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But then, in truth, the past twenty-four hours had been equally unsettling Cesare and Lizzie had reacted to her announce to Marith Jaul with far less surprise than Chrissie had naively expected Her sister and brother-in-law had assu an effort to rebuild theirchildren

‘And if it doesn’t work out, at least you know you tried and you can coain,’ Lizzie had proclai hoally surrendered two years earlier To co to leave her children behind her and that was not an option she could ever i

That sae and had put her apartency For what had reone shopping with her sister for aher father had arrived in London for a visit and Jaul had joined them for dinner Jaul had dealt calhed when Chrissie had remarked on his discretion before his departure

‘When it comes to temperament, your father is a walk in the park My father lost his head in rage at least once a week There was no reasoning with his Of course, he was veryup and because he saw himself as an all-powerful ruler he never studied to control his te her with his candour ‘It was a good learning experience for me’

That gliround had sharply disconcerted Chrissie because to her it had sounded less like a learning experience and ratherman she had once briefly met, Chrissie had made no co the possibility that, with such an intolerant and inflexible parent, Jaul’s childhood could not possibly have been as secure and privileged as she had always assumed

Before boarding the flight, Chrissie had gone to a beauty salon to have her hair trimmed and her nails painted, sroo to see by Jaul’s side Royal? That very wordabout her was that she had allowed Jaul to royally shaft her in every sense of the word, she thought with rebellious bitterness

She had agreed to return to a husband who had once abandoned her and who had yet to explain hiet aith that? How had she let that huge question get buried beneath her terror of losing custody of the twins? And what the heck was Jaul still hiding from her?

He was probably only trying to hide the unlovely truth from her, Chrissie reasoned with scorn But she wasn’t stupid and she could work out the most likely scenario for herself Obviously Jaul had never loved her; all he had ever felt for her was lust, a lust honed to a fine sharp edge by the length of tiet her into bed Had he realised soon after their e that he had made a dreadful mistake and that she was not at all what he wanted in a wife?

Had he then confessed all to his father? Why else would Jaul have never returned fro once treated her so cruelly? Of the fact that he had duuts to tell her he was done with her? Of the fact he had had his father pay her off as though she were soer? Was that why Jaul had still to explain his own behaviour?

From below her lashes, Chrissie studied her husband with si intensity Whether she liked it or not, dressed in a charcoal-grey suit staance, Jaul looked absolutely gorgeous One look at hi jawline already shadowed by faint black stubble and his guarded dark eyes pinned to her below the heavy black fringe of his lashes and her pulses hae of his lithe, sleek body sinking down over hers and, even in theconstricted and her heart pounded like crazy Jolted by that response, her chest tightened in a stress reaction even as she felt her nipples prickle and swell below her clothing