Leonidas didn’t answer.
“Besides. You never know,” she tried, “maybe the Picasso will be found...”
“It will never be found.” He gave a low, bitter laugh. “It was buried beneath ten tons of rock and fire.”
“But you said they never found it—”
“It must have been destroyed.” Like so much else.
A long, empty silence fell between them in the hallway.
“Leonidas,” she said quietly. “Look at me.”
It took him a moment to gather the courage. Then he did. His heart broke just looking at her, so beautiful and brave, as she faced him, her shoulders tight.
“I’m sorry if I’ve caused you pain,” she said quietly. “My desperation made me reckless.” Her lovely face was bewildered. “You asked me to marry you. You insisted on marriage. You said there was nothing you wanted more than to be Livvy’s father. What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you’re never going to hold her, never going to look at me—why are we married? Why am I even here?”
It was clear. He had to let them go. If he didn’t, he’d only ending up hurting them so much more.
But how could he let them go, when they were everything?
Hurt them—or hurt himself. There was only one choice to make. But it hurt so much that Leonidas thought he might die. He looked around the hallway wildly, then gasped, “I need some fresh air—”
Turning, he rushed down the stone staircase and stumbled outside, desperate to breathe.
Outside the brownstone mansion, the tree-lined street was strangely quiet. The orange sun, setting to the west, left long shadows in the hot, humid August twilight. He stopped, leaning over, gasping for breath, trying to stop the frantic pounding of his heart.
Daisy came out of the house behind him, to stand in the fading light.
“I love you, Leonidas,” she said quietly.
His hands clenched. Finally, he turned to face her.
“You can’t.”
“The truth is, I’ve always loved you, from the moment we met at the diner, and I thought you were just Leo, a salesclerk in a shop.” Reaching up, she cupped his unshaven cheek. “I fell in love with you. And who you could be. And I only have one question for you.” She tilted her head. “Can you ever love me back?”
Trembling beneath the shady trees of summer twilight, Leonidas closed his stinging eyes. He felt like he was spinning out of control, coming undone. But his heart was empty. He’d learned long ago that begging for love only brought scorn. The only way to be safe was to pull back. To not care.
The only way to keep Daisy and Livvy safe from him, to make sure he never hurt or disappointed them, was to let them go.
He had to. No matter how much it killed him. He had to find the strength, for their sakes.
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath.
Then he opened them.
“No. I’m sorry.” He covered her hand gently with his own. “I thought I could do this but I can’t.”
“Do what?”
He looked down at her.
“Marriage,” he said quietly.