‘I’m miserable and suffering without you,’ Rafe said. ‘I haven’t slept. I haven’t eaten. I miss you so much. I love you. I’ve been hiding from it all this time. I fell in love with you the moment I met you and I’ve been resisting acknowledging it ever since. Can you ever forgive me?’
Isla slowly turned back to face him. ‘You love me? Are you sure you’re not just saying that to get your way?’
He gave a humourless laugh. ‘I guess I deserve that. The first time I’ve ever told a woman I love her and she thinks I don’t mean it. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life proving it to you. I can’t bear the thought of spending another day without you. You’re everything to me. I’m only half a person without you.’
Isla tried to control the tremble of her bottom lip but couldn’t quite manage it. Tears sprang from her eyes and she brushed at them with the back of her hand. ‘Why have you waited until now to tell me? Why didn’t you tell me four days ago?’
‘Has it only been four days?’ He took her by the hands and drew her closer. ‘It felt like four decades. I was a fool back then and an even bigger fool three months ago by not finding you when you left and telling you how I feel.’ He held her gaze with his own shining with tenderness. ‘When we first met you rocked me out of my emotional deep freeze. I fought it, denied it for as long as I could. Loving someone terrified me because it gave them the power to hurt me if they left. I felt that when my father left all those years ago and I made a promise to myself to never experience that pain again. And yet, I ended up losing you—the love of my life.’
Isla wound her arms around his neck and pressed close to his body. ‘You haven’t lost me, darling. I’m right here. I love you too. Like you, I’ve been hiding from it, too frightened to be rejected like all those times when I was a kid.’
He kissed her soundly, his arms wrapped around her as if he never wanted to let her go. After a long moment, he drew back to look down at her. ‘I have something to tell you. That lowlife creep will never harass you again. There are a number of charges against him on other matters that will put him away for a long time. I can’t guarantee the photos won’t surface some other time but this time we will face it together. We will ride it out because we are a team that can’t be disbanded. No scandal or misstep in the past will be big enough to tear us apart.’
Could it be true? She would never have to face the shame of her past alone? Isla suddenly felt stronger than she had ever felt. She knew she could face anything with Rafe by her side. ‘Oh, Rafe, I don’t know how to thank you.’
He cradled her face in his hands, looking deeply into her eyes, his own eyes glistening with moisture. ‘When you left the second time, I didn’t realise the significance of what you said until later. You said, “You’ll be a damn better father without me as your wife,” and it made me realise how much you tried to protect me from your past. That you acted in what you thought were my best interests. I’m sorry I didn’t see that at the time. My father said something similar to me yesterday about why he did what he did and I realised I’ve been a bit blind and stubborn about him too. I allowed my anger to overshadow everything else. Can you ever forgive me for letting you go, not once, but twice?’
‘Of course, I forgive you.’ Isla pressed a series of kisses to his lips. ‘I love you.’
‘I love you too, you probably have no idea how much.’ He gave another wry laugh. ‘I’m only starting to realise it myself. I can’t believe I was so blind to my own feelings. It’s like I was a robot walking through life before I met you. I didn’t feel much for anyone. I didn’t allow myself to get close to people. But a few minutes in your company and all that changed. And it freaked me out so much I denied it.’ Rafe hugged her close to his chest. ‘My stubbornness nearly ruined both our lives. I will do everything I can to make it up to you. You’ll just need to give me the next fifty or so years to do it, okay?’
Isla looked up at him with a smile so wide she thought her face would crack. ‘You’re on.’
* * *
If you enjoyed Cinderella’s Scandalous Secret by Melanie Milburne you’re sure to enjoy these other Secret Heirs of Billionaires stories!
Shock Heir for the King
by Clare Connelly
Demanding His Hidden Heir
by Jackie Ashenden
The Maid’s Spanish Secret
by Dani Collins
Sheikh’s Royal Baby Revelation
by Annie West
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The Greek’s Billion-Dollar Baby
by Clare Connelly
PROLOGUE
BEING EQUAL NUMBER TWO on the international rich list might have made Leonidas Stathakis the envy of the world, but Leonidas knew from personal experience that money was a poor substitute for having what you really wanted in life.
Billions in the bank didn’t take away the empty throb of loss that dogged your steps when you’d had to bury your loved ones.
Being rich didn’t take away the grief, nor the guilt, nor the pain and the sense of impotence at knowing you had put someone in harm’s way—that you had failed to protect them.
This was his fourth New Year’s Eve without his family. The fourth year he’d seen draw to a close with only memories of his wife, Amy, and their two-year-old son, Brax.
It felt like a lifetime.
When he closed his eyes, he saw her as clearly as if she were standing in front of him. He’d never forget the way she smiled, as though she’d struck a match inside and happiness was exploding out of her.
How could someone so full of life and vitality simply cease to exist? For all her strength, she’d been so weak at the end, so fragile. Ploughed into while walking Brax to the playground. What chance did either of their bodies stand against that hunk of metal, commanded by a madman?
Hair that had been a vibrant russet with eyes that were the same shade as the ocean beyond this hotel; he saw her as she’d been in life, and then, as she’d been in death.
He would never forget Amy Stathakis, nor the violent fate that had awaited her, murdered because of his father’s criminal activities.
Dion Stathakis had destroyed their family, and, with Amy and Brax’s death, had destroyed Leonidas’s life.
Anger surged inside him and he curved his fingers more tightly about his Scotch glass, wondering how many of these he’
d had. Not so many as to dull the pain yet, though in his experience it took more than a few quick drinks in a bar to get anywhere near the obliteration he sought. Especially at times like this, when his memories were at their clearest.
Happiness surrounded him. Loud, exuberant noises of celebration. People seemed to love marking the close of a year, celebrating the arrival of a new one, and he could understand that. At one time, he’d felt just the same—he had celebrated life with Amy.
Now, every day was something to be got through. Every year was simply something he survived—without them. His very existence was a betrayal. How many times had he thought he would give his life to return theirs? He was the son of the criminal bastard—he, Leonidas, should have paid for his father’s crimes. Not his innocent wife and their beautiful son.
Bitterness threatened to scorch him alive.
He threw his Scotch back and, without his signalling for another, a hostess arrived at his table, replacing it with a substitute, just as he’d requested. There were some perks to being the owner of the place, and this was one of them.
He lifted his head towards her in acknowledgement, noting dispassionately how attractive she was. Blonde hair, brown eyes, a caramel tan and pale pink lips that were quick to turn into a smile. A nice figure, too. She had the kind of looks he had once found irresistible.
But not any more.
Yes, he could have opened himself to the hint of desire that stirred inside him. That started in his gut and, as his eyes dropped to her breasts, to the hint of lace he could see beneath the cotton shirt she wore, spread like flame, threatening to make him hard right there in the skyline view bar of his six-star hotel on Chrysá Vráchia.
But he refused the impulse. He turned his attention to his Scotch, taking pleasure in denying his body any hint of satisfaction on that score. It had been four years. Four years without Amy, four years without knowing the pleasure of a woman. It was a habit he had no intention of breaking...
Copyright © 2019 by Clare Connelly
ISBN-13: 9781488044854
Cinderella’s Scandalous Secret
Copyright © 2019 by Melanie Milburne
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