Reclaiming the Prince's Heart

“Stop, Rini! Don’t you know how thrilled I’ve been that you’ve wanted me with you every second? After all, I’m a stranger to you.”

“But you can’t leave a room without my questioning it. Every second I’m awake, I need you. When I’m asleep, I need you right by me. No move has been made without my devoted caregiver right there at my side.”

“There’s no other place I want to be.”

“Spoken like a dutiful wife.”

“Not dutiful. I love you. If I didn’t, I would have told you I wanted a separation before we ever left the hospital.”

“Because of your selflessness, you’ve brought me through the worst of my reincarnation. But from now on I’ll be able to survive on my own. The whole point is that you must be released from the bondage of our marriage to be the person you were meant to be. I’ve become too possessive of you. It’s not right. You’re only twenty-six with a lifetime ahead of you. To be chained to me would rob you of your destiny.”

She got to her feet. “Where has all this come from? What have you been holding back I know nothing about? Tell me!”

“Vincenzo mentioned that he’d come to the rescue because you needed space and my grandparents were worried about you having to be there twenty-four-seven.”

Luna shook her head. “You mean to tell me that what Vincenzo said has caused all this doubt and fear in you?”

“Can you deny you feel chained to me?”

“I deny it a million percent!”

“No, you don’t, but you’re too committed to me to say anything else. This isn’t the life either of us signed up for. I can’t live with the guilt of depriving you of your expectations. You say we met and fell madly in love. I accept that we did. But I came out of that mine a different man.

“You should be able to meet another man and fall in love with the knowledge that he’ll always be that same man. The two of you can build a life together and realize your dreams.”

She clasped her arms to her waist. “What about yours?”

“I don’t have any, Luna. I’m still trying to survive. My grandparents are waiting for some transformation that isn’t going to happen. As for my position at the Baldasseri Mine, I’m giving it up.”

“How will you live?”

“I do have the savings in my account that I’ve earned. It’s enough money to get me started in a new direction. More important, I’ll make certain that you will always be taken care of and retain your title. This palazzo and everything in it is yours for your lifetime. You will want for nothing.”

“Except for the man I love.” The tremor in her voice could have been his undoing if his mind wasn’t already made up.

“Face it, Luna. He died in the quake.”

“Have you talked to Doctor Tullia about this?” She sounded frantic.

“I don’t need to. He can’t change me into the man I once was. No power on earth is capable of that.”

She stood in front of him, her eyes burning like green fire. “So there’s nothing I can say?”

“No. For better or worse doesn’t apply to us. I’m not the man who made that vow to you. I could never live up to the person you married. I’m not the man you chose to be your husband. It isn’t possible.”

Luna put a hand on his arm. “I want the man I’m looking at right now, flaws and all.”

Rini stepped away. “But I don’t want you, not under these circumstances.”

Moisture glistened on her eyelids. “Can’t you pretend we’ve just met and start all over again, like we decided at th

e lake?”

He shook his head. “We’d be living a lie for the rest of our lives. It’s not going to work for either of us.”

Tears ran down her cheeks. “So you’re going to end everything, just like that? Rini—” She staggered to the nearest chair and sat down.

He couldn’t take much more of this and headed for the door of their suite. “On the flight home from the mine I worked out a plan. Tonight I’ll sleep in the guest room down the hall. Tomorrow I’ll go to a hotel.”