Eyes she’d once thought were like her own turned black with sinister rage. ‘How could I? I did it for you. The fancy clothes you strut about in and that fancy car you drive? Where do you think the money came from? I needed it to save the company. Anyway, it was my money. Why did I have to go back to farming just because Pantelides couldn’t keep it in his pants or stop his bit on the side from blowing the whistle on him?’
Inez’s hand flew to her mouth, her insides icing over. ‘Santa Maria, you truly are a monster.’
Her father’s jaw tightened and he addressed Theo. ‘Is this the point where you hand whatever file you’ve gathered on me over to the authorities?’
Theo’s mouth twisted. ‘So you can bribe your way out of jail? No.’
Benedicto frowned. ‘Then what the hell do you want?’
Theo glanced over at her and a look of almost relief washed over his face, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. ‘That’s up to Inez. And only her. I’m done with you.’
Inez raised her suddenly heavy head and looked from one man to the other.
One stood tall, proud and breathtaking. A man she’d been so determined not to let in. But whose tortured vulnerability had drawn her to him, made her see beneath his skin to the frightened child who was desperately seeking answers.
Choking tears filling her eyes, she turned to the monster who was her father. ‘I have nothing else to say to you. I don’t want to see you ever again. Goodbye.’
Turning sharply from both men, she rushed out of the room and fled up the stairs.
* * *
Theo wasted no time in throwing Benedicto out once Inez left the room. He’d meant what he said—he was done with seeking retribution…had been done almost from the moment he’d met Inez.
Perhaps unwisely, he’d thought the meeting with Benedicto would be swift and cathartic. Instead, he’d brought Inez even more anguish.
He slashed his fingers through his hair as he vaulted up the stairs that led to his third floor suite. Perhaps she’d been right. He’d ambushed her in his rush to get this situation sorted between them.
But he would make it right for her. They would get through this. They had to. The feelings he’d tried hard to smother had blown up in his face when he’d woken on the plane this afternoon. With the absence of anxiety and fear, the purest reason why he wanted to wake up each morning with Inez had shone through.
The feelings had been so intense he’d almost blurted it out. But he’d decided to wait until she’d confronted her father.
Now he wished he hadn’t. He was wishing he’d provided her with that additional support of knowing how much she meant to him before he’d let her father loose on her.
Pursing his mouth in determination, he pushed the bedroom door open. ‘Inez, I’m sorry for—’
The sight that confronted him silenced his words and turned his feet to clay. She stared at him, eyes red-rimmed with freshly shed tears.
Because of him. But even that pulse of deep regret couldn’t erase the sight before him.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked, although the part of his brain that hadn’t frozen along with his feet could work it out.
Two suitcases were open on the bed, one filled with her clothes. She was packing…
The silk top in her hand trembled before she turned and threw it in her case. Then her fingers curled around the edge of the lid.
When she looked at him again, more tears filled her eyes.
‘Thank you for opening my eyes to what he truly is,’ she murmured huskily.
‘Shelve the thanks and tell me what you’re doing,’ he replied tersely.
One hand swiped at her cheek. ‘I’m leaving, Theo.’
‘You’re what?’ His voice rang with disbelief. ‘You’re going back to your father’s house?’
She shuddered from head to toe. ‘No. I could never live there again.’
He frowned. ‘Then where are you going?’
She gave a tiny shrug. ‘I’ll stay with Camila.’
He finally got his feet to work and paced to where she stood. When she grabbed her shorts, he ripped them from her hand and threw them on the bed. ‘I seem to be missing a link somewhere, sweetheart. Why don’t you take a beat and fill me in?’