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‘But there are other ways to be secure—and our child ht not want to be a private banker What then?’

He looked at her as if she was coe, and she saw that he had no concept of anything other than his way of life It was ingrained so deeply within him that all other choices were co her into it too

She thought about her own path, how deeply she had been prepared to plough her own furrow, blinkered and refusing to see any other way

‘Matteo, maybe—just maybe—this should be left to fate to decide You’ve been trying so hard for so long and maybe—’

‘I can’t leave this to fate Not until I’ve tried every single thing I can do And this—you being pregnant I thought it was a disaster, but now I think itfor all of us’

She narrowed her eyes ‘What do you mean?’

‘Ithis added responsibility hasto live for another thirty years or e—it was always hanging over me—but it seeled to accept that this was my life now But youthe baby I knoorld has to be I have to make this work Don’t you see?’

She opened her mouth but he shook his head and walked away, and there, framed in the restaurant , he looked so terribly alone, set apart in his own tormented world

And she had walked right into the middle of it Could she leave him alone with this? She needed him as much as he needed her Maybe even ined

Her head hurt as she tried to think But her heart was sure Even if it had been trampled in the process Because how could she keep herself safe fro in love with him? It was already be too late

‘What exactly do you need me to do next weekend?’

He spun around from theAnd suddenly he looked warrior-proud, invincible