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‘Well, he is. But he volunteered to come down here when he thought Sakis couldn’t make it. And yet he seemed to have a bee in his bonnet about something. To be honest, it’s the first time I’ve seen him that ruffled.’ The speculation in her voice made Perla wish she’d worn her hair down to hide the colour rising in her face. ‘It was quite a sight to behold.’
‘Um, well...whatever it is, I hope he resolves it soon.’
‘Hmm, so do I—’
‘Brianna.’ Sakis Pantelides chose that moment to approach them and offer his own condolences. Perla fought to find the appropriate response despite the nerves tearing through her stomach.
Then she watched as he turned to his fiancée, his face transforming with a very visible devotion that made Perla’s heart lurch with jealousy and pain.
She’d long ago harboured hopes that someone would look at her like that. She’d foolishly believed that someone would be Morgan. Instead, he’d married her and blackmailed her into deceit and humiliation.
As an orphan, tossed from foster home to foster home all her childhood, she’d learned to mask the raw pain and despair of being the odd child that nobody wanted. But the hollow feeling in her belly had never gone away.
Meeting Morgan and suddenly finding herself the sole focus of his charm and wit had tricked her naïve self into believing she’d finally found someone who loved and cared for her, not out of duty, or because the state was paying them to do so, but because she was worth loving.
He’d roughly pulled the wool from her eyes within days of their wedding. But, even then, she’d foolishly believed she could salvage something from the only steady relationship she’d ever known. But weeks had dragged into months and months into years and by the time she’d accepted that she’d once again been cast aside, like a broken toy no one wanted to play with, it’d been too late to leave.
Her shaky breath drew glances from Sakis and Brianna but she couldn’t look them in the face. She’d revealed so much already. She feared opening her mouth would be catastrophic, especially as she could feel Sakis Pantelides’s keen gaze boring into her.
God, please don’t let him guess what I did with his brother.
‘I think it’s time we left Mrs Lowell in peace, Sakis,’ Brianna murmured.
Sakis nodded. ‘My lawyers will be in touch with the paperwork regarding your husband’s employment entitlements. But if you need anything in the meantime, please do not hesitate to get in touch.’
She glanced at him and immediately glanced away when his gaze narrowed.
He can’t know!
Panic clawed at her. Surely Arion hadn’t told him?
From the corner of her eye she saw Morgan’s parents heading towards them. Clearing her throat, she fought the panic and pasted a suitable smile on her face.
No matter what had gone on between Morgan and her, Terry and Sarah Lowell had welcomed her into their hearts. She couldn’t repay them with betrayal.
‘I appreciate it, Mr Pantelides. Have a safe journey back to London.’
She turned away, grateful for the distraction that Morgan’s wheelchair-bound mother brought to stop her wondering just what Sakis Pantelides knew about her carnal activities with his brother.
And she certainly couldn’t think about Arion Pantelides and the heat that rushed under her skin every time she relived what had happened in his hotel room three days ago.
What had happened between them was now firmly in the past. Never to be repeated. What she needed to concentrate on now was picking up the shattered pieces and commencing the uphill battle that was the rest of her life.
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