Chapter 7
Ellyn froze, pressing her back against a marble pillar.
"Hardy, please," a woman sobbed. Izabella.
"Stop crying, Bella," Hardy's voice was weary, accompanied by the flick of a lighter. Smoke drifted around the pillar.
"I regret leaving," Izabella wept. "I was scared. Your mother... she said you would hate me if I stayed. I thought you would wait for me."
Ellyn held her breath.
"You left," Hardy said. "You chose Europe."
"I was forced! You know how Dian is!" Izabella's voice rose. "I want my place back, Hardy. I want us back. That woman... Ellyn... she's nothing. She's dull. She doesn't know you like I do."
Silence.
Ellyn waited for him to defend her. To say she's my wife. To say I love her.
The silence stretched. One second. Two. Ten.
Hardy didn't deny it.
"I will take care of you, Bella," Hardy said finally. "I owe you that much."
"I don't want money! I want you!"
There was a rustle of fabric. Izabella was moving closer to him.
Ellyn felt bile rise in her throat. She pushed off the pillar, turning blindly to run.
Her elbow knocked into a heavy ceramic planter.
Thud.
"Who's there?" Hardy's voice was sharp, alert.
Ellyn panicked. She couldn't be found here. Not now.
A hand shot out from the shadows of a recessed doorway. It grabbed her wrist and yanked her into the darkness.
She collided with a solid chest. A hand clamped over her mouth.
"Shh," a voice whispered in her ear.
She looked up. Fritz Burnett. Hardy's younger brother. His eyes were kind, worried.
"Don't make a sound," Fritz mouthed.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel. Hardy appeared in the opening, his eyes scanning the terrace. Izabella trailed behind him, wiping her eyes.
Fritz stepped forward, shielding Ellyn with his body, but keeping his arm around her shoulders.
"Fritz?" Hardy stopped. His eyes dropped to Fritz's hand on Ellyn.
The atmosphere curdled. The weariness vanished from Hardy's face, replaced by a sudden, violent tension.
"We were just talking," Fritz said casually. "Ellyn needed some fresh air."
"Talking," Hardy repeated. He looked at Ellyn. "In the dark?"
Izabella stepped forward, her eyes narrowing. "Oh my. Were we interrupting something intimate?"
Ellyn pulled away from Fritz. "No. I was just-"
"Come here," Hardy interrupted. His voice was a command. "Ellyn. Now."
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