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Then her lovely face hardened, in that aloof, cold expression he kneell

“So I’m a mere housekeeper now, alittered “Just what sort of payout do you think I want?”

He set his jaw “Marriage”

She sucked in her breath “Marriage?”

“You know very well,” he said grinant, I would have no other choice”

They stared at each other in the shadows of the garden

Looking down at her beautiful face, Rafael’s body hurt with tension and fury

He’d always vowed he would never get trapped by any woh At seventeen, he’d fallen for an older woman who’d callously dropped him to marry a wealthy man When Rafael had pleaded with her toThe faded Cruz fortune wasn’t nearly enough to teh, but money hat mattered most to her

At eighteen, he’d et rich Ten years later, he’d ruined the woman—and her husband—in payback

Rafael would never feel desperate over a woain It hy he could never have children He would never give a woain Never

He looked at Louisa Especially her She had too much power over him already

Against his will, Rafael’s gaze dropped to her lushif she were the most acco to kiss her His body ached for her

“So if I were pregnant, you would really wish to marry me?” she whispered

In spite of all her defiance, he saw that she wished to marry him She wanted to pin him down She was no different from all the rest

He said evenly, “There’s no way I would allow my child to be raised by some other man So I would erously “Is that what you’ve wanted all along?”