Reluctantly, he took it. The ten-carat, platinum-set diamond that had been the symbol of forever was now just a cold rock in his hand. He gripped it in his palm.
“I’ll have a lawyer contact you after Christmas.” She tried to smile. “We’ll be civilized.”
He’d never felt this wretched, even when his mother had died. As Holly turned to go, he choked out unwillingly, “How can you do this? If you love me, how can you leave?”
She turned back, her eyes full of tears. “If I’m not strong now, I never will be. And we’ll both have lifetimes of regret. I know what your childhood did to you. I won’t let our son believe all the wrong things about what a marriage is supposed to be. I won’t let him grow up crippled like...”
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“Like I am?” Stavros said in a low voice.
Coming forward, she kissed his cheek. He felt her warmth, breathed in the scent of vanilla and orange blossoms.
“Be happy,” she whispered.
And, picking up her overnight bag, Holly left.
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE NEXT MORNING Stavros woke up to the blaring sound of an alarm on his phone. Without opening his eyes, he reached out for Holly’s warmth.
Her side of the bed was cold. And he remembered. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
She was gone.
With a hollow breath, he looked down at his rumpled clothes. He’d fallen into bed last night in his white shirt and black trousers. He hadn’t had the energy to change his clothes. He hadn’t wanted to think. It was either fall into bed, or into a bottle of whiskey, and the bed had been closer.
But he’d dreamed all night, strange dreams where he was smiling and happy. Beautiful, vibrant dreams in which he’d held his wife’s hand, and they’d been together in a wintry valley, making a snowman with their son. Stavros hadn’t been afraid to love her. In his dream, he’d fearlessly given her all his heart.
The cobwebs of those dreams taunted him as he stiffly sat up in the cold light. It was Christmas Eve morning. Everything looked gray. His empty bedroom. The city outside. The sky. Gray. All gray.
Except—
His eyes narrowed when he saw a strange flash of color. Something red. Getting out of bed, he padded softly across the marble floor as he reached for something in the branches of the artificial tree. A small Christmas present, wrapped in red homemade paper with a red bow.
To my husband.
His heart twisted. For a moment, he stared at it, like he’d discovered a poisonous snake amid the branches. Then, grimly, he lifted the small box in his hand. It weighed almost nothing. He wondered if she’d gotten him the gift before she’d decided to leave him, or after. He hoped it was after. He couldn’t bear to open a gift filled with all the awful hope of her romantic dreams.
He didn’t want it. He’d have to be a masochist to even look. He dropped the gift back into the tree, then went to take a shower. Taking off his wrinkled clothes, he let the scalding hot water burn down his skin. He scrubbed his hair until his scalp ached.
Perhaps it was better their marriage had ended this way. Swiftly. Cleanly. Before anyone got seriously hurt. Before they realized how little he deserved their love, when he was incapable of giving himself in return.
He remembered Holly’s haunted, heartbroken face.
I love you. Can you ever love me?
And his cool, factual response as he’d told her he’d never love her. Told her it was nothing personal.
Shutting off the hot water, he stood still in the shower, remembering. His heart was pounding strangely.
Going to his walk-in closet, he tried not to look at all the designer clothes Holly had left behind, many of them still unworn, wrapped in garment bags from the boutiques. Feeling hollow, he turned away, pulling on black silk boxers and black trousers. He would call his acquisition team to tell them they needed to come in tonight. Christmas Eve be damned. Business was what mattered. Building his empire for his son to inherit—
What was in Holly’s gift?
Turning on his heel, he almost ran across the bedroom to the Christmas tree. Grabbing Holly’s present, he ripped off the wrapping paper and yanked open the tiny cardboard box.
Inside, tucked into white tissue paper, he saw a homemade Christmas ornament, a red felt star. He heard her sweet voice like a whisper through his heart.