Page 143 of The Rogue and His Flower

“He doesn’t know, does he?” she asks, lowering her voice as she reaches for me once again.

I shake my head, swiping at my eyes. “He thinks I had my appendix out. Please, you can’t say anything.”

“Oh no. No, I wouldn’t,” she assures me, squeezing my hand.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“They’re coming this way,” she adds quickly, “Go and freshen up. I’ll make your excuses.”

As Tessa smoothly intervenes, leading the others to the formal dining room, I retreat to the bathroom, grateful for a moment's reprieve as I lean against the vanity unit and closemy eyes, willing the tears to stay at bay. But they come anyway, stubbornly tracing a path down my cheeks as I try to steady my breathing. It takes me a while to gather myself together enough to even consider joining the guests, but eventually I dry my eyes and wipe away the mascara staining my skin.

Moments later there’s a soft knock at the door.

“Daisy, are you in there?”

It’s Dalton.

“Just give me a moment,” I reply, washing my hands and drying them.

I take a deep breath before finally opening the door to face him. He looks as harrowed as I feel, and it’s all I can do not to fall into his arms and sob.

“I’m so sorry about earlier,” he says, dragging a hand through his hair. “That must’ve been hard for you to see.”

“It’s not your fault,” I reply. “I need to just deal with it. I’m going to be seeing a lot of pregnant women in the future.”

“You shouldn’t have to just deal with it. You shouldn’t have to attend this damn gathering any more than you should have to hide what’s happened to you.”

“We don’t have a choice,” I say.

“What if I can get us away from here and out of sight of my father?”

“How? What are you suggesting?”

“He just mentioned the hotel in Paris. If I can convince him to give me a role as a manager, would you be willing to come with me? You could get treatment in France, we could make this work, and you won’t have to worry about my father finding out. It needn’t be a permanent move.”

“What about Drix, Lia and Toby?” I ask, feeling the tiniest glimmer of hope, despite being more than a little sad at the prospect of leaving them, if only temporarily.

“I’m sure they’d be supportive, and it’s not as if they can’t come to visit. What do you think?”

“Will Carl go for it?” I ask, chewing on my lip.

“I can be very persuasive, Daisy. Leave it with me, okay?”

I nod, feeling a surge of gratitude wash over me at the prospect of escaping this suffocating situation, and the possibility of becoming pregnant via IVF treatment, and I cling on to it with all my might.

“I trust you,” I say, and his eyes hold mine for a moment, a silent promise passing between us before he takes my hand in his and we head back to the party.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

DALTON

It’s been almost a month.

Three weeks, six days and seventeen hours have passed since the bottom fell out of Daisy’s world,ourworld. Almost a month since we found out we lost our baby and that our chances of conceiving a child have drastically been reduced. Daisy may have recovered from her operation, the tiny incisions on her abdomen may have stitched back together, she may have gotten the colour back in her cheeks, but she’s far from healed. And the tiny shred of hope I’d given her was destroyed the moment I suggested my idea of managing the hotel in Paris to my father who flat out refused. Despite spending the past fucking week trying to convince him, I’ve gotten nowhere, worse still, the bastard is getting suspicious, that much is painfully clear.

“Where are we going?” Daisy asks me as I drive through the twisting country roads.

Her voice is soft, and it pains me to hear the lingering sorrow within it, the shattered dreams and unspoken heartache. She’s aware of my father’s decision, and has withdrawn further from me, her hopes dashed, alongside mine.

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