into circles. Total panic had made any kind of sensible thought impossible, but even then the answer had been the same.
Nikos had no intention of being a father. She would have to bring up her child alone. Such thoughts had driven her mad with fear and panic, as had the conviction that her mother would be devastated. Her daughter falling pregnant after little more than a one-night stand would be too much of a nightmare for her to deal with. And she wasn’t a naive teenager, which would only make her mother’s reaction worse. She always worried about what other people thought of her—that was why she’d hidden the sham of her marriage behind a facade of happiness.
At twenty-three Serena should have known better. But, having purposely kept any advances at arm’s length, she hadn’t.
The experience of making love with a man was something she’d planned to share with someone she loved. So when Nikos had sauntered into her life, sweeping her off her feet, she’d known almost from the moment they’d met where it would end. She’d given Nikos, the man she’d fallen instantly in love with, her most precious gift.
In doing so she’d let everyone down. But worse to bear was the pain she would cause her sister.
‘To decide what you were going to do?’
She saw his brows quirk together savagely as his gruff voice startled her out of her thoughts.
‘Yes—do.’ He was beginning to exasperate her. He was making her do all the work in this conversation, forcing every word from her when he didn’t even have the decency to admit his deceit. Was it a form of punishment?
‘And have you thought?’
The powerful aura radiating from him was something she hadn’t noticed before, even though they’d spent almost every evening of her time on the island together. Not only did he look different, he acted differently. This Nikos was totally in command, completely intimidating—and, worse than anything else, he was without care or kindness.
She met it head-on with a cold indifference that hid the panic and nerves she really felt.
‘Yes, I’ve thought, Nikos. I’ve thought of your lies, and of those callous words you threw at me the last time I saw you. I’ve thought of nothing other than your insistence that I inform you of any consequences.’
His mouth was set in a grim line of irritation, but she pushed on. Behind him the sky displayed beautiful oranges and deep purples, and she wondered how such a stunning sunset could play host to this terrible moment.
‘It seems I’m now to be punished for not telling you as soon as I knew, but—more fool me—I wanted to tell you personally. Face-to-face. Not in a phone call. And that meant waiting until now—until I felt well enough to travel.’
‘Yet you can’t.’ He moved closer, his words coming out in a provoking growl. ‘You can’t say it, can you?’
‘Oh, I can, Nikos—I can.’ Fury charged through her like a tornado. Her heart raced and each breath she took became deeper. He was killing her love, shattering any hope she had harboured. Despite the turmoil her mind was in, the irrational sway of emotions, she flung the words he wanted to hear forcefully at him. ‘I’m pregnant, Nikos. I’m pregnant with your child.’
‘Why have you come all this way, Serena? What exactly do you want from me?’
He stepped closer, towering over her, intimidating. She hated the way her breath caught in her throat, hated the way her body longed for his even as his icy words splintered around her.
‘I don’t want anything from you. At least not from Nikos the fisherman—but that isn’t you, is it?’ She lifted her chin, aiming for defiance—which was far from the uncertainty she was fighting so hard to conceal.
His eyes narrowed and he pierced her with a fierce stare. ‘How much?’
Serena’s mind swam with confusion. What was he talking about? ‘How much what?’
She backed away, unable to deal with the close proximity of his body. How had she ever thought coming to the island was a good idea? She’d wanted to tell him face-to-face to convince herself that any hope of more was futile, knowing it would be the only way to prevent that what if feeling.
‘Money.’
He spat the word at her so venomously she stepped back even further, until the backs of her legs met the large rock she’d been sitting on whilst waiting for him. She’d never thought telling him would be easy, but this was totally unexpected. Did he think she was here just for financial gain?
‘I don’t want your money.’ Her head began to swim and giddiness threatened, but she couldn’t stop now. Not until she’d told him everything. ‘All I wanted to do was tell you in person and leave.’
She looked up at him, wishing things were different—that he hadn’t lied, that he hadn’t said the words that still replayed over and over in her mind. ‘You will tell me.’ The insistent way he’d delivered them had left her in no doubt that fathering a child was the last thing he wanted.
She took in a deep and silent breath and thought of her sister, and the heartbreak she and her husband had been through each time IVF had failed. It seemed so unfair to find out that she’d become pregnant so easily when her sister was breaking her heart, wanting a child. It was just too cruel, and it had left her unable to say anything to her family, let alone confide in her sister. The only person she’d told was Nikos. And right now he was making her feel alone and isolated.
Her time with Nikos had been nothing more than a holiday romance—one of many for him, she was sure. But for her it had changed everything—for ever—and he’d just confirmed her worst fear. He was going to turn his back on her and his child.
She briefly closed her eyes against the torrent of emotions that coursed through her. Pain induced by Nikos, infused with the ever-present hurt of knowing she’d been an unexpected addition to her family, forcing her parents to stay together. If only Nikos felt something for her everything might be different, but that was evidently a hopeless dream. She should walk away now—for her baby’s sake, if not hers.
‘You think you can tell me I am about to be a father and then just leave?’
He moved away from her, towards the ebbing tide, and turned to look out at the sea. His broad shoulders were tense, but she was glad she wasn’t under his scrutiny any longer.
I don’t know what to do. The words screamed inside her head as intense pain stabbed at her heart. She pressed the pads of her fingers to her closed eyes. Going down that line of thought now wouldn’t accomplish anything.
Guilt boiled inside her—as if she’d stolen something from her sister. Especially as she knew there wouldn’t be any more IVF for her after the last treatment. Her sister and her husband didn’t have any savings left.
‘How can we raise a child, Nikos?’
Her words were a tremulous whisper as she moved to stand beside him. The rush of the waves suddenly sounded loud on the beach as she looked at his profile. Not for the first time, she wondered who this man was.
Images of the handsome man she’d had an affair with filled her mind as she looked away and out across the sea. The setting sun was almost gone from the
