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She put her ar not to do all day, which was to cry He cried the tears he’d never cried before Tears of loneliness and pain, which eventually gave way to the realisation that he was free at last Free of the past and all its dark tentacles He had let it go and Ellie had helped him do that

His hand was shaking as he smoothed the pale hair away from her face and looked at her

‘You would never do that,’ he said

She turned her head slightly, so that she could kiss the hand which was still cupping the side of her face ‘Do what?’

‘Leave our baby’

She turned her head back, biting her lip, her grey eyes darkening ‘I don’t want to judge your mother, or to compare—’

‘That wasn’tiven you a hard tiht have lost patience with ave th and showed me the way’

His question shimmered on the air as she looked into his eyes

‘Because I love you,’ she said simply ‘You must have realised that by now? But love so to take a step back, because it can never flourish if there are darknesses or secrets, or things which never dare be spoken about’

‘And I love you,’ he said, his free hand reaching out to lie possessively over the bump of their unborn child A lump rose in his throat as he felt the powerful ripple of movement beneath ‘I love you and our baby and I will love you both for ever I will nurture and care for you both and never let you down Be very certain of that, poulaki mou I will never let you down’

He could taste the salt from her own tears as he kissed her and did what he’d been wanting to do for so long He lay down beside her and put his ar heart