Page 94 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

‘But then you wouldn’t have to marry me. You could choose someone you actually wanted to be with.’

Again that tight squeeze around his throat, an iron band around his chest as he forced himself to think about that. To think about what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped Wren at the airport. If she had actually gone.

You wouldn’t have been able to bear it.

But he didn’t like that thought, so instead he said, ‘Why are you asking me this? That’s not what happened.’

‘I know that. But…’ She shifted on him, turning away and sliding off his lap. ‘This is my point, Isandro.’ She bent and picked up her dress, putting it on over her head without bothering with the underwear, before turning to face him. ‘Is this something you would have chosen yourself? A marriage founded on necessity? Because that didn’t make your parents happy, and it didn’t make you or Carlotta happy, either. And that’s not what I want for you or for myself.’

Isandro frowned, not understanding what she was getting at. ‘We can’t change the facts, Wren. It will be a marriage founded on necessity. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be happy.’

But she only stood there in front of him, her arms folded, giving him a direct, level stare. ‘Answer the question.’

He let out a breath. She wasn’t going to like his answer one bit. Another unpalatable truth. ‘Fine. No, I wouldn’t have chosen this for myself. I wouldn’t have married you if not for the baby.’

Her expression tightened. He’d hurt her, as he’d expected he would, but she’d wanted the truth and so he’d given it to her.

Is it really the truth, though?

Of course it was. He wouldn’t have even thought to marry Wren if she hadn’t been pregnant. Perhaps she might have become his mistress until he married again, but he wouldn’t have chosen her for a wife.

‘I thought so,’ she said in a tight voice. ‘At least you were honest with me.’

‘Wren.’ He reached out to her, but she was already turning away.

‘I have to go,’ she said as she headed towards the door. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow night.’

Chapter Nine

The next day Wren reflected on the wisdom of her suggestion that Isandro meet her every night, especially when the night before hadn’t exactly gone to plan.

First she’d tried to resist him physically and had been unable to, then she’d tried to show him what it meant to be touched by someone who loved you. He’d liked that, it had been obvious, but she wasn’t sure if he’d truly understood.

Telling him about her mother and her grandparents afterwards then confessing all her secret fears had been a mistake. She’d revealed far too much of her heart, too much of herself, but then, surprising her, he’d been reassuring, telling her that she was the best person he knew. That had warmed her right through, though then she’d ruined it all by asking him some blunt questions that her heart already knew the answers to.

He hadn’t married her for herself. He’d married her for the baby.

It was her own fault that she’d been hurt by that. She shouldn’t have asked him, not if she hadn’t wanted to hear the truth. Perhaps she’d been wrong to hope that underneath all his protestations he was a man who could love and love deeply. He certainly had the ability to care, but that wasn’t the same thing as love.

He’d told her, though, that even if this marriage was a necessity, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be happy. And maybe he was right. He wasn’t actively hurting her, after all. He just didn’t love her the way she loved him.

Halfway through the day, she received a note from one of Isandro’s aides, asking her if they could meet in the Great Hall instead of in her library. It puzzled her, since the Great Hall wasn’t exactly private, but it did seem to indicate that this time sex wasn’t at the forefront of his mind.

She wasn’t quite sure how she was going to deal with the next hour. Was there any point talking about this? When he didn’t seem to understand what she wanted? For an intelligent man, he was surprisingly obtuse. Then again, given his lonely and isolated upbringing, was there any reason for him to understand?

Wren dressed that evening without thinking too much about it, loose blue lounge pants and a pale sweatshirt, so she felt instantly out of place when she arrived in the Great Hall to find Isandro waiting for her wearing one of his immaculate handmade suits in dove grey.

‘Oh,’ she murmured. ‘Have you come from a meeting?’

His gaze met hers. ‘No. I thought we’d go out tonight.’

Wren blinked at him. ‘Out?’

‘Yes.’

‘But…where?’

He gave her one of his beautiful smiles. ‘It’s a surprise.’