a glance would have sent delicious tingles along her nerve-endings as they passed, but there was no warmth in his eyes surveying of her now. It left her feeling bereft, a faint hope dying before she was even aware of its existence. She was inordinately glad when he finally held her gaze.

‘What took you so long?’ he said huskily, the rich tone of his voice delighting her senses as it always had. However, the question made her jump.

‘L-long? I…er…’ she had to cough to clear a dry throat. ‘I don’t understand,’ she returned in genuine confusion, her emotions making it hard for her brain to work. Facing the man she loved six years after walking out on him was not a situation she had ever planned for. Quite the opposite.

Lucas shook his head disappointedly. ‘Of course you do. You’ve been watching me all evening, and I’ve enjoyed watching you watch me. That’s why I knew when you couldn’t see me you’d come in search of me.’

Sofie caught her breath, her pulse racing anxiously with her inner turmoil. ‘That wasn’t the reason. It was hot and I needed…That is…’ Realising she was almost babbling, she closed her eyes and drew in some steadying air. ‘I thought you were gone.’

‘Hoped, you mean,’ Lucas returned silkily, and she licked her lips nervously to moisten them.

‘Yes…no…w-whatever!’ she responded jerkily, then made an effort to get a grip. ‘Why would I want to see you? We have nothing to say to each other,’ she told him more firmly, because denial was all the defence she had. She needed him to walk away from her, for should he find out about her sin, he would never forgive her. In his place, neither would she.

‘On the contrary, I think you and I have one hell of a lot to say to one another, Mrs Antonetti!’ he shot back, and there was no doubting the underlying edge of anger in the coldness of his tone.

Sofie flinched, knowing he had a right to be angry. More than he knew. ‘Lucas…’ she responded helplessly, and something wild flashed in his eyes.

‘Ah, Lucas! Do you know that the sound of my name on your lips once used to send me up in flames?’ he challenged sarcastically and, because she did remember, it drove a knife into her heart.

‘Please…’ she breathed achingly, knowing she had enraged him by leaving the way she had. She should have stayed and confronted him with the proof of his treachery, but it hardly mattered now. That he had betrayed her was irrelevant, and her fears that he would have lied his way out of it and somehow convinced her to stay. She was playing for higher stakes, and the cost of losing didn’t bear thinking about.

Lucas stepped closer, eyes glittering. ‘You used to say that, too, when you begged me to make love to you. Do you remember that, Sofie? Do you remember any of it?’

Dear Lord, she remembered everything. Nothing was forgotten. None of the happiness, none of the heartache. However much she might want to throw his words back in his face, she had to be careful. She had too much to lose now.

‘Th-there’s no point in remembering. I put the past behind me.’ It was a lie. Not a day went by when she didn’t remember and long for what was lost.

A sneer curved the lips she had once craved to kiss. ‘How convenient. The trouble is, the past has a habit of rearing up and biting you when you least expect it. As it did with me, when I walked into the hotel yesterday and saw your picture advertising this event.’

Her nerves jolted as she heard that. ‘Then you weren’t…’ She cut the question off, aware of what it would reveal, but Lucas was far too astute to miss it.

‘Weren’t looking for you? No, I’m here on business, so you can imagine my shock. My errant wife, whom I had sought from one end of the country to the other, was hiding in plain sight,’ Lucas explained with a mocking laugh.

Her chin came up. ‘I wasn’t hiding,’ she denied, and it had been true once. She hadn’t started out hiding from Lucas, she just hadn’t wanted to see him again, knowing that her love for him made her weak. However, circumstances had changed, and she had ended up hiding from him for totally different reasons.

One eyebrow lifted in a gesture she remembered so well it tweaked her heartstrings. ‘Then why the change of name, if not because you didn’t want me to find you?’

Sofie’s stomach lurched anxiously. She had never found it easy to lie but, with things the way they were, she had to find some way to make him go away and leave her alone. ‘Because…Because…’ Invention failed her. Oh, God, what could she say? Her mind flailed around seeking inspiration and locked on to the first it could find. ‘I was th-thinking of, um…opening my own studio,’ she told him, her hands gesturing uneasily. ‘At one time,’ she added, hoping he would accept that, but the scoffing look he sent her spoke of her failure.

‘I might have believed it had your name been Smith or Brown, but my name sounds professional to me. So tell me, amore, why didn’t you call yourself Sofie Antonetti? You were entitled to, as my wife.’

‘Stop calling me that!’ she snapped, nerves so ragged she could scream.

Her response brought a sardonic curl to his lips. ‘Why? It’s who you are,’ he told her mockingly. ‘SofieAntonetti, my wife.’

Her lips parted on a faint gasp, whilst shock slammed her again. Surely he couldn’t mean…‘But…I told you not to try and find me, to forget me. I thought…’

Lucas tipped his head on one side. ‘That I would divorce you. Think again, Mrs Antonetti. There was no way on this earth that I was going to walk away from you without an explanation. So, that begs the question, why didn’t you divorce me? Now, what could be the reason for that? Ah, yes, because if you did I would find out where you were, and you didn’t want that, did you?’ he finished curtly.

Sofie swallowed hard. ‘I deserted you. Right was on your side,’ she pointed out huskily.

A dark look entered his eyes. ‘You’re darn right it was. You said you loved me. Couldn’t wait to marry me. Then, a few months after the wedding, you vanish into thin air. Did you honestly think I would put that all down to experience and forget you? Dream on, Sofie.’

She should have known that a man who felt as strongly as Lucas wouldn’t let anything go. He didn’t know she knew about his liaison. All he knew was that she had left him and she couldn’t put him right. Not now. Not ever. ‘I’m sorry. I made a mistake.’

His laugh was hollow. ‘You certainly did. Walking out on me was the wrong thing to do. You owe me, Sofie, and, now that I’ve found you, I fully intend to collect.’

Sofie stared at him, knowing that this was one of the reasons she had hidden herself away. She had always known he was a passionate man and that his anger would be just as tempestuous as the love he’d claimed to feel for her. Maybe he had loved her, but it hadn’t stopped him having an affair. Yet, however much he wanted answers, there were none she could give him, as she dared not let him guess her secret for fear of what he might do.

So she had to hold back her emotions and be as firm in her resolve as she had been when she’d left him. ‘There’s nothing to collect. If I hurt you, I’m sorry, but what I did was for the best. I’ll say it again. Forget you ever met me, Lucas. We were never meant to be together. Have your meeting and go home. Please.’

Lucas laughed at her. ‘Just because you were once able to get me to do anything you asked, don’t imagine you still can. I shall stay here until all my business is settled.’

It wasn’t what she wanted to hear and it set her nerves twitching again. ‘Fine. Stay, but don’t bother me. You’re not wanted, Lucas,’ she told him bluntly, thinking there was nothing else she could do.

Blue eyes narrowed on her. ‘Why? Because you’ve replaced me? Was that him, the man I saw you with? What did you do with him? Send him off on an errand and then abandon him?’

It was close enough to the truth to be uncomfortable, because she hadn’t given him a thought since coming out here. ‘David’s used to me. He won’t mind.’ At least she hoped he wouldn’t.

One eyebrow quirked. ‘Poor man, to be dismissed so casually. Perhaps I ought to tell him he’s dating a married woman.’

Not wanting him to speak to anyone about her, Sofie had to set the record straight. ‘You don’t have to worry about David, he’s my boss,’ she corrected hastily.

‘That had better be true, amore. I wouldn’t want you to end this first meeting on a lie,’ he advised her softly, staring down into her widened eyes.

‘First and last meeting,’ she corrected firmly, standing her ground, though her legs were beginning to wobble badly.

‘This isn’t over. You will be seeing me again. Now, much as I would prefer to stay and continue this fascinating conversation with you, I have a telephone conference to take,’ he informed her, stepping back as he did so.

Sofie straightened up, her heart suddenly racing again. ‘Please stay away from me, Lucas!’ she called after him as he moved off.

‘Can’t be done, I’m afraid. Not now I’ve finally found you again,’ he refused coldly, and was gone before she could utter another word.

The strength went out of her legs the instant he passed from view and Sofie sank back against the wall with a shaky sigh. This couldn’t be happening! After all she had been through, how could life turn on her this way? Because the fates had decided to give Lucas a throw of the dice. The scales had to be balanced. Only the fates didn’t know that there was more at stake than her having to explain her actions six years ago. Now she had even more to lose, and the possibility was absolutely terrifying.

‘You’re getting to be harder to keep track of than my three-year-old niece!’ David declared from directly in front of her, making her jump because she hadn’t noticed his approach.

Guilt washed over her for having abandoned him twice tonight, and she pulled herself together in a hurry. ‘I’m sorry, David. I popped outside for some air.’

‘So I saw,’ he said dryly, bringing faint colour to her cheeks. ‘That was the man in the suit I saw earlier. Who is he?’

Sofie knew that if she denied all knowledge she would only look foolish later if the lie was discovered, so she told the truth—so far as it went. ‘His name is Lucas Antonetti. He’s here on business,’ she revealed, knowing David could find that much out by asking at the desk.

He frowned. ‘Antonetti? Now, why does that name ring a bell, I wonder?’

Sofie’s stomach gave an unwelcome jolt, as she hadn’t considered David would have heard of Lucas. ‘Perhaps he’s been in the papers,’ she proffered, hoping to end further speculation.

‘Probably,’ David agreed easily. ‘Anyway, when are you going to see him again?’

She couldn’t help tensing at the simple question. ‘I’m not,’ she denied instantly, much to David’s surprise. ‘What made you ask such a silly question?’ she added, with a nervous laugh that fooled neither of them.

‘Because I saw him watching you whilst you were on the stage, and if ever a man was interested in a woman, he was.’

Sofie had to stifle the urge to laugh wildly. ‘You’re mistaken.’

Deaf to the less than subtle hint, David shook his head. ‘I think not. He couldn’t take his eyes off you!’

That was about as much as Sofie could take, and she straightened, glad to feel her legs were now supporting her. ‘We were simply talking. I have absolutely no intention of meeting him again!’ she insisted sharply and David blinked in surprise.

‘Sorry. I just thought…Well, never mind. I’ll shut up now,’ he apologised, the words tumbling all over themselves, leaving Sofie feeling wretched.

‘I’m sorry for jumping down your throat like that,’ she apologised, too, feeling tiredness wash over her. ‘Would you mind if I went home now, David? I’m exhausted.’

‘Of course, Sofie. You poor thing, you look totally drained,’ he declared in some concern. ‘You made everything look so easy, I didn’t realise how tired you must be. You did a grand job tonight and I’m proud of you,’ he added as he took her arm through his to escort her out.

At that time of night it wasn’t a long journey from the hotel to her cottage. David saw her to the door, then left with a friendly wave. Letting herself in, Sofie closed the door gently behind her. She paused momentarily, looking up the stairs, then walked into the sitting room where a young woman glanced up from the book she was reading and smiled.

‘Hi, Annie, is everything OK?’ Sofie enquired, watching the woman gather up her things, getting ready to leave.

‘Not a peep all evening,’ Annie reported, taking the money Sofie offered her. ‘Just give us a bell when you need us again.’

‘I will. Thank you, Annie,’ Sofie promised, seeing the girl out and watching whilst she walked to the next cottage and opened the front door. Then Sofie climbed the stairs and went to a door which stood slightly ajar.

Pushing it open carefully, she slipped inside and walked over to the bed, looking down at the small figure sleeping there. Her heart tightened painfully, because her dark-haired little angel was the spitting image of his father—Lucas. This was the secret she so feared would be discovered. If Lucas was bent on revenge for the way she had walked out on him, what would he do if he ever discovered she had withheld the knowledge that he had a son?

Now her heart quailed, for the possibilities were terrifying, and her hand was trembling as she ran it gently over Tom’s hair. He sighed heavily and she waited until she was sure he was still asleep before kissing his forehead and silently leaving the room again. Outside she steadied herself with a hand on the wall. What was she going to do? Lucas had betrayed her, so why should she be the one to suffer more? He was the one in the wrong, and she had been justified in leaving him. Why should there be more?

The answer was painfully obvious. Because two wrongs didn’t make a right. Because everything had to be paid for sooner or later and, for her sin of omission, that time was now.

CHAPTER TWO

WITH a soft moan of distress, Sofie crossed to her bedroom, switching on the light but leaving the door ajar so she could hear Tom if he woke in the night. Kicking off her shoes, she walked over to the window, rubbing her palms up and down her arms as if chilled, though she knew that sensation came from within.

Was Lucas standing at his window too, staring out, wondering if she was thinking of him? No, he was too confident for that. He knew she was thinking of him, worrying what he was going to do. Now that he had found her, by accident though it might have been, he wasn’t about to walk away until he had answers. She couldn’t blame him, but oh, how she wished things could have been different.

Their relationship had started out with such passion and excitement, joy and hope for the future. Even now she smiled when she pictured him looking down at her with love in his eyes. Her heart ached with the memory and the knowledge that, by her later actions, she had forfeited the right ever to see such a look again.

Yet would she believe a declaration of love, even if he were inclined to give it? Her heart would, because she still loved him so desperately, but her head knew he had lied to her. He had broken her trust, and that could never be put right. She would never have believed he could do what he had, but she had the proof. She wouldn’t believe him. Could not.

Sofie sighed heavily, the weight of her sense of betrayal hard to bear now that she had seen Lucas again. Her eye was drawn to the jewellery box which sat on her dressing table and she went to it, taking out the top layer and removing what lay hidden there. Tears glistened in her eyes as she stared at the diamond encrusted wedding band she held in her right hand, so that when she looked at the photograph in her left hand it was almost a blur.

Blinking hard, she went back to the window and sat down on the tiny window seat. Biting her lip, she stared at the two figures in the picture. It was the only one she had taken with her when she’d left. It was of herself and Lucas, on their wedding day, and looking so happy it hurt. Of course, that was because she hadn’t known that, for all his charm and passion, he was fickle. Love obviously meant something else to him.

Even knowing of his betrayal, leaving Lucas had been so painful she had cried herself to sleep more nights than she could count. There had seemed to be no end to the tears. She couldn’t help wondering where he was, what he was doing. The longing to hear his voice had urged her to reach for the telephone more than once, but reason had always made her draw back at the last minute. She had fallen under his spell once, with the result that he had broken her heart. She couldn’t risk falling under it again.

More like an automaton than a human being, she had got through each day as best she could. It had been like walking through a dark, endless tunnel, with no light at the end of it. Until she had discovered she was pregnant. That day she had started to live again. Life had purpose once more, now that she had a precious baby to take care of.

Of course, once the initial euphoria had worn off, she had realised she was in an untenable position. The baby wasn’t just hers, and the knowledge tore her in two. She knew it was only right and fair that Lucas should know he had a child but, after what he had done, she could not contact him. Though it left her with a heavy burden of guilt, she was too hurt to change her mind, and she would just have to live with the consequences.

It hadn’t been easy, living her life without the man she loved, but Tom’s arrival had helped her. Loving him had been the easiest thing to do, and concentrating on him had kept her from despairing about how different her life might have been, had Lucas not proven to have feet of clay. Having made the hard decisions, she had done her best to put the past behind her and get on with her life.

Unfortunately, her past had just caught up with her.

Fear rushed through her as she realised how vulnerable she was. What was she going to do about Tom? Having kept him secret from Lucas, how could she reveal his existence now? Lucas would never forgive her, and that would be his right, but what might he do? Her heart knew that he would want his son, and yet she couldn’t lose Tom. After all that had happened, that would be too much to bear!

Tears burnt her eyes and she pressed her hand over trembling lips. In her mind she could hear her grandmother’s gentle voice uttering one of her truisms: be sure your sins will find you out. Oh, God, she knew she had sinned, but what else could she have done? She couldn’t have returned to Lucas, as that would have meant living in a state of constant doubt. Waiting for him to betray her again. Break her heart again. Because he surely would have. He had proved he was capable of it. What love he had felt for her hadn’t stopped him, and her leaving him must have destroyed even that. So she had stayed away, thinking he would forget her and get on with his life.

Only now she was discovering Lucas had other ideas. He hadn’t divorced her, nor forgotten her. He wanted answers. He wanted payment for what she had done to him.

A single tear snaked its way down her cheek. Of course he did. Never mind the double standard. He was a man whose pride had been wounded by his wife leaving him. He wanted revenge. Wanted to confront her. Unfortunately she wasn’t prepared, never could have been, for a confrontation with her husband. Yet one was upon her now, and she had to be strong. However wrong it was, she had to keep Tom a secret still. All she had to get through was one more meeting and then Lucas would be gone and her life could return to normal.

A strangled laugh escaped her. She hardly knew what normal was any more. It was so hard to lie, yet that was all she had to protect herself. When Lucas turned up, as she was certain he would, she must tell him what he wanted to hear. Tell him anything that would make him walk away—this time for ever.

Pain seared through her at the thought, and she leant her head back against the wall, drawing in a ragged breath. The severity of that pain told her a truth she had avoided—that deep in her heart she had always hoped that one day he would come back into her life, tell her he loved her and forgave her, and everything would be all right again. It was the vain hope of a lost and lonely, broken-hearted woman.

Sofie hugged herself as silent tears flowed. Nothing had changed. There was to be no happy ever after for them, because she could never trust him again. His betrayal had destroyed forever the fragile hope she had that there was one man out there she could put her faith in. She might long for a fairy godmother to wave her wand and make everything right, but she knew she lived in the real world. Even if he wanted her back, she would be afraid to trust him, because that would make her vulnerable again. Love without trust was an empty shell.

The following few days were a nightmare roller coaster of highs and lows. One moment confident she could get through meeting Lucas again with her secret intact, the next despairing, for she knew how hard it was going to be. How could she hide a five-year-old boy, who was used to running in and out of the house at will? She had hardly slept the last three nights, anticipating Lucas’s arrival at any moment, but so far he had failed to appear.

She didn’t think for a minute that he had given up the idea of seeing her again and gone home. He was either very busy with what had brought him north in the first place, or intent on making her squirm. Probably both, she thought with an atavistic shiver.

Now it was Monday and she had dropped Tom off at school on her way in to work. He had been in a grumpy mood all weekend and she guessed he was picking up on her emotions. She had snapped at him more than once and hated herself for it, because she was the one with problems. Thinking about it now choked her up and she determined to get her act together before she picked him up from Jenny’s later.

Jenny, her next-door-neighbour, had a boy of Tom’s age and was happy to look after Tom until Sofie finished work on school days. It was her daughter Annie who babysat for Sofie whenever necessary. It was an ideal situation all round, giving Annie extra pocket money.

Usually her work distracted Sofie from her outside worries, but not this time. Things were not going well. Lack of sleep was the problem. Right now she was muttering to herself as she worked at enlarging a head and shoulders portrait for a client and the air was turning a delicate blue. She rarely used bad language and, when driven to, used only the mildest of epithets. It was just as well she was momentarily alone in the High Street studio. David was doing a photographic session at a client’s home and Jimmie, the apprentice lab assistant, was out getting them some lunch.

Sofie was just in the process of making a fine adjustment when the buzzer sounded. She jumped like a scalded cat, undoing minutes of careful work in one fell swoop, evidence of how shot her nerves were. The buzzer was simply alerting her to the fact that someone had entered the studio and never had such an effect on her. Cocking an ear, she waited to hear Jimmie call out that it was only him, but silence reigned, meaning it must be a customer.