Page 50 of A Diamond for My Forbidden Bride

He was my twin, my other half, and even though I knew it hadn’t been his fault in the end he’d betrayed me.

‘No,’ Constantine said as if none of this touched him in any way. ‘I’m merely stating facts.’

‘So I was just supposed to sit back and watch him beat you to death? Is that what—?’

‘I did not call you to talk about what happened fifteen years ago,’ he interrupted icily. ‘I called to tell you that you are welcome to marry Olivia. I do not care.’

Then he disconnected the call.

For a second I stood there, holding my phone in my hand, hot fury searing me from the inside out.

How dared he? How dared he tell me everything I’d done had been for myself? He was wrong. I’d done it for him, for my little brother. Every single thing.

Is he wrong, though? You liked fighting Domingo. You liked standing up to him. And all the choices you made were because you didn’t want to give Domingo the satisfaction of knowing he’d beaten you.

No, that was wrong. That was theoppositeof what I’d been trying to do.

All those beatings I’d endured, all those punishments. The systematic stripping away of all the things I liked to do, with no friends, no pets. No going outside to climb trees or swim in the huge pool that no one ever used. No games with my brother...

Constantine thought all of that had been so I couldwin?

It hadn’t been a competition; didn’t he understand that? It had been a fight to the death. It had been me, constantly trying to make sure that Constantine survived.

My brother had always been the kinder of the two us. The more generous, the more giving. He was the one who’d once carefully manoeuvred a bumble bee that had blundered its way inside into a glass and taken it outside rather than kill it. Who’d been inconsolable when we’d discovered a dead kitten under the trees in the garden behind the mansion. And who’d tried unsuccessfully to nurse a sparrow chick that had fallen out of its nest back to health.

His softer emotions had made him an easier target and, since I’d been the one who’d always stood up to Domingo, I had become his shield. Because I hadn’t cared about the bee or the kitten or the chick. I’d felt sorry for them, but I hadn’t cried the way Constantine had. Domingo had called me the stronger one, and he’d been right, which had made it my duty to protect my little brother.

So I had, and in the end I’d failed. But that was my issue to make right and, even though it was too late for Constantine, it wasn’t too late to limit his influence and the damage someone like him could do.

Or is that just you turning yourself into the hero once again?

I growled under my breath. No, that was ridiculous. Perhaps I had done that with Olivia, but not with him. I might have failed him, but I couldn’t save him. I could only save the company and the people in it.

Shoving my phone back into my pocket, I dismissed thoughts of my brother and got back to doing something more pleasant.

Being with Olivia.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Olivia

I’DHADTHEmost wonderful week. Spending time with Val had been a revelation. It had almost been like those days back on our secret beach, when there’d been only us, only each other.

Except this time it was better, because we were adults now, and our connection was based on reality instead of dreams. And we did have a connection; I could feel it. I could see it in his eyes whenever he looked at me, whenever he touched me, whenever he cupped my face between his large, warm palms and kissed me.

It was a different sort of connection, deeper, more intense. Initially I hadn’t liked him taking care of me, because I felt like a plaything or pet, but I gradually saw how much pleasure he took from it. It made him happy to look after my needs. He’d always been protective and care-giving—it was part of his nature—and the pleasure he so obviously got out of it made me happy too. And soon I didn’t feel like his plaything but his treasure.

I wasn’t sure what would happen when our week of being together came to an end, but I was sure I didn’t want to marry Constantine. And maybe, despite my own protests to myself, I’d never wanted to marry him, regardless of those debts.

I discussed the debts with Val and considered other options. Val had offered to lend me some money, because he couldn’t help himself and, while I was appreciative, I refused. I wanted to find my own way out of the situation, options that didn’t rely on a man’s help for a start.

First, though, I needed to contact Constantine to break off our engagement. However, he hadn’t responded to my texts or the voicemail messages I’d left on his phone. I didn’t know what was happening with him and I couldn’t deny I was worried. I didn’t love him, but I’d still been engaged to him for three months, and the fact that he seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth was a concern.

But there was still nothing in the media about his disappearance, and certainly shares in Silver Inc were still flying high, which presumably meant no one else was concerned about him. He was still managing his company, though for how long was anyone’s guess.

Val hadn’t mentioned his takeover intentions again, but I presumed that was also still going ahead. I’d already told him I didn’t like the idea of him removing his brother as CEO, but he seemed firmly wedded to it for reasons I didn’t understand. It was a conversation I needed to have with him at some point, but I had other things on my mind.

Over the past couple of days, I’d been pursuing further my idea for sourcing only ethical diamonds. Dad had always paid lip service to the ethical part, but I didn’t want lip service. And closer investigation seemed to indicate that the board had been...obscuring a few things when it came to sourcing our gems.

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