Page 93 of A Diamond Deal
Love was a weakness. It was why his mother had never loved him. Because if she had loved him, she never would have walked into the sea. She never would have abandoned him. She never would have put him second best to her depression, or to the hate she felt for his father. She never would have left him behind. If he had not loved his mother, he would have stayed on the shore. He would not have fought against the tide to save her. He would have called for help—for larger arms. But he’d been weak. His love—his panic—had let her drown. Because love was a selfish emotion.
‘Sign it,’ he demanded again, and he caught it too late. The fire heating his demand.
A tear dripped from her chin. ‘Where do I need to sign?’ She walked over to the desk, faced him from the other side, and took the pen from his fingers. She reached for the papers. Her fingers trembling. ‘Here?’ she asked, turning the document to face her. ‘Only on the front page?’
‘And pages two, three and six,’ he confirmed, grateful for the barrier between them. Grateful he didn’t have to stand close. Grateful he couldn’t smell her now. Because it would make him ill, he assured himself. A scent he’d always thought of ashers.
The pen hovered above the first box.
Her eyes flitted over the page.
She wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. Ducked her head and signed all the pages.
She closed the document. Slid it over to him.
‘What happens next?’
‘My lawyer will have it in the hour,’ he said. ‘As we are both Greek citizens and our divorce is by mutual consent, it could take a few weeks.Iwill ensure it is less.’
She didn’t look at him again. She stood. Walked away from him and reached for the door—
‘Poppy?’
She turned, and it flashed in her eyes. He recognised it.Hope.Hope this had all been a terrible mistake.
It wasn’t.
He’d crush the light in her eyes.
Just as she had intended to crushhim.
‘Don’t forget this,’ he said, and reached into the drawer again. He held it out for her to collect. A single piece of paper.
She walked back over to him and put her hand out for it. Her gaze dipped. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s Léon’s debt.’
She clasped it on one end whilst he held the other.
Their eyes locked over it.
‘I keep my promises,’ he reminded her. ‘Unlike you.’
Her face fell.
‘Goodbye, Poppy.’
He pushed himself to his feet. Turned his back on her and walked to the window. Watched the display of new arrivals. New ants. All too bright. All too…fake.None of it was real. Not out there. Not in here. She was right. It was all a show.
A lie.
He closed his eyes. He didn’t need to open his eyes to know she moved closer. He felt her there. Behind him.Too close.Her stature was so small compared to his height. His build. But how largely her presence overshadowed him. Oh, so floral was her scent. Only hers. Only ever Poppy’s.
It overwhelmed him now.
His heart, he hated it. How it pumped,harder. Responded to her even now.
‘Goodbye, Konstantinos.’
