The Tycoon's Pregnant Mistress (The Anetakis Tycoons #1)(53)

He nodded and buried his face in his hands. “I wouldn’t blame her if she never forgave me. How can she when I cannot forgive myself?”

“Go to her, Chrysander. Make this right between you.”

Chrysander stood. Yes, it was time to try and make things right with Marley. If he could.

Sixteen

M arley stood in the bedroom, staring out the window with unseeing eyes. Nothing Chrysander did at this point should hurt her, but he still had that power over her, much to her dismay.

“Marley.”She swung around to see Chrysander standing in the doorway. He looked tired, his features drawn and his eyes worried. There was something else in his expression. Sadness and…fear?

He started forward, a little hesitantly. “We need to talk.”

She tensed then braced herself for what she knew would come. His repudiation of her. She turned her face away but nodded. Yes, they needed to talk and get it done with.

His fingers curled around her chin, and he gently turned her to face him. “Don’t look like that, agape mou. I do not like to see you so sad.”

“Please,” she begged. “Just say what it is you want to say. Don’t draw it out.”

He lowered his hand to capture her wrist. His thumb brushed across her pulse, which jumped and sped up at his touch.

“Come, sit down.”

She let him lead her over to the bed. He eased down beside her and sat stiffly, his posture screaming discomfort. Suddenly she couldn’t wait for what he would say. Her anger bubbled like an inferno within her.

“You lied to me,” she seethed. “Every single thing you’ve said to me since that day in the hospital has been one lie after another. You don’t care about me. All those things you said, everything was a lie. When you took me to bed, you despised me, and yet you made love to me and made me believe you cared. Who does that sort of thing?”

She shuddered in revulsion and put her hands to her face.

“You are wrong,” he said softly. He pulled her hands away from her face and lifted one to his lips to kiss her upturned palm. “I care a great deal about you. I didn’t despise you when I made love to you. Yes, I lied to you about details. I was told not to do or say anything to upset you and to let your memory come back on its own. I lied, Marley, but about the little things. Not the important things. Like how much I care about you. S’agapo, pedhaki mou.”

She bowed her head. Her nose stung, and tears burned her eyelids. How she wanted to believe him. But he’d done nothing to earn her trust.

“I have wronged you greatly, Marley.”

She raised her head to stare at him in shock. Chrysander admitting that he was wrong?

Shame dragged at his eyes, and deep sorrow had pasted shadows under them.

“There are things you must know. I never received any ransom demands. I would have moved heaven and earth to free you. No price would have been too high. I did not know that you had been abducted.”

Her mouth fell open. “How could you not know?”

His eyes grew stormy. “Roslyn destroyed the ransom notes. You were right to dislike her, and because I ignored your feelings about her, I placed you in terrible danger.”

Marley’s mind reeled with all he had told her. She raised a shaking hand to her mouth. He hadn’t gotten the ransom demands? “I thought—” She broke off and shook her head, emotion overwhelming her.

“What did you think, agape mou?” he asked softly.

“That you hated me,” she whispered. “That you wouldn’t pay to free me because you thought I had stolen from you. That I wasn’t even worth half a million dollars to you.”

He groaned and pulled her into his arms. His hands trembled against her back as he stroked up and down. “I am a fool. I was wrong to accuse you as I did. I have no defense.”

She pulled away and gazed up at him. “You don’t believe I stole from you?”

He shook his head sharply. “No. It was Roslyn. She planted the papers in your bag to make me think it was you.” He paused and swiped a hand through his hair. “Even though I thought you had stolen from me, it no longer seemed to matter after your abduction. All that mattered to me was that you were back where you belonged. With me.” His mouth twisted. “That night when you asked me about our relationship…I was frightened.”

She raised one eyebrow. The idea of anything frightening Chrysander was laughable.

“I thought you were unhappy, that you wanted more than I was giving you,” he admitted. “And then I was angry because it scared me. I was determined that you not be the one to decide our relationship, so I pushed you away by telling you that we had no relationship, that you were my mistress.”

Her heart sped up as she viewed the vulnerability on his face. Her chest tightened, and it became harder to breathe as her pulse raced. “What are you saying?” she whispered.

“That I love you, pedhaki mou. S’agapo.”

Her eyes widened as she realized what the words he’d said a few minutes ago meant. She couldn’t even formulate a response, so she stared at him in shock.

Self-derision crawled across his face. “I have a terrible way of showing it. I was proud, too proud to just tell you how I felt. I didn’t even know it then. I just knew I didn’t want you to leave and was angry that I thought you were unhappy in our current relationship. And then when I saw those papers in your bag, I was shocked and furious. I couldn’t believe that you would steal from me.”