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‘Isn’t it? Then what is it? You knew who I was from the start?’
His slow nod confirmed her worst fears and the sense of betrayal lodged in her chest felt like a boulder. ‘You knew and you didn’t tell me.’ She breathed out in disbelief. ‘None of this is accidental, is it? It was all some sort of set-up... What... I still don’t understand, my sister is a part of this?’ She felt as if she were choking on the hurt and humiliation. If her heart hadn’t turned to stone it would have broken. Instead it was frozen.
‘No...no. Kate was looking for you. She doesn’t know that Marco, her husband, located you.’
Her sister, her twin, the one she didn’t know she had, had been looking for her. Rose struggled to take in the bizarre facts.
‘Look, I’m not the person who should be telling you this, but Kate was adopted. She didn’t know that she had a twin, but she found a photo and—’
‘What am I doing here? Why did this Marco not tell m-mysister?’
‘Kate is pregnant and she’s been unwell. Marco didn’t want to upset her again, after your father—’
Her face between her hands, she let out a low keening sound. ‘My dad knew... Why am I surprised? Am I theonlyperson in the world who doesn’t know? Unwell—you said unwell...?’ She walked right up to him and grabbed the lapels of his jacket as though she’d shake the truth out him.
‘Something to do with blood pressure, but she gave birth to a son yesterday. I just had a text.’
‘Oh, that’s...’ she began releasing the fabric when she paused, her hands tightening into fists. ‘You—where do you come in this...this charade? What part do you play, Zac? I take it I’m not here by accident...’ Of course she wasn’t. Why had she not clocked this earlier? It had never really stood up to scrutiny, but she hadn’t scrutinised.
‘Marco is my friend. He asked me...you understand. He wanted to know if you were like your...if you were genuine or—’
‘Like my father...and you were trying to catch me out. Was sex part of the plan? Are you reporting back on that too...grading me perhaps?’ she wondered with withering scorn.
He winced and opened his hands in a pacifying gesture. ‘You, me, none of what happened between us was meant to—’ he began urgently, only to be cut off by her yell.
‘Stop...stop talking!’ His agonised expression only fed her fury. She was the one who had been lied to and used, he was the one that did the lying and she had trusted him, felt safe with him.
‘I finally trusted someone and it was you—you!’ she repeated, her stabbing finger jabbing his chest. She caught her head in her hands...the level of her stupidity was just... ‘Stupid, stupid, s-stupid!’ she cried, backing away from the hand he extended towards her.
‘What can I do, Rose?’
‘You can get me in touch with my sister and you can whistle up one of your helicopters because I am not spending another night under this roof!’ she spat at him disdainfully. ‘And don’t try to use Declan. It’s perfectly obvious that Camille is more than capable of looking after him... You know, you made me love that little boy and I will n-never forgive you for that. At least Icanlove,’ she added, looking him up and down with an expression of utter contempt. ‘I don’t know what your problem is, Zac, and I don’t want to, but you cut yourself off, you deny yourself love...even your family you push away... One day they’ll stop trying and then you’ll really be alone!’
With a sob that tore his insides she turned and fled, not seeing the hand that Zac extended to her or the look of utter loss etched into his dark features.
Zac was still sitting in the chair he had slumped into when he heard the helicopter take off. Five minutes later Arthur appeared.
‘She has gone?’
Zac said nothing.
The older man nodded. ‘For what’s it worth...my opinion...she was a keeper and you, boss, are a fool.’
The anger in Zac’s eyes flared and died as Arthur held his gaze.
‘Not for the first time.’
‘This is different, boss.’
It was, Zac realised, because Rose had changed him...knowing and, yes,lovingher had caused a shift in his mindset. He was not the person he had been even though he carried the same baggage. The difference was that now he knew that washischoice, he could have let it go, he could have lowered his protective barriers and let people in... And even if Rose wouldn’t take him back, he would still do that.
Rose had woken him up.
And he had let her go!
‘You’re right, I am a fool.’
‘That sounds like a good start.’
