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The diahts of the very exclusive jewellers she and Xandros were in Eht at her

Muer! She would be glad for me—thrilled for me!

That hat she must think No one—not even herto do Both he and Xandros would be richer and so, in six months’ tih to escape for ever from the bleakness of her London life

Mum would want that for me—I know she would!

‘If you don’t like this ring there are plentynow

She looked up at him ‘It’s fabulous!’ she said ‘If you think it’s necessary?’ she added doubtfully, knowing how horrendously expensive a ring like this must be

‘Yes, it is,’ Xandros replied firave her a pointed look ‘Rosalie, this enuine, but there can’t be any questions about it, okay? So, like it or not, you’ll have to endure wearing it!’

His tone was light, good hue Kyria Lakaris-to-be had to look the part—right down to the priceless engageer

She felt its weight as they ister office—to set inthem to marry She would need her birth certificate, she discovered, and Xandros undertook to have it couriered out to Athens The wedding would take place as soon as possible and Xandros—thankfully—had allayed the chief of her alarms

‘We’ll keep it couests Not even family, okay?’

She was relieved Having her father present would have been unendurable Xandros had already told her that he would deal with hi to do with him

‘I’ll let hi your tantrum yesterday—because that’s the way he’ll see it!—I’ve prevailed upon you to see the sense of what he said’ Xandros had told her over brunch, his expression taut ‘The rest is true enough—that I’ve whisked you away, put you up in a hotel and a with all speed As for e that had been audible ‘I’ll be oes ahead once I have his coer, and a prootiations to that end will start ience and all the other er will require, and he will co-operate fully with all the legal processes’

There were ‘legal processes’ between her and Xandros, too, that had to be addressed Their next port of call was his private lawyer’s office, where Rosalie’s only protest was at how much money Xandros had stipulated in the pre-nup was to be paid in the event of their divorce—a divorce that was not going to be an ‘if’ but a ‘when’

‘It’s far too much!’ she protested as they left

He looked across at her ‘Rosalie, don’t argue If you want me to show you just how er with your father goes ahead, then I shall I a to be a much richer man than I am now! Your payoff is worth every penny, I promise you!’