“How?”
The older gentleman nodded in sympathy. “Cancer.”
Even though he hadn’t spoken with her in a very long time, the news rocked him. Marissa had been the first woman he’d ever loved. The only one. Their breakup three years before had been one of the most painful experiences of his life. But nothing compared to knowing she was gone for good. Wounds he’d thought healed were reopened, the pain as fresh as it had ever been. Never would he see her again. Hear her laugh.
Why hadn’t she called him? He would have helped her out.
“You came all this way to deliver the news of her death to me?” Had she still cared about him? Despite her final angry words? Impossible. She’d never once tried to contact him.
“And to bring you something she said you should have.”
“What?” Gabriel demanded. Had she returned the diamond heart pendant he’d given her for their first anniversary? He’d been a romantic fool in those days. Young. Rebellious. Caught up in a passionate affair that had no future. And a fool. “What did you bring me?”
“Your daughters.”
“Daughters?” As in more than one? Gabriel wondered if he’d heard the man properly.
“Twins.”
“Marissa and I had no children together.”
“I’m afraid that’s not true.”
The man pulled out two birth certificates and extended them. Gabriel gestured to Stewart to take them and watched as his private secretary scanned the documents. Stewart’s blue eyes were awash with concern as he glanced up and met Gabriel’s gaze.
“They bear Marissa’s last name, but she listed you as the father,” Stewart said.
“They can’t be mine,” Gabriel insisted. “We were careful.” Perhaps not careful enough. “How old are they?”
“They will turn two in a month.”
Gabriel quickly did the math. They’d been conceived in the week he’d been in Venice shortly after their breakup. Marissa had come and thrown herself at him in one last attempt to make him abandon his duty. They’d made love all night, their kisses frantic, embraces feverish. When she’d awakened to find him departing the room before dawn, she’d lashed out, claiming that he’d led her on, accusing him of indifference. Despite her antagonism, regret had stuck with him for months afterward.
They’d had no future. His duty was to his country. She couldn’t accept that and he’d let the relationship go on too long. She’d begun to hope he would give up everything for her and he’d enjoyed shirking his responsibilities. But it couldn’t last. Sherdana always came first.
What would he have done if he’d known she was pregnant? Set her up in a villa nearby where he could visit? She would never have put up with that. She’d have demanded his complete and total devotion. It was what had torn them apart. He belonged to the people of Sherdana.
“This could all be a huge hoax,” Stewart said.
“Marissa might have loved drama, but pulling a stunt like this goes beyond anything she’d do.”
“We’ll know for sure after a DNA test,” Stewart said.
“And in the meantime? What am I to do with the girls?” the lawyer asked impertinently.
“Where are they?” Gabriel demanded. He crackled with impatience to see them.
“Back at my hotel with their nanny.”
He didn’t hesitate to ponder the consequences. “Get them.”
“Think of your upcoming wedding, Highness,” Stewart cautioned. “You can’t have them brought here. The palace is crawling with media.”
Gabriel aimed a disgusted look at his secretary. “Are you telling me you’re not clever enough to transport two toddlers here without being seen?”
Stewart’s spine snapped straight as Gabriel knew it would. “I will see that they are brought to the palace immediately.”
“Good.”