Marriage Made of Secrets

She nodded, waited for Nathan to answer, then held out her hand. ‘Hello, Cesare.’

‘Ava, are you all right?’ His voice was strained but the solid sound of his voice soothed a wounded, devastated place in her heart.

‘Yes.’

‘Dio grazie.’ The mingled relief and pain in his voice made her heart clench. ‘I’m glad you’re safe but if you disappear on me like this again, I swear I won’t be responsible for my actions,’ he tagged on in a fierce undertone.

‘I needed to do this, Cesare.’

‘Just...’ He stopped and inhaled audibly. ‘I understand why you need to do this. I was the same with Roberto, even though he pushed me away. I told myself it didn’t matter but every time...it hurt.’

‘But you never gave up. You never stopped fighting for your family.’

The small silence made her heart stutter.

‘No, I didn’t. And I never will. I’ll never stop fighting for us, Ava.’

This time her heart stilled. ‘What are you saying?’

‘Have you seen your father?’

‘No, not yet. I just got here.’

‘Before you do, I want you to know that, no matter what happens, I’ll be here. Annabelle and I, we will be your family from now on. You never have to feel invisible or unwanted. And you don’t have to settle for less than you want.’

Her grip tightened on the handset. ‘Are you...do you know what you’re saying, Cesare, because if this is just about protecting me—’

‘Protecting you from pain and rejection will always be non-negotiable and, yes, I know I’ve caused a lot of it. But this is also about a lot more, tesoro.’ He breathed a sigh of impatience. ‘I don’t want to do this over the phone, Ava. I want to see you. Are you coming back?’

‘Do you want me to come back, Cesare?’

A disbelieving huff echoed down the phone. ‘Sì, of course I do! You are my wife, the mother of my child. I would be with you right now if you hadn’t asked to do this alone. See? I’m learning.’

Her heart tripped at the fervent possessiveness and need in his voice. Foolish hope bloomed in her chest. ‘You have to do a whole lot more if we’re to get through this, Cesare.’

‘I know. But...but don’t give up on us...per favore...’

Her heart tightened along with her grip on the phone. ‘I...I...’

‘Don’t say anything just yet. Did you listen to my messages?’ She heard the touch of vulnerability in his voice and wondered at it.

‘No, not yet.’ She hadn’t had time to turn her mobile back on.

‘Okay. I’ve sent the jet for you. It will be at your disposal when you’re ready to return but it would help if the pilot knew when that would be so he can file a flight plan.’

She smiled at the tactic, but the smile slowly faded when the enormity of what she had to do settled on her shoulders. ‘Give me a day with my father.’

‘Of course. I’ll call tomorrow.’

She didn’t miss the implacable nature of that promise. Hanging up, she turned to find Nathan hovering in the kitchen doorway.

‘I’m going up,’ she said.

He nodded.

Ava entered her father’s room and found him propped up against pillows, his face coated in sweat despite the coolness of the night. His eyes were shut, but she knew he was awake because he clutched an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth.

‘Hello, Dad.’

His eyes slowly opened. For a moment, a light, reminiscent of the stern figure he’d been, blazed in his eyes. Then slowly it faded. He pulled the mask from his face.

‘Caroline...’ he said weakly.

One hand attempted to lift off the bed, but feebly fell back down. Going to him, Ava took his hand, tears clogging her throat as she saw how withered, how frail he’d become.

The ogre who’d terrorised her childhood was now nothing more than a shadow of his former self. A shadow who’d mistaken Ava for his dead wife.

His watery eyes dimmed then another round of coughing interrupted whatever he’d been about to say. When it was over, he could do nothing more than inhale the oxygen and try to get his breath back.

‘Don’t try to speak, Dad. It’s all right.’

Tears clouded her eyes and the pain she’d carried with her for so long slowly disappeared.

What her father had done in the past didn’t matter any more. Hope flared in her heart. She and Cesare had a lot to work through but Ava had hope—a hope that grew stronger with each passing moment.