‘By the time I found out I was pregnant,’ she cried, ‘the wedding was upon me and I…I didn’t have the courage to just walk away.’
‘You should have told me,’ he said bleakly.
‘I should have. Yes.’
‘But you didn’t.’
‘No.’
‘You didn’t love me. You loved him.’
Again, she fell silent, shaking her head from side to side.
‘Did you know Harmon couldn’t have kids when you slept with me? Did you do it to give him the child you knew he couldn’t have.’
Nicolas could not deny the shock that filled her face. ‘No! No! I would never do a thing like that. And Greg could have children. I told you. He just had a low sperm count.’
‘If that’s the case, when did you know she was mine?’
‘Oh, God,’ she sobbed, then snatched a handful of tissues from a box on the counter, turning away from him as she blew her nose.
‘I’m waiting for an answer, Serina,’ Nicolas said with barely held patience.
Her sigh was weary, her eyes haunted. ‘I knew all along,’ she confessed. ‘I…I hadn’t slept with Greg during the last couple of months of our engagement. He wanted to make our wedding night special, he said.’
‘And was it?’ Nicolas asked bitterly.
‘I’m not going to answer that.’
‘You’ll answer anything I ask you. And you’ll do anything I ask you. Or you know what will happen. I’ll tell everyone in Rocky Creek the truth and to hell with you.’
‘You wouldn’t do that. You’re not that cruel.’
‘How do you know? Like you said earlier today, we don’t know each other anymore.’
‘What is it that you want me to do?’ she asked him, her eyes fearful.
‘That depends on what you want me to do. Spell it out for me, Serina. That way I won’t be under any further illusions about you.’
‘I…I don’t want you to tell anyone. Ever. I want you to keep my secret. Not for my sake. For Felicity’s. And for her extended family. You must have seen how much Greg’s parents love her. It would break their hearts—and Felicity’s—if you tell them Greg wasn’t her father.’
‘And what about my heart? Or don’t you think it can be broken?’
‘Oh, Nicolas, Nicolas, do be honest. It’s only your ego that is hurt by this. You don’t have any bond with Felicity. It’s not as though you want to come back to Rocky Creek and be her father for real. You hate it here. Your life is in New York and London.’
Amazing how the ugly truth could rub one raw. Though it was going a bit far to say that only his ego was hurting.
‘She could come with me,’ he said stubbornly. ‘I could help her become a truly great pianist. She has the talent.’
Serina pulled a face. ‘You don’t know your daughter even a little bit if you say that. She doesn’t want to be a concert pianist. She wants to be a vet.’
‘Yes, I know,’ he said grimly. ‘She told me.’
‘See? There’s nothing to be gained by telling her that you’re her father. She would end up hating you for it, believe me.’
‘And you, Serina? Would you end up hating me? Or do you already hate me?’
Her eyes carried extreme frustration. ‘I never hated you, Nicolas. But I could, quite easily, if you do this.’
‘Are you talking about my telling everyone Felicity is my daughter? Or what sexual favours I might demand in exchange for my silence?’
‘Oh, Nicolas, Nicolas,’ she said, her soulful eyes chastening, then infuriating him.
‘It’s not too much to ask, surely,’ he bellowed at her. ‘One miserable night for a future lifetime of silence? You might even enjoy it. You seemed to this afternoon.’
She went very pale. But her chin went up and she eyed him with the same strength of character with which she’d eyed him all day.
‘This afternoon was something else entirely.’
‘Really? You mean you didn’t agree to do whatever I wanted in bed in exchange for my rapid departure tomorrow?’
‘I know it probably looks that way…’
‘I can’t see how it can look any other way. So, if I asked you for a repeat performance tonight, you’d agree?’
She just stared at him, her eyes reproachful.
‘If I must,’ she said at last.
Her answer took all the breath from his lungs. And struck a vicious blow to his conscience.
It came to Nicolas then just how much Serina loved their daughter. It was a love that transcended pride; that would endure any humiliation to protect her child from harm, or unhappiness.