Page 45 of His Housekeeper's Twin Baby Confession
Carrie took stock of what she was feeling. Shocked? She shook her head. ‘It’s not something I considered even a remote possibility.’
Massimo didn’t say anything for a long moment, and then, ‘Are you sure about that?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
Massimo’s expression was stone. ‘Did you set out to trap me?’
Carrie was flabbergasted, and hurt that his cynicism would take him to that conclusion.
She found her voice eventually. ‘Why on earth would I want to trap you?’
‘To be set for life? To never have to worry about anything ever again?’
Carrie came out from behind the chair, incensed. ‘Why, you arrogant bastard! You think wealth can stop anything bad from happening? That wealth magically insulates you from ill-health or loss?’ She pointed at him. ‘You know better than most how that’s not true. All wealth does is insulate you from doing your own dirty washing! Or having to use public transport. Or talking to normal people and realising that maybe not everything is about you!’
Massimo folded his arms across his chest. Her words seemed to have made no impact.
‘Like I said...you don’t seem surprised.’
Because on some level she wasn’t. Because she’d known it even before she’d allowed herself to think it. Because it was exactly what had happened before.
Considering where they were now, she knew she would have to tell Massimo everything.
Massimo wasn’t sure how he was still standing when he felt as if a million rugs had just been pulled from under his feet. The last time he’d felt this blindsided had been when they’d told him that Ric had died—and even that hadn’t come as such a huge shock.
Which somehow made this level of shock feel like a betrayal.
He also felt exposed.Again.He’d been so careful never to let anyone too close. When he’d realised he hadn’t been able to trust his own parents, he’d learnt a very early lesson in depending on himself. Ric was the only person who had breached Massimo’s defences, and he’d vowed never to endure the pain of that kind of loss again.
Yet he’d been letting Carrie sneak right under those defences for weeks now.
Her words mocked him,‘You think wealth can stop anything bad from happening? That wealth magically insulates you from ill-health or loss?’
Of course he knew it didn’t. But he also knew that wealth could make those things a lot easier to bear. And right now it seemed crystal-clear to him that he’d vastly underestimated the sweet and innocent Carrie Taylor.
She was just like everyone else who’d circled like vultures as soon as his father’s death had been announced. Women looking for a rich lover, or better yet a husband. Men looking for a deal. Charities looking for handouts. He’d decided to focus on charities because at least that was transparent...
‘Well?’ he prompted.
He could see the emotion on Carrie’s face. Anger. Because he could see right through her. He pushed away the pricking of his conscience that he was letting his own anger skew his judgement.
She closed her mouth. Swallowed. Turned away.
He wanted to go over to her and demand she look him in the eye and spout her lies.
She turned around again, but still avoided his eye. She said quietly, ‘I was pregnant before and the symptoms were the same.’
That took a second to sink in. And then the thought of her being pregnant with another man’s child sent a series of conflicting emotions through Massimo.
‘With your husband?’ he asked.
She nodded. ‘Four years ago.’
‘You came to work formefour years ago.’
‘Six months before I came to be interviewed for the job.’
‘What happened?’
