Page 40 of The Tycoon's Diamond Demand

Shock skittered across his face. ‘I am notanythinglike your father!’

She’d thought he’d say that. ‘You’re smart, driven, passionate about your business and very ambitious. You don’t suffer fools gladly and you have a vengeful streak a mile long,’ Maja pointed out, her tone bitter. ‘You have to come out on top, every time.’

He didn’t look away. ‘You’re right, I do. I wouldn’t have feuded with your father for twelve years if I wasn’t determined to win.’

She couldn’t do this any more. His need for control, his need to control her, would always be greater than his need to be happy. She’d left Norway because she didn’t want to be controlled by Håkon, and she’d spent the last decade living by her own rules. Was keeping M J Slater’s identity secret so important that she was prepared to let a man tell her what to do, to chart the course of her life? What had she been thinking? Had she been thinking at all? Maja felt embarrassed and furious, with Jens but mostly with herself. He couldn’t have played this game without her participation.

Maja raised her hands, her palms facing forward. ‘I’m done, Jens.’

Shock briefly skittered across his face. ‘Meaning what, Maja?’

This was the most honest, most hurtful conversation they’d had, ever would have, but Maja knew it was better to be hurt by the truth than fooled by a lie.

‘I love you, I always have, probably always will, but it’s not enough. I can’t be controlled, Iwon’tbe coerced or controlled. I wouldn’t stand it from Håkon, and I certainly won’t tolerate feeling like that with you.’ Knowing she was on the edge of breaking down, Maja turned and walked away.

From the man she loved more than life itself. But this time, crucially, it was her choice to walk away. Hers. She was the captain of her own ship, the creator of her life.

She’d never give anyone, not even Jens, that power again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

JENSSTRODEINTOthe lobby of The Thief, one of the coolest hotels in Oslo. The hotel, right on the water’s edge, surrounded by cafes, amazing art galleries and fantastic restaurants, was one of his favourites places to meet colleagues and clients. He loved the modern artwork on its walls and its stylish décor.

But he didn’t notice any of that today. Since Maja had left him over a week ago, he couldn’t shake off his irritability and anger. He’d failed in his quest to get revenge, to close the circle. He’d handled Maja badly, and it was galling to admit he’d lost control. He wasn’t someone who tolerated failure, in others or in himself. He was jumpy and jittery, off balance and out of sorts.

He was resolved to call off the wedding—his bride and his need for revenge were both gone—he just needed to instruct his PR person to draft the press release. But he had this need to understandeverything, or as much as he could, before he made any irreversible decisions.

Because, in all honesty, his ability to make rational, sensible decisions seemed to have deserted him. And he was swamped by the need to go back to where it all started. Hisissuesdidn’t start with Maja or Håkon. No, they went back further than that. If he was going to move forward, and he wanted to, he needed to understand his dysfunctional relationship, if thirty years of neglect could be called that, with his mother. It was time to put as many of his demons as he could to rest. He’d based his need for revenge on flawed reasoning, and he’d hurt Maja in the process. Before he could pick up the pieces of his life, he needed to make sure he hadallthe pieces of the puzzle. That meant going back to the start, to Flora, to see what he was missing.

It was fortuitous Flora was in Oslo to receive an award and it was common knowledge she was staying at The Thief. According to the hotel manager, a man Jens knew well, Flora was in her room, but she wasn’t taking visitors. Jens asked him to dial her room number again, took the receiver from the manager. He introduced himself, told Flora he wasn’t going away and that they could either speak in her room or he could wait for her in the lobby. Within a minute, he was in a lift heading for her floor. Flora, dressed in a silk trouser suit, opened the door to her suite. She didn’t look pleased to see him.Shocker.

‘What do you want?’

‘You’re back in Norway, for the first time in over thirty years,’ Jens smoothly replied, although his heart was beating as fast as a hummingbird’s wing. ‘I thought we should chat.’

Flora motioned him into the suite and Jens took in the fine wrinkles make-up no longer covered, her hard blue eyes, and her tight mouth. She looked remote, ice cold and fully uninterested. Did people see the same dissatisfaction when they looked at him? Someone perpetually discontented by life, talented but emotionally empty?

‘If you are here to beg me to acknowledge you, I won’t,’ Flora defiantly told him.

He started to respond then stopped, shocked as a missing puzzle piece dropped into its empty spot. He didn’t need her to. Not any more. He no longer needed to be accepted by this miserable, empty-hearted woman. She’d had little to no input into his life, she hadn’t given him anything but his looks and an inability to trust, his issues of abandonment. He didn’t want to be like her, in any way. It was time to let her go. But if this was the last time he’d see her, he needed to make sure those demons would never rear their ugly heads again. He looked at the small, elegant woman and when his words left his mouth, he was surprised at how gentle he sounded. ‘Why did you give me up?’ he softly asked.

She sighed, her hand fiddling with her thick gold necklace. Flora walked over to the couch and sank into the plump cushions. Sitting down, she looked older, as if the world had chewed her up and spat her out. Was that how he would look when he was sixty, discontented and miserable?

Flora lifted a too thin shoulder. ‘Jane wasn’t particularly maternal,’ she finally answered him, ‘but I was far worse.’

Jens lifted his eyebrows, staying silent in the hope she’d continue. ‘When I got the offer to go to New York, I knew I didn’t love you enough to take you with me. In fairness, I didn’t love anyone enough. I’m not capable of putting other people first, not really capable of loving anyone either.’

He was astounded by her honesty. But instead of her words hurting, he felt cleansed by them. It helped to know she would’ve dumped anyone she perceived to be a handbrake. Her leaving was all about her, not him. She was self-absorbed, probably narcissistic, deeply, comprehensively selfish. He got it. Flora was the problem, not him.

‘Leaving you with Jane was the best thing I did for you, my one unselfish act,’ Flora quietly stated, sounding old and weary. ‘I couldn’t be a good mother, any type of mother. I didn’t have it in me. Jane did.’

Jens pondered her statement. She was right, handing him to Jane—straightforward but stable—had been the right thing to do. Flora had hurt him but she’d done what she’d thought was right for him. Maja had also acted in his best interests when she’d left him twelve years ago. Both situations had been painful but both women had done what they’d thought was right. How was it possible to feel hot, and cold, at the same time? Miserable but unburdened? Grateful that they both loved him, in diametrically opposite ways and situations. That they had put him first, no matter what it had cost them? He felt foolish, full of regret, but more like himself than ever before.

Flora tossed her deep brown curls. ‘So are you going to go to the press or not?’

No, he didn’t need to. Who would care and how would it change his life? Flora giving him to his aunt would be news for about five minutes and then everybody would move on, and the world would keep turning. And he’d already wasted too much energy on her. Sorting out his relationship with Maja would be a far better use of his time.

Jens sighed. For a hotshot businessman, a super-effective deal-maker, he’d made a series of miscalculations and errors in judgement. He might be able to swim through the shark-infested waters of international business, but he was unable to look at relationships clearly.

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