Page 67 of Reunited By the Greek's Baby

If Theo had looked bad before, now he looked stricken. ‘I know—’

‘Youdon’tknow.’ She loved him and had been ready to accept second-best, just to be with him. To be an unloved wife. ‘You did me a favour, actually, spelling out my real place in your life.’

‘I’m sorry, Isla. You don’t know how sorry. I didn’t mean it the way it came out.’

She shook her head, the terrible pain inside blanketed by resignation. Was there any point in more words? She looked him straight in the eye and said, ‘I deserve more. More than you can give me, Theo.’

The bedside chair scraped as he collapsed onto it, head bowed. Isla was stunned to see his hand shake as he tunnelled his fingers through his hair.

He didn’t look at her as he took a huge breath, then another. Finally he lifted his head. His terrible, stark expression caught her breath in her throat. He looked to be in pain too.

‘You deserve everything good, Isla. So does our child.’

She waited for him to try to persuade her to change her mind. Instead he simply looked at her, as if nothing else mattered.

‘I apologise for what I said.’ He lifted his hand before she could interrupt. ‘I’m not making excuses but I owe you the truth.’

‘Go on.’

‘What I said was terrible and uncalled for and I truly didn’t mean it the way it came out. I’m sorry I hurt you.’ Theo looked at his hands. ‘I was petrified for Toula.’

Isla nodded. ‘I know.’

‘But you don’t. You assumed I was afraid she’d have a relapse if you mentioned the party, and that was true to some extent. But it was far more.’ He paused. ‘I feared what would happen if she remembered the truth about that night and told the police she was the one who pushed Costa to his death.’

Isla’s breath hissed, her eyes popping wide. She’d wondered, given what Theo had said about Toula’s ex being aggressive and wanting her back. ‘Youknewshe’d done it?’

‘No one knew the truth, not even Toula. She couldn’t remember anything. But those stairs were a shortcut to a terrace overlooking the gardens and the guest bedroom wing. Toula’s room wasn’t there but there’d been some problem with the air conditioning in hers and she used one of the guest rooms to get ready.’

He paused. ‘It seemed...possible, but Toula was in no state to relive that night.’

Isla remembered all Theo had gone through, both in prison and afterwards. ‘You didn’t say anything.’

‘How could I? I didn’t know for sure and I couldn’t push Toula. Even if she recovered her memory and it had been her, what would happen? How could I expect her to face what I’d been through, knowing how fragile she is?’

‘Oh, Theo.’ Isla recalled him saying he had broad shoulders. She hadn’t understood just how deep his protective instincts ran.

‘Ididlash out at you and you didn’t deserve it. But you needed to know why.’

‘You were afraid Toula might collapse again, or maybe face arrest.’

He nodded, his face grim. ‘Exactly. I’m sorry.’

Isla shook her head. She wanted to reach out, smooth the worry lines from his forehead. But it wouldn’t be right, not when she was determined to keep her distance.

‘How is she?’

Theo’s mouth hitched up at one side. ‘Better than I expected. She really is stronger. And she’ll need to be.’

Isla’s heart sank. ‘She was responsible?’

He nodded. ‘She’s been getting flashes of memory since returning to Athens but wasn’t sure if she could believe them. She’s gone to the police.’

Isla sat up, heart pounding. ‘She’s under arrest?’

‘She’s got bail. The authorities say it was self-defence. Apparently her arms and torso were covered in bruises that night, all documented when she went into care that same night. I knew Costa was a controlling brute but I hadn’t known how badly he’d treated her. He was trying to drag her out of the house and she shoved him away. The fall was an accident, but she’ll have to face trial.’

Isla pushed the covers aside.

---