Chapter 24


    That was thest time she’d seen the coward. For a whole weekend, while her brother and grandfather


    had been in New York, she’d had to cope with a siege of paparazzi on her own. Those reporters had


    been there to witness Javier’s wife arrive at the vi and bang on the door until a guilt-stricken


    Alessandra had answered it, her fulsome apology ready on her tongue. She’d never had the chance to


    say the words. As soon as she’d opened the door, Javier’s wife had spat in her face, pped her and


    called her a puttana—a whore. The press had caught every frame for posterity.


    By the time her brother and grandfather had returned the damage had been done.


    ‘Why didn’t you ever put your side across?’ Christian asked. If he felt any pain in his fingers he didn’t


    show it, allowing her to continue squeezing tightly, as if he knew it to be an outward measure of the fury


    and pain recalling that awful time provoked.


    ‘I wasn’t allowed. Ro and Nonno closed ranks.’ She attempted augh. ‘They were furious with me.’


    ‘Why? Your tutor took advantage of you. If they were furious with anyone, it should have been him.’


    ‘They were furious with him for taking advantage of me, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d been


    sneaking around with a man almost twice my age. They forbade me from speaking to the press, saying


    I’d caused enough shame on the family name.’ Even if she’d chosen to defy them, by the time she’d


    got over the shock that had rendered her virtually mute the press had moved on to its next victim.


    Alessandra Mondelli’s affair with a married man had been old news. No one had cared for her side.


    Christian disentangled his fingers from her grip and muttered another curse as he got to his feet.


    The ce where he’d rested his hand against her neck suddenly felt cold.


    She shivered and rose to her feet to stand before him. ‘If I leave with you today, my career will be


    ruined. No editor or fashion director will ever trust me again. It’s the only thing I’ve got to hold onto, the


    only thing that gives my life any meaning.’ How could she expect him to understand that? Her career


    was all her own. It had taken everything she had to get her name taken seriously and pull herself out


    from the cloud of scandal.


    ‘And what about our child? Or does he or she note into it?’


    ‘Don’t twist it like that. When our baby is born everything is going to change—I know that, and I’m


    preparing myself for the change it will bring, but right now I’m healthy and capable of working.’


    ‘I’m not happy about this. You can’t take risks with your health.’


    ‘I don’t expect you to be happy about it, but ultimately the decision is mine, so please don’t patronise


    me about the health aspect—you were there when the doctor said I should live a normal life.’


    He threw his hands in the air and shook his head, not bothering to hide his anger or frustration.


    She continued speaking before he could open his mouth to argue any further. ‘I will hire a bodyguard


    for when I leave the apartment—I promise I will protect our baby.’


    ‘I will hire a bodyguard for you,’ he insisted, looking only slightly mollified. ‘And I want your word of


    honour that if at any time you feel in any kind of danger you will call me immediately.’


    ‘I promise.’


    He appraised her with narrowed eyes for a moment longer before inclining his head. ‘Then I will have to


    trust you to keep to your word.’


    She certainly deserved that.


    * * *


    Wee to Athens.


    This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?.


    No sooner had Alessandra stepped off Christian’s private jet than two bodyguards appeared from


    nowhere. They took her luggage and escorted her to the waiting car with its bullet-proof, cked-out


    windows.


    A week ago she would have thought this overkill. She’d thought her brother was a pain when it came to


    being over-protective. Ro had always been protective of her. After Javier, he’d be even more


    controlling. Her grandfather had been even worse. He’d withdrawn her allowance and curtailed her


    freedom, which had always been limited, to the point of non-existence. She’d returned to her private all-


    girls school when the holidays had finished to find he’d given strict instructions not to let Alessandra


    leave the grounds under any circumstances. This had been particrly humiliating, it being her final


    year, the school year when more adult freedoms were permitted. But not for her. All trust between her


    and her grandfather had broken down irrevocably.