messed up?’
‘Mario did call.’ Amerigo nodded, looking down at his glass. ‘But I’m here for my son—not for the CEO of the Marchesi Group.’ He sat back, eyeing Rigo intently. ‘Before this wedding, when was the last time you took a break, huh?’ he rasped.
‘I’ve got bigger things to worry about than that right now.’
‘Another vital acquisition, I heard?’ The older man shook his head. ‘I admire everything that you have accomplished, Rigo. You have brought our family business to levels I never dreamed of achieving myself. But when is it going to be enough?’
Rigo looked at his father blankly. ‘If everyone stopped after a certain level of success the world would grind to a halt. I believe in constant progress.’
‘Progressing? Is that what you think you’re doing? Because from here it just looks as if you’re running on the spot.’
‘Papà, I’m under a lot of pressure right now and I don’t appreciate your taunts,’ he gritted.
‘You need to be taunted every now and then. You’re so bloody stubborn—just like your mother...’ he mused. ‘Ever since that damn girl took you for a ride you’ve been like this. Running and running from the pain.’
‘I have been getting on with my life. Why is that so hard to believe?’
‘Because it’s absolute crap.’ His father sighed. ‘And once you realise that maybe you will finally get over yourself and see that it is more important to leave this mess to fizzle out and go and enjoy the rest of your honeymoon. The company will survive the loss of Fournier.’
‘It’s not that simple.’ He took a long swallow of the amber liquid and felt it scorch his throat. ‘If I lose this deal the board will react. They have already expressed their anger.’
‘Son, if I could impart to you one life lesson, it’s this. Don’t waste valuable time on what the board or anyone else thinks you should do. Live your life.’
His father’s words echoed in his mind long after he had left him alone with his thoughts. He had told Nicole not to let the media dictate her life, but here he was, doing the very same thing. He had told her to trust him, that he would protect her from her fears. And yet the moment things got tough he had asked her to throw herself under a bus for his company.
He had treated her no better than her mother had for all those years and the realisation made him suddenly nauseous.
* * *
As the town car rolled slowly along the streets of Paris, Nicole wondered for the millionth time if she was doing the right thing. Once she had heard that the court case was today she’d known she couldn’t stay away any longer. She had to try to do something.
She stepped out of the car and looked up at the steps of the courthouse, seeing Rigo standing near the top, finishing up his statement to the press. He stood alone as the cameras turned away to move towards the prosecution group, who had just emerged from the building.
She felt her stomach tighten as Rigo turned and saw her. She suddenly felt a lot less brave. His face tightened with surprise and he powered down the steps towards her, his eyes darting towards the cameramen, who hadn’t yet seen her.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ he asked harshly. ‘Get back into the car now—before they see you.’
‘I’m here to give my statement,’ Nicole said. ‘I’m here to stand by your side.’
‘It’s all over.’ Rigo exhaled harshly. ‘I paid them off and the case has been thrown out. If you had told me you were going to come I would have told you to stay exactly where you were.’
‘In my prison?’ she asked quietly.
‘I was angry at myself when I said those words.’
He took her hand, looking down at her with such fierce sincerity she thought her heart might break.
‘No, you were right, Rigo. I can’t live my life running away and hiding from these people or my voice will never be heard. I can’t teach my daughter to be fearful.’
‘When I said those words all I was thinking of was myself. I’ve been living under a microscope for days now and it’s already driven me halfway to madness. But it was my actions that got us into this mess and I will face it alone.’
‘I’m not just here for you, Rigo. I’m here for me, too. To prove to myself that I’m strong enough to protect my daughter.’
‘You are strong enough, Nicole. You are the strongest woman I have ever known.’
A cameraman turned, catching sight of the candid discussion he was missing out on, and soon the whole press camp was descending upon them.
‘Last chance,’ Rigo warned, his fingers holding in a tight grip on her arm, as though he wanted to haul her away from the crowd.
She looked up at him, her eyes gravely serious. ‘No more running.’
The crowd of cameras and microphones surrounded them with an excited hum.
One ‘respectable’ news journalist took an immediate jab. ‘Nicole, what have you to say on the allegations that your marriage is a complete sham?’
Nicole took a deep breath, remembering the speech she had prepared and memorised on the plane journey. The words seemed to swim in her head, moving just out of her reach for a millisecond, before she squared her shoulders and grabbed them with both hands.
‘Marriage is a deeply private affair for my husband and I,’ she began, ‘and just because we both may have previously courted the media it does not somehow make our private lives fair game.’
‘What do you have to say about your husband’s ferocious attack?’
‘My husband acted instinctively, to protect my daughter and me from a stranger’s harassment. I ask you this. In what world is it okay for a man to pursue a lone woman and an innocent child for the purpose of entertainment? Does his occupation give him the right to disregard the safety of those unable to protect themselves? Until my child is old enough to make the choice herself, I will be upholding her right to privacy.’
RIGO WAS IN awe of the strong, confident woman who stood poised on the steps of the courthouse. She held the media in the palm of her hand. Her words were unpractised, imperfect and deeply emotional, but they held all the more weight for it. What had begun as a press statement had somehow morphed into a public shaming of the paparazzi and their careless disregard for children.
He was seeing his wife transformed before his very eyes. Gone was the passive girl who had lived her life according to everyone else, and in her place was this fiery woman, poised and ready to wage war on those who dared to oppose her.
As she finished speaking a crowd of onlookers erupted into applause, and then the press began to ask more questions, one after another.
Rigo motioned to his
