Page 30 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

Theos mou,what an idiot he had been! Thinking back to that period, he knew that only a complete fool would have talked about another woman to a woman he had recently rejected. Only by then he had already been thinking of his best friend as his half-sister, a safe confidante to his mind, if not hers.

‘My worst recollection is of instructing the security men to show your pregnant wife-to-be down to the street,’ Leigh almost whispered, her blue eyes shining with tears of regret. ‘I felt dreadful about that even at the time but I thought... I thought it was my duty, my job to protect you from annoyance and unnecessary drama. I believed Miss Bouras. I knew you trusted her and I trusted her as well until I saw those pictures of your wedding. Then I realised that I had to come forward and speak up. Look, I’ve already taken up enough of your time and I can see that you’re rather taken aback by all this—’

‘Try...shocked speechless,’ Nic corrected in a roughened undertone. ‘But it’s not your fault. I trusted Miss Bouras too. You cannot resign over this matter. I will explain all this...somehowto my wife. I will deal with the consequences. It is my responsibility.’

‘Every call your wife made to our London office was logged and every letter is contained in the file, sir. The letters are unopened, of course,’ the older woman proffered uncomfortably, indicating the file lying on his desk. ‘I’m sorry about all this stuff. I know you don’t like it.’

But Angeliki did, Nic reflected darkly. Angeliki thrived on drama, would have enjoyed coming into his office, telling her lies, ensuring that not a single person on his staff would give credence to Lexy, indeed would instead treat her like a stalker, a woman trying to force herself into his life where she was unwanted and unwelcome. And he felt seriously nauseous again when he recalled how very badly he had wanted to hear from Lexy twenty-odd months ago. It was as though his life had suddenly been rolled back in time and he was reliving what he would have felt then. Furious anger filled him. He knew that he had to see Angeliki first, had to confront her and finally tell her that they were siblings.

Once more refusing to accept Leigh’s resignation, telling her that she had been as deceived in her trust of Angeliki as he had long been, Nic left the office to visit Angeliki’s penthouse apartment.

Angeliki’s housekeeper answered the door and ushered him into the airy reception room where her mistress was lying along a couch with a magazine, wearing a silk teddy below a sheer robe that she didn’t bother to close as she sprang up, a huge smile lifting her beautiful face. ‘Nic...always a welcome visitor.’

‘Put something on,’ he urged brusquely. ‘You’re not going to like me much after I’ve finished talking to you.’

In an exaggerated movement, Angeliki tied the sash on the robe, too proud of her long, shapely body to be pleased about hiding it.

‘This is about Lexy, my wife.’ Nic felt the need to attach that possessive label, noting how the blonde’s face tightened. ‘The moment I told you about her, you conducted a campaign to prevent her from coming back into my life.’

Angeliki raised a pencilled brow. ‘Of course I did. I had to prevent you from doing something stupid because you were acting like a teenager about her. I’ve never seen you like that over a woman.’

‘And clearly it was very stupid of me to confide in you. You broke into my phone, didn’t you? Stole the photo, blocked her number, did every rotten thing you could to ensure Icouldn’tsee her again!’

‘Because you were about to make ahugemistake! I’m your best friend. I protected you from yourself.’

‘I didn’t need protecting. I’m an adult and far from innocent.’

‘You were infatuated for the first time in your life!’ Angeliki sliced in with a cutting edge of venom. ‘You didn’t know what you were doing.Theos mou,you had only parted from her a couple of hours and you were already agonising over whether or not you would look desperate if you phoned her!’

‘You cut off someone who was important to me and, even worse, you left her no means to contact me when she needed my support because she was pregnant. So, no, Angeliki, I have nothing to thank you for. You deprived me of seeing my children coming into this world, you deprived me of times with the four of them that I will never get back!’ Nic raged at her, out of all patience with her drivel. ‘My office manager has told me that you gave her Lexy’s photo and said that she was a stalker.’

His half-sister backed off a few steps and grimaced. ‘Oh, she’s told you about that. I was hoping that my intervention wouldn’t come out for a while.’

‘You don’t screw up other people’s lives like this,’ Nic breathed rawly. ‘It’s unpardonable. Why did you do it? Were you jealous that I wanted her and not you?’

‘Oh, don’t be silly. I don’tdojealousy.’ Angeliki actually snorted with scornful laughter at that accusation. ‘I’ve never cared about any of the women you’ve been with! But she got in my way and I don’t let anyone do that to me.’

Nic lifted a lean brown hand. ‘News update, Angeliki. Now I’minyourwaytoo and if you ever get in hers again, I will ruin you! I don’t know why you think Lexy was in your way when you and I weren’t even seeing each other.’

‘Because youmarriedher!’ Angeliki launched back at him in angry interruption, her dark eyes hard and cold. ‘That wasmyplace you gave her, not hers! Together we could be the new power couple in Greece. You were always meant to be mine, Nic, but I had to wait for you to grow up and see that webelongtogether—’

‘We don’t, and never could be together,’ Nic incised with the icy bite of finality. ‘Not only do I not want you in that way, but you are my half-sister. We share the same father.’

Angeliki backed off several feet, shock etched in her fine features. ‘That’s not possible. My mother always hated your father for the way he bullied mine.’

‘It happened between them and you are the result, accept it.’ Nic shrugged, not in a sympathetic mood. ‘The legacy that made you an unexpected heiress came from my father’s private coffers, not from some distant relative. Argus paid his dues in that line.’

Angeliki stared back at him in horror, as if her whole world were falling down on top of her. ‘That’s not possible...because that means that when I got intoyourbed—’

‘Nothing happened,’ Nic reminded her shortly.

‘And how long have you known about this?’

‘Since a letter was given to me after my father’s will was read. I was going to tell you then, but the bedroom episode had recently occurred and I didn’t want to make the announcement until the dust had settled on that.’

‘You’re my brother,’ Angeliki said queasily. ‘That toad, Jace, who won’t give me the time of day, is my brother too.’

‘And you and I are not friends any more and never will be again,’ Nic framed coldly. ‘Not after what you did to Lexy. Are you even aware that your lies about her being a stalker led to her being thrown out of my office building when she was heavily pregnant? I suspect you don’t care.’

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