Castellano's Mistress of Revenge (14 page)

‘But darling, you can't stop trying,' Ava said. ‘You'll get pregnant again. I'm sure of it.'

‘I am hopeful of it, but right now I think Richard is right,' Serena said. ‘We've spent our whole marriage focusing on me becoming pregnant. It's put us under enormous pressure, both emotionally and, of course, financially. We want to pay you back. I'm going to get a job and in a couple of years we're going to try again. I'm not like other women, who have their age against them.'

‘Are you sure about this?' Ava asked. ‘The money's not an issue. Marc has given me—'

‘I don't want you to sacrifice yourself for me any longer,' Serena said adamantly. ‘I feel worried that you might not be telling me the truth about your relation
ship with Marc. It's just the sort of thing you would do, like you did with Douglas. You made me believe you were happy about the arrangement and I guess because I wanted to believe it I went along with it. But no more, Ava. I want you to be genuinely happy. No one deserves it more than you.'

Ava blinked back tears. ‘I don't know what to say…'

‘How does Marc feel about the possibility of a baby?'

Ava gave another sigh. ‘It's been a difficult time for both of us. It wasn't what either of us expected.'

‘Is there anything I can do? What about coming over to stay for a while? If you are pregnant we could go shopping for baby things. It would be fun. It's just what I need to stop thinking about my own stuff.'

Ava chewed at her lip. Maybe some time with her sister would be a good idea right now. She couldn't think with Marc around her, tempting her into marrying him for all the wrong reasons. The more time she spent with him the harder it was to say no. ‘It does sound nice…'

‘I'm sure Marc will agree,' Serena said. ‘Anyway, you have to buy a wedding dress. I can help you. It will be much more fun this time around.'

Ava didn't have the heart to tell her sister she couldn't bear the thought of another white wedding. Instead she promised to call as soon as she had heard from the doctor and rang off.

The phone had hardly been back on the cradle when it rang again. Ava stared at the number in the call-ID screen, recognising it as a local one. She picked it up and answered, her stomach folding over when she heard the doctor's voice.

‘The results of your test were negative,' he said after
greeting her by name. ‘But you do, however, have a slightly lower than normal blood count, which would account for the symptoms you are experiencing. I suggest you take an iron supplement for a few weeks, that way if you do plan a pregnancy you will be in much better health to carry it to term.'

Ava hung up the phone a short time later, her thoughts whirling. Disappointment sliced through her; she hadn't realised how much she had hoped for a positive result until now. She put her hand on her belly, an ache of longing filling her until she felt as if she wanted to curl up and howl.

The door opened and she looked up to see Marc standing there with a questioning look on his face. ‘Was that the doctor?' he asked. ‘I was outside and couldn't get to the phone in time.'

Ava fought back her emotions with an effort. ‘Yes, it was.'

‘And?'

She searched his face, wondering if he would be able to disguise his relief when she told him.

‘Ava?' he prompted. ‘What did he say?'

She took a little breath. ‘He said I'm anaemic. I have to take a supplement.'

The air seemed to be sucked out of the room as the silence lengthened.

‘So you're not pregnant?' he asked, his expression still giving nothing away.

She shook her head. ‘No.'

‘Could it be a mistake?' he asked. ‘What if they got someone else's results? It happens sometimes. People's names and birthdates are similar, so—'

‘Marc, I am not pregnant, OK? You're in the clear. There's not going to be a baby.'

He slowly let out the breath he had been holding. ‘How do you feel about it?' he asked.

She frowned at him. ‘How do you expect me to feel?'

‘I don't know,' he said. ‘I thought your greatest desire was to have a baby.'

‘Under the right circumstances, yes—but not like this.' She turned away and began to leave the room.

‘Where are you going?' he asked.

She turned and faced him with a challenging look. ‘I'm going to pack.'

His brows snapped together. ‘Pack for where?'

She lifted her chin. ‘I'm going to stay with my sister. I want some time, Marc. You can't stop me from going.'

‘Aren't you forgetting something?' A hard look came into his eyes.

Ava's hand gripped the doorknob. ‘I don't need your money, Marc. Serena's not having any more IVF for a while.'

‘What about the debts Cole left behind?'

She gave him stare for stare. ‘I don't care about the debts. If you want to take me to court then fine, go right ahead. I'll find some way of dealing with it. I just want some time to think about my life, about where I go from here.'

Marc kept his hands clenched by his sides as he fought the desire to reach for her. He knew he had to tread carefully. So much was riding on how he responded. He had to fight every urge to force her to stay with him. Threats came to mind, horrible threats he
would never, ever act on, but he left them unspoken. He didn't want her to hate him any more than she already did. Although for a time there he had wondered… He gave himself a get-a-grip shake. She only responded to him because sex was the language he had always spoken with her. He had to take it out of the equation, to see if there was anything else they could build a relationship on. It would be hard, it would be painful, it would tear him in two to let her go, but he would have to do it, to make sure if she came back it was what she wanted, not just something she had no choice in.

It was unfamiliar territory for him to feel so utterly, so helplessly vulnerable. ‘I'll give you a month,' he said, stripping his voice of any hint of what he was feeling. ‘But that is all. One month, no contact other than by phone or e-mail—then you can't accuse me of trying to coerce you into it.'

She seemed to consider it for a moment. ‘A month…' Her tongue sneaked out to moisten her lips. ‘O…K…and…and after that?'

‘After that if you don't want to continue our relationship you will be free,' he said. ‘I will not force you to marry me. You will never have to see or hear from me again.'

‘A
VA
,
THAT'S THE THIRD
morning in a row you've been sick,' Serena said. ‘Are those iron pills you've been taking disagreeing with you?'

Ava wiped her face with the hand towel her sister had handed her. ‘God, I feel so ghastly.' She clutched at the basin as another wave of nausea hit her.

‘You know, if it hadn't been for the fact you haven't been anywhere near Marc for the last month, I would swear you were pregnant,' Serena said, handing her a face cloth. ‘Maybe you should do another test. Perhaps the blood test was wrong.'

‘Blood tests are supposed to be far more reliable than any other test,' Ava said as she mopped her face and waited for the sickness to ease off.

How could she be ill on the very day she was supposed to meet Marc? She had wanted to look and feel her best. She had missed him so much; she had counted the hours until she would see him face to face again. He had phoned her a couple of times a week, but she had found it hard to talk to him. He seemed aloof,
distant, as if he was already moving on without her. She had read every paper and gossip magazine, but there had been no sign of him out and about with anyone else. She took some measure of comfort in that, but it wasn't much. Maybe he was waiting until the month was up to get back to his playboy lifestyle.

‘I know this is a very personal question, but did you happen to have unprotected sex with Marc since the blood test was taken?' Serena asked.

Ava met her sister's eyes in the mirror above the basin. She swallowed, and then, as if drawn there by a magnet, her eyes went to the shower stall. It was nothing like the luxurious one at the villa in Monte Carlo. For one thing there were tiles instead of Italian marble, and the water had a tendency to gush hot and cold unexpectedly, but each time she had stepped into the cubicle she had thought of Marc and that passionate interlude.

‘Ava?'

Ava gave herself a mental shake and focused back on Serena's questioning gaze. ‘Do you have any leftover pregnancy tests?' she asked.

Serena opened a cupboard with a flourish. ‘Take your pick. I have eight different brands.'

Ava took the first one her hand touched. ‘This is probably going to be negative. I'm on the Pill, for God's sake.'

‘Yes, but only a low-dose one,' Serena reminded her, ‘and they are not one hundred per cent reliable.'

Ava bit her lip. ‘Give me a minute, OK?'

Serena smiled and, blowing her a kiss, closed the bathroom door.

 

Ava opened the bathroom door a few minutes later. ‘You're not going to believe this…' she said, clutching the dipstick in her hand.

Serena squealed and began to jump up and down in excitement. ‘Oh, my God!'

Ava bit her lip, torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to cry. ‘I'm supposed to be meeting Marc tonight for dinner. Tonight's the big night. I'm supposed to give him my answer.'

‘Honey, you didn't need to do a pregnancy test to confirm you're going to go back to him,' Serena said. ‘I've known what your decision was from the moment you stepped in the door a month ago. Richard saw it too.'

Ava grimaced sheepishly. ‘Was I that obvious?'

Serena smiled. ‘Dreadfully, tragically, just like in the movies. It's a wonder Marc couldn't see it for himself.'

Ava sighed as she rested her hand on her belly. ‘I miss him so much. I can't believe I went five years without seeing him. How on earth did I survive that?'

Serena wrapped her arms around Ava and hugged her tightly. ‘I wish the last five years hadn't happened. I will always feel guilty about that. You gave up so much for me. I can never repay you.'

Ava returned her sister's embrace. In the four weeks she had been in London she had noticed a difference in Serena. Sometimes Ava felt like the younger sister. Serena had become protective of her, instead of the other way around. ‘You don't owe me anything,' she said. ‘Anyway, it's time to put it behind and move forwards. The past belonged to others, the future belongs to me.'

 

The hotel they had arranged to meet at was where they had first met. Ava wondered if Marc had chosen it deliberately or whether it was just a coincidence, or even a matter of convenience. She knew he stayed at that particular hotel a great deal, as it was close to his office tower. He had been photographed numerous times over the years with other women in the same bar.

She took a deep breath and walked towards the bar, her heart beating way too hard and too fast as she searched for him amongst the other people gathered there. The pianist was playing a romantic melody, one that made Ava feel as if she was travelling back in time. But this time it was different. There was no tall figure leaning indolently against the bar, no dark, unreadable eyes meeting hers across the clot of other drinkers.

Ava felt her stomach sink in panic. He hadn't come. He had forgotten… No, he had decided he didn't want her any more. He had found someone else, a glamorous new lover who didn't want kids and commitment.

She glanced at her watch. She was late, not early. Was this his final revenge? To leave her dangling as she had done to him all that time ago?

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip, her eyes sweeping the bar again and again. Her panic turned to despair. She felt as if she was going to cry. Tears gathered and threatened to spill, and her chest ached with the effort of holding herself together.

‘Ava.'

She spun around at the sound of that deep, unmistakable, mellifluous voice. ‘Marc…' Her voice came out on
a croak. ‘I thought….' She blinked a couple of times. ‘I thought…' She swallowed and just stood staring up at him.

Marc took her hands in his. ‘Sorry I was late. I got stuck with a phone call.' He bent and pressed a light kiss to each of her cheeks. ‘You look very beautiful.'

Her lips fluttered with a nervous-looking smile. ‘So…how are you?'

He tried to smile back but it felt false. His chest was pounding and his skin had broken out in a sweat as if he were on his first date. ‘I'm good, and you?'

‘Er—fine…good…really good.' Her gaze fell away from his.

Marc felt a tight hand around his heart. He was losing her. She could barely look at him. ‘So…you're not anaemic any more?' he asked.

‘Er—no,' she said, blushing like a rose.

A silence swirled around them.

‘Would you like to have a drink in the bar?' Marc asked, wishing the bar weren't so crowded, wishing he had thought to meet her somewhere else, somewhere more private. But he had hoped to recreate that moment when they had first met. It was a rather pathetic attempt to rewrite the past. There was no way either of them could do that, least of all him.

She shook her head and slowly raised her eyes to his. ‘Could we go somewhere a little more private?'

‘Sure.' He pulled out his room key, hoping she didn't notice how his hand was shaking. ‘I have a permanent suite here, so we can go upstairs.'

Marc could see how uncomfortable she was with
him. He tried to compose himself, but it was so hard with her within touching distance. He could smell her perfume, that alluring fragrance of summer flowers that had haunted him for the past month, let alone the past five years.

He had found the last month unbearable. It had brought home to him how much he needed her. He had restricted his contact to twice-weekly phone calls to keep from begging her to come back to him then and there. The dreadful thought of never seeing her again, or—worse—seeing her with someone else had eaten away at him until he had nearly gone mad. He had barely slept; he had barely been able to function in order to get through each day. And then there was the disappointment about the pregnancy. He was still struggling to overcome that blow. How had his feelings changed so swiftly? Now all he could think about was a little baby, a dark-haired boy who looked like him or an adorable blonde little girl, the image of her mother. He looked at Ava again, his heart contracting at the sight of her standing there, chewing on her lip as if she couldn't wait for this to be over.

The doors of the lift opened and Marc led her to his penthouse. She moved past him in the doorway, her slight frame brushing up against him, setting every nerve on edge. ‘Can I get you a drink?' he asked.

‘Marc, there's something I have to tell you…' she began.

‘No,' he said, closing the door behind him. ‘Let me go first. Please, I need to say this. I've been rehearsing it for the past month.'

She looked a little uncertain. ‘O…K…'

He came over and took her hands in his again, his thumbs stroking the backs of her fingers gently. ‘Firstly, I have to tell you something that I think will be quite upsetting to you.'

He saw the flicker of panic in her grey-blue eyes and the tip of her tongue as it darted out to sweep over her lips. ‘Go on…'

‘Your sister didn't make any mistakes in the book-work,' he said. ‘That was a set-up by Cole and very cleverly hidden by Hugh Watterson. Cole wanted the Dubai account and he conjured up a scheme to make sure he got it. He knew about our relationship from various articles in the Press. Serena was on his staff, so it was too good an opportunity to miss. When you broke off our relationship he made his move. By blackmailing you into marriage he won over the vendor's confidence. He had the money to splash around on a young, beautiful wife who had chosen him over me. I didn't stand a chance in the vendor's eyes. I wasn't even in the same ball park.'

She closed her eyes as she took in the information. He could feel the tension in her hands as she held on to him. She opened her eyes again and looked at him. ‘So…so I never needed to marry him?' she asked in a choked whisper.

Marc shook his head. ‘I'm sorry. I know that's nowhere near good enough to make up for what you went through, but I am so deeply sorry for not coming after you when you left. I will never forgive myself for that. I let you down in the most unforgivable way.'

She pulled out of his hold, hugging her arms around her middle, her expression contorted with bewilder
ment as she began to pace the floor. ‘I can't believe it…How can people be so cruel? He never once told me. He could have told me before he died. He
should
have told me. Serena had a right to know. For God's sake,
I
had a right to know.'

‘Maybe he was frightened if he told you, you would leave him to die alone,' Marc said. ‘God knows, it was what he deserved.'

‘He set me up.' She looked at him again. ‘He set you up too and made you hate me.' Her face crumpled then, tears sprouting in her eyes. ‘That was the worst part. Knowing you hated me so much.'

Marc felt emotion clog his throat. ‘I don't hate you, Ava.'

She blinked again as if his words hadn't quite registered. ‘You…you don't?'

He shook his head. ‘Why do you think I came after you and forced you into a relationship with me?'

She pressed her lips together, thinking about it for a moment. ‘I thought you wanted revenge…'

He came over to where she was standing, unpeeling her arms from around her waist so he could hold her in the circle of his arms. ‘I thought so too,' he said with a rueful look. ‘I convinced myself I was intent on making you pay for what I thought you had done. But looking back now, I realise what I was really doing was giving myself another opportunity to start over with you. I wanted to make you fall in love with me the way I had fallen in love with you five years ago.'

Ava had to shake her head to make sure she wasn't
misinterpreting what she had just heard. ‘You were in love with me? The whole time you were in love with me?'

‘I know this sounds crazy, but I didn't realise how much I loved you until I thought I was going to lose you the second time,' he said. And, wincing, added, ‘Go on, say it. Tell me it's too late, that you're well and truly over me. I can take it. I've been preparing myself for it for the last four weeks. It's no more than I deserve.'

Ava felt a smile slowly spread across her face. ‘You think that's what I'm going to say?'

He made an effort to look as if it didn't matter, but this time she could see through it. She saw the way his throat constricted as he tried to disguise a swallow, and the way a little nerve pulsed at the side of his mouth. His eyes too had become dark and glistened with the suspicion of moisture. ‘I can take it, Ava,' he said. ‘You don't need to wrap it up to soften the blow. I didn't exactly treat you with any consideration for your feelings.'

‘I love you, Marc,' she said, trying not to cry. ‘I have never stopped loving you… Well, maybe for a week or two here and there.'

He tightened his hold, his eyes dark and intent upon hers. ‘You're not just saying that, are you? I'm not going to do anything about the debts Cole left behind. I would never have held you to account for those. I just had to find a way to keep you with me.'

‘Oh, Marc,' she said, hugging him tightly. ‘Why have we wasted so much precious time?'

He buried his head in her hair. ‘Don't let's waste
another minute. Let's get married as soon as we can and then we can start on trying for a baby. I was so disappointed when that test came back negative. Besides the fact it left me with no bargaining tool to keep you with me, I got to thinking about what it would be like to have a child. Everywhere I looked I saw young couples with a baby or a little child. It seemed so right all of a sudden.' He held her from him to look at her. ‘What do you say? Do you feel ready to have a baby with me?'

Ava felt her heart swell inside her chest. ‘You want a baby?'

He gripped her even tighter. ‘Think about it, Ava, a baby who looks like both of us. A little person who will grow up with so much love they will have the best start in life possible. We won't make the mistakes our parents made. I will make sure of it.'