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‘Calrowled, affronted by that particular choice of words

‘Elias is healthy, happy and secure He lacks nothing There is no reason for you to be concerned or involved in any way in our lives,’ Maribel told hi him to listen, understand and accept those facts

Rage was rising in Leonidas with a ferocity he had not experienced since his sister had died when he was sixteen How dared she seek to exclude him from his child’s life? Elias had to be his child, his son Had it been otherwise, Maribel would have said so But bewilderressive response ready to blast froet rid of him if Elias was his child? What kind of sense did that make?

‘Did you assume I wouldn’t want to know? Is that what lies at the foot of this nonsense?’ Dark eyes shie ‘Are you presu to believe that you knoould feel if I had a child? You do not know Even I do not knohen such news comes at me out of nowhere!’

The atmosphere was so hot and tense Maribel would not have been surprised to hear it sizzle and see it smoke

‘When was he born?’ Leonidas demanded

Her neck and her shoulders ached with the tension of her rigid stance All the legendary force of the Pallis as trained on her in the onslaught of his fierce dark gaze Never had she been th of character and it occurred to her that parting with a few harave the date

The silence seemed to last for ever In the circumstances and with such a date, Leonidas knew immediately that there was virtually no chance that anyone else could have fathered her child ‘I want to see him’

Maribel hite and shook her head in urgent negative, chestnut brown hair flying round her cheeks in a glossy fall ‘No I won’t allow that’

‘You won’t…allow…that?’ Leonidas breathed in rampant disbelief

Maribel wished that there had been ahim that Unhappily, she had no precedent to follow because people didn’t say no to Leonidas Pallis ‘No’ was not a word he was accusto ‘No’ was not a word he kne to accept Fro he had ever wanted or asked for, while being starved of the muchout the e by without it Nohen he desired so, he siet in his way He was as ruthless as only a very powerful personality could be when he was crossed She knew very well that her refusal struck hie and just how unfortunate that reality was