Page 21 of A Diamond for My Forbidden Bride

I watched her. It was a very good bottle—vintage. Her favourite. She kept her expression detached as she took a sip, but then she took another, which pleased me.

I let her see that too. ‘I’m glad you like it.’ I sat back in my chair. ‘And now for some of those answers you wanted.’

She narrowed her gaze, but didn’t put her glass back down.

‘It wasn’t a kidnapping,’ I went on. ‘It was a rescue. I had to get you away from Constantine as quickly as I could.’

‘Why? What makes you think that—?’

‘Because Domingo Silvera was a psychopath and, while Constantine didn’t start out as one, I’m pretty sure he’s one now.’

She blinked, a ripple of emotion crossing her face, though what it was I couldn’t tell, since it vanished the next second. ‘A psychopath? What are you talking about?’

Perhaps it was surprise. If so, I didn’t blame her. Domingo preferred to keep his...tendencies veiled. People were afraid of him, and there had been certain rumours about him, but no one knew the truth.

When I was a boy, I’d used to dream that someone would realise what a monster he was and have the police come to take him away. But that had never happened. Domingo had known how to be normal, how to charm. He’d had the looks and forceful personality that could combine into a relentless charisma that blinded everyone he met. He could appear on the surface a handsome, successful, charming man, while underneath he was the devil himself.

‘Constantine’s father—’ I could never admit to him having been mine too, because ‘father’ assumed a certain relationship that we’d definitely never had ‘—was an abusive monster and Constantine models himself on him.’

Olivia’s delicate features betrayed nothing, but she’d gone a tad pale. ‘That’s not true. I mean, Domingo wasn’t an easy man, but—’

‘I won’t go into the details,’ I interrupted, because she didn’t need to hear them. ‘Suffice to say that, when I heard of your engagement, I had to take action.’

‘But—’

‘Domingo forbade me to see you, did you know that? But I did anyway. And eventually he found out.’

No need to tell her about Constantine’s betrayal, either. That was between him and me. ‘He was very angry.’ I ignored the ice that coiled in my stomach at the memory. ‘I decided I’d had enough by that stage, so I managed to escape. I was given a ride in a car from a stranger, but it was a wet night and he was driving too fast, and we crashed. I managed to get out, but he didn’t. He was killed. Some of my DNA was found at the scene and it was assumed his body was mine. And I decided to stay dead, because if Domingo had ever discovered I was still alive he’d have followed me to the ends of the earth.’

This time, Olivia said nothing.

I still remembered that night: the skid of tyres and the smell of petrol; the sound of breaking glass and tearing metal. I’d managed to drag myself out of the car just before it had exploded and realised, in a sudden burst of relief, that if I played it right I could finally be free...

‘That’s why I died,’ I said. ‘I had to get away from Domingo. But I was afraid of what he might do to you, since he told me he’d hurt you if I disobeyed him. That’s why I’ve been watching you all these years. I needed to protect you from him.’ I took a sip of wine, my mouth oddly dry. ‘And now I have to protect you from Constantine too.’

Olivia continued to stare at me, emotions flickering over her face so fast, I couldn’t read them. Then abruptly she looked down at the table top and took a sip of her wine.

‘I don’t know anything about Domingo,’ she said after a moment. ‘Though, I’ve never felt...easy around him. And what you had to do... I’m sorry about that.’ She looked up at me, her gaze again very direct. ‘But you’re wrong about Constantine. He’s not like that.’

I just looked back at her. ‘That’s what everyone said about Domingo.’

‘You’ve been gone for fifteen years, Valentin. But I’ve known Constantine very well for six months. I’m his fiancée. He’snotwhat you think he is.’

‘You’re assuming,’ I pointed out, ‘That I haven’t been watching him the same way I’ve been watching you. There’s a reason I’m going to have him removed as CEO of Silver Inc. I’m sure he’ll think it’s because I want the company, but I don’t. I have my own money, as you can see. No, I have to protect his employees from him somehow.’

But she didn’t back down. ‘That’s ridiculous. Have you any evidence that he’s...what? A psychopath? A cruel monster? He’s cold, yes, and driven. And he’s a ruthless businessman. But he’s never hurt me. He’s never even been rude.’

It was true that I didn’t have hard evidence that Constantine was exactly like Domingo. I’d never found any rumours that he’d been physically violent or manipulative the way Domingo had been.

But he was cruel and callous and ruthless. Detached and cold and utterly without empathy. His staff were afraid of him, or so my mole had told me, and that was likely due to him holding something over their heads. It had been Domingo’s favourite method of maintaining obedience, even though it had never worked on me, and I was sure Constantine employed it too.

‘Yes,’ I said. ‘That’s what he wants you to think. He’s exactly like Domingo, though. And, while I haven’t spent the past fifteen years with him, I grew up with him and I know exactly what goes on in his head.’You did. Once.I ignored the thought and smiled. ‘I’m his twin, after all.’

But Olivia was shaking her head. ‘You’re wrong. And, apart from anything else, this is ridiculous. Keeping me here is ridiculous. What are you going to do with me? You can’t keep me here for ever.’

‘I don’t need to keep you here for ever.’ I held her gaze and let her see the force of my will. ‘All I need to do is keep you here long enough for you to fall in love with me. And then you’ll marry me instead. Like you always wanted to.’

CHAPTER SEVEN

---