idea why you’re making up these ridiculous lies but I refuse to sit here and listen to anything else.’
She spun round on her heel, her back rigid as she strode to the door. Dr Khapur stood up as well but Leo didn’t give him the chance to intervene as he went after her. Gripping hold of her wrist, he drew her to a halt, feeling a ripple of awareness run through him when he felt the delicacy of the bones beneath his encircling fingers. They felt as fragile as a bird’s, so easily crushed that unconsciously he loosened his hold even though he didn’t release her.
‘I am not lying. Every word I’ve said is true.’ He bent and looked into her eyes, feeling another frisson pass through him when he found himself suddenly enmeshed in that glittering emerald gaze. He had never seen eyes that colour before, he found himself thinking inconsequentially before he brought his mind back to more important matters.
‘The child you gave birth to, Mrs Adams, is, in reality, my son. And now we need to decide what we’re going to do about it.’
MIA SANK DOWN onto a chair, praying that she wouldn’t pass out. Her head was spinning from a combination of shock and fear. It couldn’t be true. Harry was her son; she knew he was! Maybe a mistake had been made but what proof was there that she’d been involved in the mix-up?
Oh, she could understand Leo Forester’s desperation—who couldn’t? To discover that the child he had believed to be his wasn’t his biological child must have been a terrible shock. But there was no way that he was going to lay claim to Harry!
She looked round when the door opened, feeling her heart contract with fear when she saw Leo Forester come in. Dr Khapur had acceded to his request that they should be allowed some time on their own to talk and this time she hadn’t objected. The sooner this was sorted out, the better.
‘Mrs Rowlands is making us some coffee. It should be ready in a moment.’
He sat down opposite her, stretching out his long legs under the coffee table. Mia studied him in silence, wondering how it must feel to discover that everything you had believed to be true was no longer certain any more. She knew how she felt, yet there was little sign of the confusion she felt apparent on his face.
How old was he? she wondered suddenly. Late thirties? Older? His hair was very dark with only a few threads of silver shining through. It was expertly cut, too, the crisp dark waves clipped close to his well-shaped head. His features were strong and very masculine—a firm jaw and well-defined cheekbones giving him an aristocratic appearance that befitted his whole bearing. Leo Forester looked like a man who was used to being in charge, a man who rarely took account of other people’s opinions. It wasn’t the most comforting thought in the circumstances.
A knock on the door roused her from her reverie. Leo Forester got up to answer it, taking the tray from the receptionist and carrying it over to the table. Without bothering to ask, he poured them both coffee, pushing the sugar bowl and milk jug towards her before picking up his cup. Mia added a dash of milk to her coffee, although she didn’t feel in the least like drinking it. However, it gave her something to do, a few extra minutes’ grace before she had to tell Leo Forester that she was very sorry but he would have to look elsewhere for his missing child. Harry was hers, hers and Chris’s, and nobody was going to take him away from her.
‘Before we go any further, Mrs Adams, I want to show you something.’ Leo Forester put down his cup then reached into his inside pocket and took out his wallet. Flipping it open, he passed it across the table. ‘This is Noah.’
Mia reluctantly took the wallet from him and glanced at the photograph, wishing that he hadn’t shown it to her. It seemed wrong to build up his hopes, wrong and unnecessarily cruel. Maybe he did believe that ridiculous claim he’d made but she knew the truth, knew that Harry was her child…
Her breath caught as her eyes alighted on the solemn face of the little boy in the photograph. He had blond hair, so blond that it appeared more silver than gold. His eyes were blue, a deep dark blue framed by thick black lashes that matched the dark slash of his eyebrows and created a startling contrast to his fairness. Just as Chris’s had done.
Mia felt the ground roll beneath her feet as she stared at the picture, at the small straight nose, at the determined little chin with that hint of a dimple in it. It was pure coincidence, of course. Maybe the child did look very like her late husband but it didn’t prove that he was hers and Chris’s child, as Leo Forester claimed.
‘I take it from your expression that there’s a resemblance between Noah and your husband?’
Leo Forester’s voice betrayed very little of what he was feeling and Mia was grateful for that. She seemed to be awash with so many conflicting emotions that she couldn’t have coped with his as well. She gave a tiny shrug, needing to hold onto what she knew to be the truth. Harry was her son, not this boy.
‘Chris was very fair too,’ she said quietly, passing the wallet back to him.
‘I wondered who Noah favoured.’ Leo Forester slid the wallet into his pocket and picked up his coffee cup. His hand was rock steady as he lifted it to his lips and all of a sudden Mia found herself resenting the fact that he could behave this way. Surely any normal person would be torn in two, wondering and worrying about this situation?
‘The fact that your son happens to have similar colouring to my husband is hardly proof, Mr Forester.’ Scorn dripped from her voice but if she’d hoped to sting him into a reaction she was disappointed. His expression didn’t alter as he looked steadily at her over the rim of the cup.
‘Of course not. It will need DNA tests to confirm it. I suggest we make arrangements to have them done as soon as possible.’
‘I have no intention of allowing Harry to be tested!’ She glared at him, feeling a wave of anger wash away the fear that had invaded her ever since he’d made that ridiculous claim. ‘I’m very sorry for you, Mr Forester. I’m sure that in your shoes I would do everything possible to get to the bottom of this matter. However, Harry isn’t your son. He’s mine. Mine and Chris’s.’
‘And if that is true then the DNA results will prove it.’ He shrugged, his broad shoulders moving lightly under his perfectly tailored jacket. That he was a wealthy man wasn’t in doubt and Mia felt a fresh rush of fear hit her. Leo Forester obviously had the means to pursue this if he chose. If he decided to take it to the courts, he would be able to hire the very best lawyers to make his case. Even though she was working, she had no hope of fighting him if it came to a lengthy legal battle. She simply didn’t have the money. Perhaps it would be wiser to concede this point in case the fight became more desperate in the future?
The thought of what might happen in the future made her inwardly tremble but she had learned at an early age to hide her feelings. She looked steadily back at him, wishing that she had followed her instincts and never agreed to visit the clinic. She’d had a bad feeling when that letter had arrived out of the blue, although not for a moment had she imagined that something like this would happen.
‘If you’re determined to go down that route then I shall agree to have Harry tested on one condition.’
‘And that is?’ Leo Forester raised a dark brow. His expression was as bland as ever but Mia could see a nerve tic in his jaw and realised, with a start, that he was nowhere near as composed as he was pretending to be. The thought was comforting for some reason and her tone softened.
‘That
