Her Shameful Secret (17 page)

“Isabella,” his mother greeted her in English. “I wanted to see you before you left for America. I hope you will return soon.”

“I have no intention of coming back,” Isabella replied
in Italian, “I am not giving you the opportunity to steal my child.”

Maria flinched and her face went a mottled red. Her movements were choppy as she turned his attention to Antonio. “You told me she didn’t speak Italian,” she hissed.

“I said no such thing,” Antonio replied, his gaze firmly on Isabella’s trembling jaw. “Gio probably gave you that impression but he was wrong.”

Unfortunately for him. How could he convince Isabella that he had abandoned his plans? Would she believe that now he really wanted to marry her and adopt her child? No. She would never trust his motivations. He didn’t blame her.

“Isabella—” his mother began, but faltered to a stop as Isabella glared at her.

“Mother, I think it would be best if you left. Bella and I need to talk.”

Maria looked uncertain as she glanced at Isabella and then back at him. She was very aware of Isabella’s unpredictable anger quivering in the air.

“I don’t think that would be wise.”

Antonio sighed softly. Of all the times his mother chose now to give him support. She knew she’d made a big mistake, and he appreciated her need to back him up, but he didn’t need her here. This was between him and Isabella. “Please?”

Maria’s shoulders sagged in defeat. She grabbed her purse from his desk, patted her chignon to make sure every hair was in place, and gave Isabella a wide berth as she walked out of the study.

Antonio held Isabella’s furious gaze but they didn’t exchange a word. The moment they heard his mother
leave the apartment and shut the door Isabella took an angry step forward.

“Was
anything
we shared true?” Her tone was low and fierce. “Or was it all a lie?”

Antonio saw the pain and the rage in her eyes. He wanted to wrap his arms around her, hold her close and take the hurt from her. He knew how she felt. He had wrestled with that very question when he’d thought she had cheated on him. It ate away at him to the point where he didn’t think he would be whole again.

“You still believe I cheated on you,” she said, her eyes narrowing into slits. “You told me you believed me so I would get closer to you.”

“No, I believe you.” She had been innocent, and he had renewed this affair under false pretenses. She would never forgive him and he had to live with the fact that he’d ruined their second chance for happiness.

“I don’t think so. You will say anything to get what you want. You’d even go so far as to marry me if it means getting control of the family fortune. Why, you’d even say you love me when you can’t stand the sight of me.”

“That’s not true.” Antonio moved and stood in front of her. “I do love you. You don’t have to question that. I have proved it every day since we got back together.”

“No, you’ve proved that you’re a very good actor. You’ve pretended to look after me when what you were really doing was looking after your own interests.” Her hand shook with fury as she pointed accusingly at him. “You said you wanted to give me everything, but once you’d got what you wanted you would have taken it all away.”

Antonio reared back as if he’d been hit. How could
she say that? Did she think him that low? “I would never do that and you know it.”

“I thought I knew you, but obviously I don’t.” She shook her head in disgust. “I was thrilled when you finally opened up to me, but that was part of the plan, wasn’t it? Were the stories even true?”

“Of course they were.” Her accusations stung. He had shared those memories knowing he could trust them to Isabella. “I told you things I haven’t told anyone else.”

She wasn’t listening. “But the
pièce de resistance
of your plan was pure genius,” she declared with the sweep of her hand. “Proving that you could be a good father to my child. Only it was all a show.”

“No, it wasn’t,” he said through clenched teeth.

“You even got your friends involved so that you could demonstrate how good you are with children. And I fell for it!”

“That’s not true,” he insisted. “I didn’t fake anything with my friends. I adore those kids and you have no right to question that.”

She thrust out her chin. “And
you
had no right seducing me,” she said in a growl, her eyes flashing with ferocious anger. “Making me believe that you wanted a second chance. I knew you wanted to control my child’s inheritance but I didn’t think you’d try to take my child as well.”

“That was not my intention.” Antonio said coldly. He needed his words to pierce through her tumultuous emotions. “I would never separate you from your child.”

“I heard what your mother said.”

“Yes, my mother said it. Not me.”

“Then what
was
your plan?” she asked, placing her fists on her hips. “I know you had one. You set it in motion
when you found me at that café. Why would you come looking for me when you could have had someone else do the job?”

Antonio couldn’t deny it. Isabella knew him well. That hadn’t been a disadvantage in the past. She’d known his good and bad sides and still fallen in love with him. He had destroyed that love once before but this was different. There was no hope after this.

He wanted to lie. He should lie if he wanted to save what they had together. But he couldn’t. It was time he owned up to his plan. Isabella deserved to know the truth and understand what he was capable of doing.

“I didn’t know why Gio named you in the will. I thought it was to remind me of what he could steal away from me—you
and
my birthright. I wasn’t going to let that happen and I planned to take back the power he’d given you.”

She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I’ve already figured that out. What did you plan to do?”

Antonio looked away guiltily. Maybe it was best if he didn’t tell her
everything
.

“Oh, my God,” Isabella whispered and dropped her hands to her sides. “You were going to seduce me so I would give up my child’s claim to the Rossi fortune.”

Isabella took a cautious step back as she realized Antonio’s plan.
That
was why he’d wanted more than a one-night stand.
That
was why he had been insistent on sharing his bed. It wasn’t because he found her irresistible. He had been manufacturing emotional intimacy before he moved in for the kill.

She blanched as she remembered how open and trusting she had been in Antonio’s arms. “Giovanni
said you wouldn’t touch me once you found out I was pregnant with his child,” she said in a broken whisper. “I thought that was true until you kissed me.…” She had thought Antonio couldn’t help himself despite everything that happened between them.

“I always wanted you,” he confessed. “Even when I thought you were sleeping with my brother. I can’t stop wanting you.”

His raw tone revealed how much he loved
and
hated the power she had over him. She knew the feeling. Antonio was her weakness, her vice. Only he’d used it against her.

“I knew early on that you weren’t going to accept any financial settlement,” Antonio said. “I
didn’t
have sex with you to regain power over the family fortune. I made love to you because I wanted to be with you.”

Despite the anger and pain pouring through her, Isabella wanted to believe him. And that scared her. She wanted desperately to believe that their relationship was as straightforward as it had been in the beginning. It hurt even to think about how beautifully simple their love affair had been.

Pain seeped into her bones. Her limbs felt heavy and she wanted to lean against the nearest wall before sliding down to the floor. She refrained from wrapping her arms around her middle or curling into a protective ball. She would not show any weakness or tears in front of this man. He would use her feelings to his advantage, just as he’d used her attraction and seduced her back into his bed.

“So,” she said, her voice rough as her throat tightened, “you had to go with a Plan B. You needed to marry me. That would have been very difficult for you.
Antonio Rossi making a commitment? Especially to a nobody.”

“I have never thought of you as a nobody.”

“No, you saw me as the woman pregnant with the Rossi heir. That’s the only reason you’d consider marrying me. You certainly weren’t thinking that when we were together the first time.”

Antonio shoved his hand in her dark, thick hair. “I admit that my reason for restarting our affair wasn’t honest, but that changed.
I
changed.”

Isabella snorted. “How convenient.”

He grabbed her arms and forced her to face him. She met his gaze head-on. She wasn’t afraid. She wasn’t going to back down. Nothing he said or did could make her feel any worse.

“I want a future with you, Bella. When you came back into my life I knew that I couldn’t let you go. It isn’t about the money or the baby. It’s about us.”

Isabella slowly raised her hands and flattened them on his solid chest. She felt the strong beat of his heart. Antonio was telling her everything she needed to hear. Just like he had week after week. And somehow she was supposed to believe that the lies had become the truth?

Isabella pushed him away and he reluctantly let go of her arms.

“You have to believe me,” Antonio said. “I don’t know how to prove it to you. How can I show you how much I love you?”

“You can’t.” It was over. She couldn’t make it work by clinging on to him, on to the promise of this relationship. Isabella turned around and headed for the door. She had to get out of here before she found a reason not to.

“I’m not going to let you walk out of my life again,” he warned her.

“Yes, you are,” she said hoarsely as emotion clawed at her throat. She didn’t dare face him. “Last time you dumped me. This time I’m making a run for it.”

She felt Antonio follow her. Isabella wanted to hurry and hide. She had to get out before her resolve weakened. Before she allowed herself to believe anything he said. She grabbed her backpack and swung it over her shoulders. Ducking her head and keeping her eyes straight ahead, she reached the front door in record time.

“We are a part of each other’s lives,” Antonio said. “You can’t shut me out.”

“Antonio, soon you will be a distant memory. Ancient history.” She wrenched the door open. “A cautionary tale I’ll share with my daughter.”

“You’re forgetting something.”

Antonio’s harsh voice was right behind her. She felt him tower over her, inhaled his scent that invaded her senses.

“We share power over the Rossi empire. That means we’ll have to work together. We will be in constant contact.”

Isabella’s hand flexed on the doorknob. What he said was true. Antonio would be part of her life from now on. She would need to deal with him on a daily basis. She would have to watch from the sidelines as he got on with his life while she was once again picking up the pieces.

“I’ll give you power of attorney, or whatever they call it,” she said impulsively. “You can make all the decisions without having to discuss it with me.”

“That’s not how it works and it’s not what I want.”
Antonio cupped his hand over her shoulders and turned her around. “You can’t throw me out of your life that easily.”

Why not? He’d done it to her and he would have done it again. “I don’t want to have anything to with you or the Rossi business.”

“Too bad. I’m going to be with you every step of the way whether you like it or not. You’re angry with me now—”

“Angry? Try furious. Try homicidal.”

“But soon you will realize that everything we shared was true. That I wasn’t pretending and that I am committed to you and the baby.”

“I can’t take that chance.” She had taken too many risks only to have them blow up in her face. She couldn’t trust Antonio at his word only to have him try to take her child away.

There was only one way she could protect her baby and her future. Her heart started to pound and she felt her skin flush. The idea was crazy, and she should think it through, but it was the only way she would get Antonio out of her life for good.

“I’m giving up my child’s claim to the Rossi fortune,” she said in a rush. “I don’t want the shares or anything. It’s all yours.”

Antonio’s eyes widened and his hands tightened on her shoulders. “Are you crazy? What are you talking about?”

She pulled away from him. “When I get back to Los Angeles I will have a lawyer draw up the paperwork. All the money, all the shares—everything will belong to you.”

“You can’t do this.”

“Yes, I can,” she said defiantly. The more she thought about it, the more she knew it was the right decision. This was the only way she’d be free.

“You can’t give away a fortune. What about your child? It should belong to him. This is part of who he is.”

It didn’t have to be. “I don’t want him to know anything about his heritage or his family. I need to protect him from becoming someone like Giovanni or you.”

Antonio’s eyes flashed with anger. “Bella, I won’t let you do this. You’re making a big mistake.”

“Why are you fighting me, Antonio?” she asked as she crossed the threshold. “You’re getting everything you want without making any sacrifice.”

“Not everything,” he told her. “I want you.”

“Don’t worry, Antonio,” she said as she walked away. “I’m sure the feeling is temporary.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Four months later

I
SABELLA
gripped onto the wall railing and paused. She was shaky and she felt sweat bead on her forehead. She had tried to do too much, determined to heal quickly after the Caesarean. After all, she was going home alone with her baby girl in a couple of hours. She needed to be able to move.

Glancing around the busy maternity ward, she saw that her room was at the end of the hall. Isabella was tempted to give up and ask for a wheelchair, but she wasn’t a quitter. She had become a fighter. There’d been plenty of days when she’d survived on grit alone.

After she had returned to California she’d ignored the desire to curl up in a ball and cry. She’d had to get on with her life and take care of her baby. It had not been easy, but she now had a tiny apartment, a few friends, and a job at an art gallery. Soon she would return to college and complete her art history degree.