The Life She Left Behind Page 7
‘No. No,’ she denied immediately. ‘He doesn’t have my best interests at heart. All he is interested in is securing a royal marriage for a daughter of the house of Santina. He told me that himself when I begged him to reconsider, that he had had to promise this Spanish prince that I would be an obedient and dutiful wife, a wife who would not try to interfere in his own preferred lifestyle of bed hopping amongst his many mistresses. ‘When I told him that I didn’t want to marry this prince, he said that I was ungrateful and ignoring my royal duty. He said that I would grow accustomed to my husband. Accustomed. To endure marriage to a man who has simply agreed to marry me because he wants an heir, and to whom my father has virtually auctioned me off in exchange for a royal alliance. How could that ever be having my best interests at heart?’
‘I should have thought such a marriage would suit you, Sophia. After all, it’s well documented that your own chosen lifestyle involves something very similar, when it comes to bed hopping.’
A body blow indeed and one that drove the blood from Sophia’s face and doubled the pain in her heart. It shouldn’t matter what Ash thought of her. That was not part of her plan. But still his denunciation of her hurt and it wasn’t one she could defend herself against. Not without telling him far more than she wanted him to know.
‘Then you thought wrong,’ was all she could permit herself to say. ‘That is not the kind of marriage I want. I can’t bear the thought of this marriage.’ Her panic and fear was there in her voice; even she could hear it herself, so how much more obvious must it be to Ash?
She must try to stay calm. Not even to Ash could she truly explain the distaste, the loathing, the fear, she had of being forced by law to give herself in a marriage bed in the most intimate way possible when… No, that was one secret that she must keep no matter what, just as she had already kept it for so long.
Not even to Ash? Definitely not to Ash. Now she was letting her emotions get muddled instead of focusing on the practicalities of her situation.
Steadying her breathing she told Ash as calmly as she could, ‘When I marry I want to know and respect my husband and our marriage. I want to love him and be loved by him. I want us to bring our children up in the safe secure circle of that love.’ That, after all, was the truth.
And it was a truth that Ash heard and couldn’t refute. He frowned. Against his will he was forced to acknowledge that there was something in her voice that touched old nerves, revived old memories. Revived them? Since when had they really needed reviving? He had never forgotten, could never forget.
‘Please, Ash, I’m begging you for your help.’
THE SANTINA CROWN
Royalty has never been so scandalous!
STOP THE PRESS—Crown prince in shock marriage
The tabloid headlines…
When Crown Prince Alessandro of Santina proposes to paparazzi favorite Allegra Jackson it promises to be the social event of the decade—outrageous headlines guaranteed!
The salacious gossip…
Harlequin Presents invites you to rub shoulders with royalty, sheikhs and glamorous socialites. Step into the decadent playground of the world’s rich and famous, where one thing is for sure—royalty has never been so scandalous!
Enjoy all eight installments from The Santina Crown miniseries and Harlequin Presents:
THE PRICE OF ROYAL DUTY—Penny Jordan
THE SHEIKH’S HEIR—Sharon Kendrick
SANTINA’S SCANDALOUS PRINCESS—Kate Hewitt
THE MAN BEHIND THE SCARS—Caitlin Crews
DEFYING THE PRINCE—Sarah Morgan
PRINCESS FROM THE SHADOWS—Maisey Yates
THE GIRL NOBODY WANTED—Lynn Raye Harris
PLAYING THE ROYAL GAME—Carol Marinelli
Want to discuss The Santina Crown series with your fellow Harlequin Presents fans? Visit www.iheartpresents.com—a blog dedicated to the readers and writers of Harlequin Presents!
And connect with even more Harlequin readers at the Harleuqin.com Community at http://community.harlequin.com!
Maisey Yates knew she wanted to be a writer even before she knew what it was she wanted to write.
At her very first job she was fortunate enough to meet her very own tall, dark and handsome hero, who happened to be her boss, and promptly married him and started a family. It wasn’t until she was pregnant with her second child that she found her very first Harlequin Presents® book in a local thrift store—by the time she’d reached the happily ever after, she had fallen in love. She devoured as many as she could get her hands on after that, and she knew that these were the books she wanted to write!
She started submitting, and nearly two years later, while pregnant with her third child, she received The Call from her editor. At the age of twenty-three, she sold her first manuscript to the Harlequin Presents line, and she was very glad that the good news didn’t send her into labor!
She still can’t quite believe she’s blessed enough to see her name on, not just any book, but on her favorite books.
Maisey lives with her supportive, handsome, wonderful, diaper-changing husband and three small children, across the street from her parents and the home she grew up in, in the wilds of southern Oregon. She enjoys the contrast of living in a place where you might wake up to find a bear on your back porch, then walk into the home office to write stories that take place in exotic, urban locales.
Visit Maisey’s website at www.maiseyyates.com.
Other titles by Maisey Yates available in ebook:
Harlequin Presents:
The Petrov Proposal
Marriage Made on Paper
The Inherited Bride
An Accidental Birthright
His Virgin Acquisition
And look for her book in The Santina Crown series, Princess from the Shadows!
ISBN: 978-1-4268-3589-6
The Life She Left Behind
Copyright © 2012 by Harlequin Books S.A.
Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Maisey Yates for her contribution to The Santina Crown series.
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