Staffan Aehrenthal was going to marry her.
“You shouldn’t have waited for me to make a move,” Steel said flatly.
“He needed time, Steel. He loves me. I just needed to find the right time to explain---” Her voice broke. “He’ll just hate me more now.”
“You don’t understand, baby. There is no time left for any of us.” He crouched down, taking her hands in his. “I would never hurt you for the world, Saffi, but this time you have to be stronger. Mother found out.”
He didn’t have to explain anymore. Saffi squeezed his hands, knowing that Steel was doing his best not to show his fears. But he did fear. They all feared.
Thirty minutes later, Saffi took the seat next to Pearl Beaufort’s bed. A smile wreathed her beautiful face upon seeing Saffi. She raised her hand to touch her daughter’s face, and Saffi tried not to react at the sight of the tubes intravenously connected to Pearl’s veins.
Stress was the main reason Pearl had been confined, their mother losing consciousness once she found out Saffi was pregnant from the tabloids and then learning from Saffi herself that Jeremy wasn’t the baby’s father.
“Is it true, what Samuel said?” Pearl asked.
Saffi didn’t force a smile. Her mother would know if she was pretending. Choosing to stick to the truth as closely as possible, Saffi nodded, saying shakily, “He was angry at first. He thought I was trapping him into marriage, but he understands now.”
Pearl sighed. “I didn’t realize how important the election was until all this happened.”
“You know how Steel is. He’s very protective of us.”
“But to force you two to marry prematurely?” Pearl exclaimed. Her heart monitor beeped loudly, and Saffi glanced at it in alarm, seeing the way Pearl’s heart rate had become erratic at her words.
“Mom, easy now…” She did her best to sound teasing. “We don’t want you to have new wrinkles at my wedding, do we?”
Pearl grumbled, “If I ever get out of this bed soon.”
“That you don’t have to worry about since we’ll have the wedding ceremony here.”
“What?” Pearl sounded shocked, but she also sounded pleased and Saffi knew that they had all done the right thing. The look of happiness on Pearl’s face was more than worth every lie they had uttered – and every threat they had needed to use to get Staffan to marry her.
Saffi stood up, pressing a kiss on Pearl’s forehead. “I love you, Mom.” She would never forgive herself if something happened to Pearl because of her. The doctor had been explicit with his diagnosis. Pearl had a weak heart, and undue stress could easily trigger an attack. She would gladly do anything to ensure that Pearl would get better – and that included losing Staffan’s love.
Because when it came down to it, Saffi could earn Staffan’s love back again. Lives that were lost would remain lost.
Their faces drawn, her brothers immediately came to their feet the moment Saffi quietly closed the door behind her. Pearl’s suite was the most luxurious one in the hospital, with its own receiving area and a spare bedroom.
It was tastefully decorated in pale blue and ivory, but worry had made them all oblivious to the beauty surrounding them.
“Did she take the news well?” Silver demanded.
Saffi nodded. “She’s happy to be part of the wedding tomorrow.”
Closing the distance between them, Steel drew her close in an embrace. “As soon as we are sure Pearl is well, you can divorce Aehrenthal---”
Saffi pulled away with a shake of her head.
Steel’s face became shuttered.
“I know you’re angry at him, but he’s not the one at fault here.” Unconsciously laying a protective hand on her belly – a gesture that was not lost on her brothers – Saffi said haltingly, “He’s the father of my child and I love him. He loves me too, Steel. He does, I promise, and you’ll see it once I make Staffan see the truth.”
Steel’s gaze narrowed on Saffi’s eyes, as if searching for something. As if coming to a decision, Steel said finally, “We’ll see then, Saffi. He wants to meet with you at the clubhouse tonight.”
Chapter Four
The freak’s back!
Twitter: Vania_C
The clubhouse in Saffi’s hometown was bigger than most, and its crowning glory was the massive ballroom – a structure made entirely of thick and completely transparent fiberglass. She used to love the place because it was where her parents celebrated one of their wedding anniversaries, but after the humiliating fiasco she experienced in the hands of Vania Coolidge, the worst of Steel’s long list of ex-girlfriends, all her beautiful memories of the place had vanished.
As Saffi walked past the ballroom, a structure constructed separately from the rest of the clubhouse, she kept her gaze carefully averted. By the time she reached the main hall, Saffi had nowhere else to look but down. Everyone was looking at her, talking about her – and none of them were bothering to pretend they weren’t.
The receptionist of the clubhouse’s restaurant was perfectly bland as she murmured a greeting to Saffi.
Her smile strained, Saffi said haltingly, “Is there a reservation under Mr. Aehrenthal? He’s expecting me.”
The receptionist – Mandy, according to her name plate – blinked at her words.
She suddenly appeared unsure, prompting Saffi to ask awkwardly, “Is there no reservation?”
Mandy responded with a polite smile. “No, Ms. March. Mr. Aehrenthal has already arrived. I’ll lead you to your table.”
The moment they went past the double doors guarded by men in suits, Saffi realized the cause of Mandy’s predicament and her steps faltered before completely coming to a halt. Staffan had taken the best table in the restaurant, a beautiful intimate table for two set atop a red-carpeted platform cordoned off by waist-high wooden balustrades with elegantly carved posts.
He looked as he always did and no doubt always would, sexier than any man alive had a right to be and insanely stylish. His clothes were always a step beyond what was considered fashionable and never the kind that an ordinary man could carry off.
The most heartbreaking thing about the scene in front of her – he was not alone.
It was clear in the smile playing on Staffan’s lips that he was enjoying himself. Those looks under his lashes, the low murmurs, the not-so-accidental brushes of skin as he bent closer to hear what the woman across him was saying – she knew everything about those little signs because once upon a time, Staffan Aehrenthal had used the very same things to seduce her.