The Virgin's Choice

As the car stopped in front of the hospital, she turned to Xerxes in the backseat.

“I love you,” she blurted out.

His black eyes widened. She heard his intake of breath. “Rose—”

She covered his mouth with her hand. “If I don’t tell you now, I might never have the courage. I love you, Xerxes. I love you and I’ll never forget that today you chose me over…”

Her voice trailed off as she saw a red Ferrari roar past their SUV, followed by a van. The vehicles parked in front of them on the curb. A man got out of the Ferrari, and Rose’s eyes widened. Her hand fell numbly into her lap.

“Lars?” Shocked, she turned to Xerxes, her eyes begging for an explanation she could bear. “What is Lars doing here?”

The driver and chauffeur got out of the SUV, closing the doors solidly behind them, and they were alone. Xerxes’s face was almost expressionless as he faced her.

“He’s here for the trade.”

Rose stared at him. “The…trade?”

She turned back to see Lars open the back doors of the van parked in front of them. Inside, Rose saw a slender, dark-haired woman sleeping on a stretcher. Lars glared at Xerxes, jabbing his thumb toward the unconscious woman, then waited with a sour expression, his hands on his hips.

Then he saw Rose and gave her a sickeningly sweet smile.

Twisting her head away, Rose closed her eyes with a whimper. “You can’t trade me. You can’t.”

“I have no choice.”

His cold words went through her soul like a blow.

She’d been a fool to think he’d changed, or that he cared about her. His honor meant more to him than Rose ever could. Her heart fell to her shoes with a dull thud. Blinking fast, she said, “There must be some other way—”

“There is not,” he said. “I’ve tried. Tried and failed. Everywhere I looked for her, I arrived too late. I have no choice but to trade.” His dark eyes glittered as he looked up at her. “But what happens next is up to you.”

She stared at him in sudden shock.

“Those weren’t business trips at all, were they?” she breathed. “The honeymoon cottage in the Maldives. Our villa in Cabo. I thought they were romantic trips we took for your work, but the whole time you were searching for Laetitia behind my back!”

He gave a single jerky nod.

Tears flooded her eyes. “You’re no better than Lars,” she whispered. “Romancing one woman while committed to another.”

“That’s not how it was!”

She saw dark pain in Xerxes’s eyes, but she was too hurt to hold back any longer. “Who is Laetitia to you, Xerxes?” she said. “Why do you love her? Who is she to you?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Because you made a promise.”

“Yes.”

“And my feelings mean nothing.”

“That’s not true.” He took a deep breath. “But I must fulfill my obligation.”

“So that’s all I am to you? An obligation?”

“Rose, no,” he said. “I…” He looked at her. “I…care for you. Very much.”

“You care for me,” she said bitterly. “Thank you. I’ve just told you I’m in love with you!”