She left the room, clicking the door softly behind her.
The sound held more quiet horror than if she’d slammed it in his face.
Christo stood outside Thea’s room, a bundle of papers in his hand. Even though he was the last person she’d want to see, he couldn’t leave her alone. Not after what she’d disclosed. He wanted to prove to Thea that he wasn’t like Tito or Demetri, that he could be trusted.
He took a steadying breath and tapped on the door, trying to ensure it sounded like a request to enter, not a demand. If she wanted her space he’d give it to her, but there were things that had to be said.
When there was no reply he turned the handle. Thea sat on her bed, leaning forward. She hadn’t changed out of her ruined shirt, which still hung open. Her hands were clenched into rigid fists on her thighs.
He eased into the room.
She didn’t look at him. Eyes fixed to the floor.
‘I have the papers I promised,’ he said, crouching down in front of her. ‘Our settlement for when my father dies...the divorce. If you sign them, they’ll be filed as soon as the will takes effect.’
‘Do you have a pen?’ Thea’s voice was the barest whisper.
‘You should read them first.’
‘I don’t care. I want nothing of yours.’
He handed her the sheaf of documents, which she glanced through. Then he drew a pen from his pocket. She took it and scrawled her name on the last page. His gut roiled as she signed, in a feeling of loss, a regret he had no right to have when for him, relationships had no permanence.
She thrust the documents at him, the papers quavering in her hand. ‘Fill in what you need to when the time comes.’
Christo took them from her, dropped them on the floor beside him. ‘No one should have gone through what you have.’
‘And you care? I’m just a means to your end.’
Her fingers clenched tight again. He knew what she was doing now. Castigated himself for not realising before.
He took her hands in his. Stroked his thumbs over the blanched knuckles, absorbing the tremble running through her. She relaxed a fraction. He opened her fingers. Her nails had scored red crescents into her palms. He circled his thumbs over the livid marks, trying to smooth them away.
‘You hurt yourself...’
Her eyes flicked to him. They were red-rimmed, her face flushed.
‘This, the candles, the tattoos...’
He continued soothing her palms. Her hands burning hot under his thumbs.
‘Not the tattoos. They’re a reminder.’
‘Of things you should never have experienced. If I’d known—’
‘You wouldn’t have done anything differently.’
Sunlight flooded in through the window behind her. It was such a glorious blue-sky day outside, and yet she spoke truths that broke a storm inside him.
Her accusation was right. He would have done anything to save Atlas Shipping. The knowledge sat heavy on his chest, making it tight and hard to breathe.
He couldn’t change the past, but he could help with the present. ‘Tell me about Alexis.’
The tremble in her body intensified, as if she was barely holding herself together. He steadied her hands between his.
‘He’s my half-brother,’ she whispered, as if she were disclosing some terrible secret.
‘And your father didn’t know about him?’
Thea lifted her head, looked at him straight on. She chewed on her bottom lip, which quivered under her teeth.
‘My parents were promised to each other from birth—an arrangement to merge two families’ wealth. But my mother fell in love with someone else. At seventeen, she had Alexis. He was taken away. Adopted. My father still married her. He was only interested in the money he’d gain from it.’
Thea seemed so tired and worn down, with no fight left in her. As if it was an effort for her not to curl into herself and disappear.
‘How did Alexis become your bodyguard?’ asked Christo.
‘My mother spent half her life trying to find him. When she did, she told him he had a little sister. He said he’d find a way to look after me.’
She stopped. Took a shuddering breath. Christo squeezed her hands in reassurance.
‘He worked in security. A position became vacant in my father’s home. He applied. When he finally told me who he was it was like life began again.’
Thea sat up, pulling her hands from his. She wrapped her open shirt around her, hugging herself.
‘The theft...it’s a lie. When I agreed to marry you, I negotiated some money. Fifty thousand euros. Alexis was supposed to leave the country. Start again. But I couldn’t save him.’
She dropped her head, toying with her engagement ring—another symbol of her failed efforts to protect her brother.
Christo’s heart ached for her. She blamed herself, and yet Thea’s only failure was in trusting that her father and Demetri would keep their side of the bargain.
‘Do you know where he is?’
She shook her head. ‘Sergei’s been looking.’
He understood the blackmail now. The last resort for a desperate woman.
‘He doesn’t have my resources. I’ll engage Raul’s company. If anyone can find him, Raul can.’
Her eyelids fluttered shut. She clasped her hands as if giving a silent prayer. ‘Thank you.’
He stood. Thea’s trembling had turned into a shiver which racked her body. Her face and chest were flushed red. Christo reached out to cup her cheek. She burned.
‘You’re not well,’ he said.
She tried to wave him away, but it seemed as if she was having trouble raising her arm. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called his doctor. Demanded he come to the house within the hour.
‘I only need rest,’ she said.
The slightest nudge and she’d collapse to the bed. He was sure of it. ‘Then lie down...sleep a while,’ he murmured.
Thea eased onto the pillows with no argument, curling on her side. Christo covered her with a blanket, tucking it tight around her as her teeth chattered.
His concern escalated. ‘The doctor will be here soon.’ Whilst he was
