Innocent Wife, Baby of Shame

ltimately your decision, of course.’

‘I don’t want to do that…’ she said. ‘Please don’t ask me to.’

‘I am not going to ask you to do anything of the sort.’

‘But you don’t want this baby, do you?’ she asked. ‘Even if it turned out to be yours, you wouldn’t want it, would you?’

‘How long have you known you were pregnant?’ he asked.

She bit her lip. ‘I suspected it the week we started living together again, but I only did the test three weeks ago.’

He looked at her for a long time before responding. ‘You have planned this rather well, haven’t you, Keira? A brief reconciliation and then a declaration of undying love and the somewhat belated announcement of your pregnancy to force my hand to keep you in my life permanently.’

‘I didn’t plan any of this.’

‘I must say I find that very hard to believe,’ he said. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant as soon as you found out? You’ve had plenty of opportunities to do so.’

‘I was worried about how you would react.’

‘Burying your head in the sand is not the way to handle a situation like this, Keira. You must have known you were pregnant long before we began our reconciliation.’

‘I put it down to being ill with the flu,’ she said. ‘I sort of lost track of where I was in my cycle. That must be how I fell pregnant in the first place. I know we used condoms when I forgot to take my pills regularly but everyone knows they’re not foolproof. We skated on thin ice plenty of times, if you remember.’

Patrizio did remember. How could he forget how she had felt in the shower, her body all lathered with soap, his body probing her from behind, so tempted to fill her with his pumping release but pulling back just in time? God, his belly was crawling with desire, here and now, just thinking about it. She had turned around in the shower stall and taken matters into her own hands and mouth.

His eyes went to her mouth, his groin thickening as he imagined her soft pouting lips surrounding him, her violet-blue gaze sultry as she…

He gave himself a mental shake. She had probably done the very same with Garth Merrick, taking him any way she could to feed her insatiable desire for pleasure. He could see it in her eyes now, that hungry look that smouldered there almost constantly.

‘I will not accept that child as mine until I have proof,’ he said.

Keira felt her control slipping. ‘I can’t believe you’re being so heartless,’ she said. ‘Do you realise what this is like for me?’

‘I realise you are worried about your future.’

‘This is not about money, for God’s sake!’

‘Then what is it about?’

‘It’s about us…you and me and…and the baby.’

‘You have got it all mapped out, haven’t you?’

She turned away in anger. ‘It wasn’t supposed to be like this…That’s why I waited as long as I could to tell you. I wanted to tell you when things had settled down…I wanted you to be pleased…I wanted you to be happy…’ I wanted you to love me and our baby no matter who its father is, she added silently.

‘You are asking too much, Keira,’ he said coldly.

‘Yes, I am, aren’t I?’ she said through glittering tears. ‘You don’t love me any more and you never will.’

Patrizio watched as she turned away and left the room, the words to call her back sticking like thorns in his throat.

‘Signor Trelini left a message for you,’ Marietta said later that day. ‘He said he had to fly to Sydney on business and might not be back until after your exhibition opens.’

‘Oh…’

‘Don’t be too disappointed, Keira,’ Marietta said. ‘He will show his support in some other way, I am sure.’

Keira wasn’t so sure about that. ‘The least he could have done is tell me himself,’ she said dispiritedly.