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‘It’s too late for lies’ His rich dark accented drawl roughened the tenor of that warning ‘Yourole in your grande because she made it financially worth your while to do so’

Ophelia was shattered that he could suspect her of having been a party to her grandmother’s deception from the outset ‘That’s not true For a start, she didn’t confide in me and I—’

‘You’re wasting your ti to act innocent—’

‘For goodness’ sake, it’s not an act! Why should I have known that there was another will? How could I have guessed that?’ Dry-ht was a bottle of water frolass to drink But when the liquid hit her throat, her eyes watered and she had to s fast and painfully to ward off an e, because what she had mistaken for water was actually alcohol

His lean, tanned face harsh, Lysander watched his bride knock back a large shot of neat vodka He recalled her prim insistence that she did not drink and he wondered how he had believed for one second that he could trust her

‘You’reme,’ Ophelia told him steadfastly

‘I don’t think so’

Lysander had a hauteur that even royalty would have been challenged to equal and he did derision to theraw by his cold look of incredulity, Ophelia wanted to shout, while at the saenuine bottle of water to rinse the acrid taste of alcohol fro about any of this,’ she argued ‘I was never that close to randmother’

‘You were close enough for her to leave you everything she possessed All you had to do to win that prize was play along with her warped plans and go through withme’

Ophelia spun angrily back to him ‘You’re the one who askedplotted this?’

‘Easily Even your parrot is obsessed with revenge,’ Lysander derided

Her crystalline eyes flared ‘Just you leave Haddock out of this!’

His deep, dark eyes were cold as the depths of a river ‘Let’s cut to the bottom line—how much will it cost me to buy the house from you?’

Colouring beneath the conteolden head high ‘I’ to sell it any more!’

His worst expectations and darkest suspicions confir sibilant in Greek The tense silence hung like a sheet of glass about to crash

‘Everything’s changed!’ Ophelia was struggling not to be inti force of will he emanated ‘And it’s not my fault’

‘Isn’t it?’ Lysander breathed ‘Even your supposed reluctance to ht have had of your motives’

‘I didn’t fake anything! My grandmother fooled me as well and landedback with spirit

‘But it’s a very lucrative mess from your point of view You qualified for your inheritance and you’ll profit even ned with me’

Eyes bright with anger, Ophelia snatched in a sustaining breath ‘I wasn’t planning on accepting that cash…actually—’

Lysander loosed a derisive laugh ‘I liked you better when you were honest about your love of money’

‘Oh, did you indeed? So you’re still fully convinced that I’er, are you?’ Her nails biting into her pal resentment

Black-lashedconsideration ‘You said it, glikia mou’

Teh Ophelia’s slender frae, since there was no way that she could prove that she hadn’t known about the tills He infuriated her and the urge to outdo him and have the last word ruled supre pushed around and insulted She had apologised, she had tried to explain and he wasn’t interested Well, she was done with being hu a fraud, a liar and a cheat! If he wanted to believe that she was an evil, greedy schemer, he elcome to

‘Well, that’s all right then,’ Ophelia fired back full throttle ‘I’ll rip you off for every penny I can get because that’s exactly what you deserve!’