Bond of Hatred(32)

Callie... Her mind gave way to another upsetting surge of thoughts. Sarah had never been so confused, could not yet credit that this woman being torn in two by in­decision and uncertainty and guilt was actually herself. Sarah had always known where she was going, always been quietly very sure of her own judgement and di­rection ... until now, that was.

Before tonight, before Alex's revelations, Sarah had been convinced that Callie had been used and abused and brutally abandoned. But now the picture had blurred and shifted and she was no longer sure of anything. Callie had deliberately concealed the truth of her relationship with Damon and, the night she had brought Damon to meet Sarah, Callie and Damon had been united in that deception. Callie had knowingly become involved with a married man and then moved in with him while his wife was abroad. Clearly, Damon had promised to get a divorce and then, probably when the heat of the affair ebbed on his side, he had changed his mind. Had her sister at that point allowed herself to become pregnant in an attempt to force the issue to the conclusion she desired?

Sarah attempted to envisage her sister without rose-tinted glasses. Callie had been very strong-willed, ar­rogant from an early age, when she'd discovered that beauty was a source of power over the male sex. Callie would have found rejection almost impossible to accept. Callie had always been the one to do the rejecting. And she had genuinely loved Damon. Had he ever loved Callie? Did it really matter now? She would destroy those letters unread. She knew enough, had no need or desire to know any more.

All of a sudden she was far more concerned by her own behaviour. In retrospect, she perfectly understood Alex's cruelty when she had gone to his office that day with Callie. It would have been effrontery indeed had Sarah known that Damon was another woman's husband and the father of two young children. Small wonder that Alex had reacted incredulously to the idea that his very much married brother had given her sister an en­gagement ring! Nevertheless, that was what had happened.#p#分页标题#e#

It was that day that Sarah had learnt to hate Alex, falsely seeing him as the barrier that stood between her sister and the man she loved. But, without even sus­pecting it, Alex and Sarah had been talking at cross-purposes and now she knew why Alex had repeatedly condemned her own moral principles. Naturally he had believed she was encouraging Callie in her pursuit of his brother.

Losing the very foundations of hatred was a chastening experience, Sarah discovered. All that had happened since Callie's death could now be seen in a different light. Alex had wanted to protect his sister-in-law from the hu­miliation of that affair being exposed by the media... quite understandably. Androula had already suffered enough. And what had Sarah done? She had threatened him and his family with tabloid exposure. Sarah winced, deeply ashamed, and yet how could she have guessed the truth when Alex assumed she already knew the truth?

No wonder he had called her a malicious shrew, no wonder he seethed with rage around her. Yet he had at­tended Callie's funeral and had probably enforced Damon's presence. And right from the outset his most overriding concern had been for Nicky. Judging Sarah to be an unacceptable guardian, Alex had been equally determined that Nicky should not suffer for the sins of his parents. In an impossible situation, Alex had tried his damnedest to remove Nicky from her care. It would have been much easier for him to offer her financial as­sistance towards Nicky's support and simply forget their existence. But Alex had cared too much about his nephew to be satisfied with such a conclusion.

'I am a man of my word... a man of honour.' Oh, dear lord, if that was true, where did that leave this crazy marriage she had demanded? They would have to talk, straighten out all these stupid misunderstandings, and then she would offer him an annulment. What else could she decently do?

That decision reached, Sarah felt more at peace with herself. She was reaching out to put out the light when the door opened. Her suddenly weak hand dropped back on the pillow with a dulled thud, her soft mouth opening on a soundless exclamation of disbelief.

Did Alex pause for effect in the doorway or was that her imagination? Paralysed, Sarah surveyed him from beneath her lashes. He was fully clothed... Her racing heartbeat steadied a little. He wanted to talk to her, had probably noticed her light was still on... that was all. Really, Sarah, a little voice piped up very drily, what else did you think he might be doing in your bedroom?

Alex braced two lean hands on the footboard of the bed and studied her, exactly as he had studied her that day in the hall at Gina's. Her heartbeat thumped against her breastbone in protest. I am lord of all I survey. That belief was etched unashamedly in those smouldering dark golden eyes wandering over her with a hot, earthy sen­suality that was so blatant, it took her breath away.