“But it is not relevant.”
Olivia pulled a face. “You don’t believe that.”
“I do not wish to discuss it,” he said finally. “I have thought of you all day. Let us go for a walk in the gardens.” He reached out and took her hand in his, but she pulled it away. “Let us walk and forget this idiocy.”
“No! You can’t pretend this isn’t important.”
He sighed, and dug his hands into his pockets. “Your feelings on the matter are obviously important, but they are likewise unfounded.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “Did you love her?”
Tamir reached up and cupped her face. “No,” he whispered. “But I was… affected when she died.”
Olivia shook her head. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Stop thinking so much. This last month has been idyllic. Better than I could have anticipated. Is that not enough for you, Azeezi?”
She shook her head. It wasn’t. Because it was almost perfect. Almost, but not quite. She wanted everything. Not just the shadow of a dream. The whole dream. All to herself.
“You’ve lied to me,” she said numbly.
“How? How have I lied to you?”
Her temper flared. “You lied by omission. You must have known I would learn about Marni.”
He shrugged, as though it were of no importance. “I suspected you would, one d
ay, discover that I had dated a woman, many years ago, who had blonde hair. As for the similarities, they are superficial. I see beyond that. I see Olivia Anderson.”
She walked across the office, her spine straight and her head held high. “I can’t do this anymore.”
Her words were like small stones, being pelted against a thin pane of glass. His worst fears were being voiced, and now she would discover the truth. Was he of a strong enough character to sacrifice his own desires to make her happy?
He walked across to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She was tense. He wanted to pull her against him, but he knew it would only be a temporary solution. “Even if I tell you that I want you to stay here, with me?”
She shook her head. She had to leave him, and it would be better for them both if he didn’t see her heartbreak. A part of her was dying, but she needed to be strong. “I married you because you threatened to prosecute my friend if I didn’t. Can I assume that threat is now removed?”
Tamir had a feeling that ice was being shelved about his heart. He stood at his maximum height. “Of course.”
She turned to face him. “Would you really have done it? Would you really have had Jack brought to Talidar and tried as a criminal?”
His mouth was a grim line. “I don’t know.” He said, finally; his voice gravelly. “I just knew I couldn’t let you leave. His theft gave me an opportunity. I exploited it.”
Olivia couldn’t believe the words she was about to utter. “Will you let me go now?”
The air around them seemed to crackle with nervous anticipation. Tamir’s dark eyes raked her face, his skin was pale beneath his tan. “Is that really what you want, Azeezi?”
No! But she couldn’t stay married to him in these circumstances. “I always told you that I couldn’t be in a loveless marriage.” Her voice cracked, but she didn’t look away from him. “Don’t you understand? I have to go.”
“Is that what this is?” He asked, searching her face.
Damn it, he knew! He could read her like a book. How could she not love him? She had given herself so freely; she had made it obvious that she would forgive him anything and everything. She closed her eyes against the pain and embarrassment. The nauseatingly weak position she had let herself be manoeuvred into. Then again, who would not fall in love with a man like Tamir?
She held her breath, every bone in her body wobbling in anticipation of his response. “Are you going to let me leave?”
Tamir shook his head slowly, from one side to the other. It was his worst nightmare. He had no desire to hold Olivia as a prisoner. And yet he had no means with which to keep her by his side. Not if she truly wanted to go. “I cannot keep you here against your will. I never would have, Olivia.” He put his finger beneath her chin. “I know I pressured you into coming to Talidar. I truly believed you would be glad, in time. That you just couldn’t accept that you wanted me the way you do.”
He was right. She had been grateful, and had become that way so quickly. So fast it made her head spin. How had she fallen for him? Despite the way he’d bullied her into his life, she had absolutely lost her heart to him.