The sob that rose from her soul shattered her heart on its way up. She saw Brianna pale and reach for her hand but Perla shook her away. ‘If I’d understood that was what she was saying, I could’ve saved her the trouble. I already know Ari doesn’t love me. He never will.’
* * *
‘You need to get over here, fast.’
Fear spiked through Ari at Sakis’s tone. ‘What’s wrong? Is Perla okay?’
‘Yes, she’s fine physically but something happened when she went out with Brianna... Look, just get yourself over here, pronto, ne?’
Ari ended the call and glanced at the chaos all around him. Carpenters and decorators rushed to do his bidding, to set up the place for what most couples would deem the most important day of their lives.
But, deep down inside, he knew the most important day of his life had come and gone. The most important day of his life had happened when he’d thought he was too mired in guilt and grief to ever function properly.
Even when he’d looked up from his drink at Macdonald Hall and his world had shifted he’d refused to acknowledge the importance of it.
She’s fine physically...
His breath shuddered out of him as he grabbed his jacket and ran for the door of his villa. Every day since he’d met Perla Lowell had been important but he’d been too damned afraid to admit it to himself.
Well, it was time to stop hiding and dare to be as brave as Perla had been. It was time to take care of the single most precious thing in his life emotionally.
He reached his yacht in record time. Sweat poured off his temples as he flew down the stairs, barely acknowledging Brianna’s anxious look or Sakis ushering her away as he headed down the galley towards his suite.
He turned the doorknob and found it unyielding. He bit back a curse and swallowed down the fear climbing into his throat.
‘Perla, open the door.’
‘No.’ Even through the closed door he heard the pain in her voice and his chest tightened.
‘Glikia mou, open the door now. I’m not going anywhere until you do.’
‘Go back to the island where you belong. There’s nothing for you here.’
‘You’re wrong. Everything I want is right here. This is where I belong.’
The silence that greeted him tore at his insides. He leaned his forehead against the door and fought the urge to smash it in. ‘Open the door, Perla. Please.’
Another minute went by, then he heard the scrape of the lock.
The moment it opened a crack, he slipped inside. The sight of her tear-ravaged face eviscerated him. He started to reach for her but she pulled away sharply. He clenched his fist to stop from grabbing for her. He didn’t like the hollowness filling his soul.
‘Tell me what happened today.’ He’d already heard the gist of it from Sakis when he’d called from the car after leaving the villa.
‘It doesn’t matter what happened. I thought I could do it, Ari, but I can’t.’
His heart plunged to the bottom of his feet. ‘You can’t do what?’
‘Marry you. I thought I could but I can’t.’
‘Not even for the sake of our child?’ He hated to play that card, but he was desperate.
The misery when she glanced up at him made his heart bleed.
‘I thought I could but I will not come second best for anyone.’
He frowned. ‘Second best? Who told you you were second best?’
‘No one needed to. I have eyes and a brain. You brought me here and you stashed me on your boat. Out of sight, out of mind. The moment I ventured off the boat I was reminded why I’ll never be good enough for you.’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘Sofia, your wife, will always be the love of your life. The woman at the shop called it the love story of the century. I thought I could live with that, but I can’t...’
He ventured forward and exhaled in relief when she didn’t cringe away from him. More than anything he wanted to reach for her but he stopped himself. She could bolt, and that would destroy him.
‘I loved her, I won’t deny that. She saved me from a dark, bleak place and brought me back from the brink. But I wasn’t the best husband to her that I could be. I failed to save her the way she’d saved me. I should’ve been stronger for her sake.’
‘Every time you talk about her, I hear the pain in your voice.’
‘Because, despite knowing that she had the best medical care, a part of me still feels I let her down by not insisting she take the right advice.’