Ariston sat on the sofa across from Lucette , barely listening to everyone’s chatter. The stilted conversation he’d had with Antonios out on the steps replayed in his mind.It had been strange and unsettling to see his brother again, standing there in front of their childhood home, remembering the death of both of their parents, a decade of hostility and suspicion between them... Ariston had felt himself tense, his hands balling into instinctive fists. He’d seen from the set of Antonios’s jaw and his narrowed eyes that he felt the same.They could clear the air, they could forgive the past, they could say they were moving on, but the reality was that memories still clung. They still held power. And if he couldn’t move past things with Antonios, how could he with Lucette ?He wanted to tell her he loved her, wanted to trust that what they had was real and lasting. But the memory of her last rejection still had the power to hurt. To make him stay silent. They’d had just over a month t
The next day, Ariston and Antonios repaired to the office to discuss matters relating to Linard Enterprises, and Lindsay sought out Lucette in the soon-to-be nursery, where she was comparing fabric swatches."Hello," she said, poking her head around the door, and Lucette gave a self-conscious smile before welcoming her in."Sorry, I’m not trying to hide away." She rubbed her lower back while motioning to the swatches. I'm just trying to make a decision about fabric. It can take ages for it to come in once you place an order.’"I wouldn’t know," Lindsay answered with a laugh. But Ariston mentioned you worked in decorating before...?I was a buyer for a department store in Paris. Home furnishings.’ It occurred to her that this must seem like a rather useless job to a brilliant mathematician, but Lindsay appeared genuinely interested.Do you miss it? When Antonios and I lived here, I missed my old life a lot more than I thought I would. My old job...’Lucette was intrigued to think
At the end of January, Ariston came into the house, where she’d been browsing through a catalogue of baby toys, and asked if she’d come to the office with him.The office? Why?’I need your opinion on something.Surprised and a bit bemused, she walked with him across the estate to the long, low-lying building that overlooked the olive groves."What do you think of these?" he asked, and gestured to a box of olive-based bath supplies.Frowning a little, Lucette examined the items, noting the pleasingly thick glass bottles and the nutty smell of the olives."They feel expensive," she offered. Although they smell a bit more like cooking oil than something you’d want to put in your bath.’He nodded. I was afraid of that. I want to develop a new range of bath products to supply the Adair chain of hotels, but I don’t think these are up to scratch.’Lucette answered with a smile: "A little olive oil goes a long way, I suppose.""I could use your expertise here," Ariston said. If you’re wi
Lucette tried to banish the disquiet that fluttered through her as she saw Ariston ’s eyebrows draw together in a faint frown. She’d been nervous about coming back to Paris, to the city where they’d met so often during their affair and the very room where Lucette had rejected him. She didn’t think she’d imagined the suddenly shuttered look on Ariston ’s face as he’d come into her apartment, and she had a terrible feeling he was remembering how he’d proposed to her here and what her answer had been.Now, however, he smiled, his face clearing, and looked around her sitting room. ‘Do you know, before I came here I would have thought you’d have some modern, sleek penthouse? All chrome and leather and modern art.’You mean like your bachelor pad in Athens? I prefer a homeier place to live.’Which is why you were a buyer of home furnishings, I suppose?She nodded, and he strolled around the apartment, noting the squashy velveteen sofa, the Impressionist prints, the porcelain ornaments and
She spent a long time getting ready that evening. First she had a long soak in the tub, and then she did her nails, hair, and make-up before donning a new maternity dress of soft black jersey.It had a daring V-neck that made the most of her pregnancy-enhanced assets and draped lovingly over her bump before swirling about her knees. She’d put her hair up for the simple pleasure of being able to take it down again in Ariston ’s presence later that night, and had slipped her feet into her favourite pair of black suede stiletto heels.And now she waited—because Ariston still wasn’t home.He’d been due back at seven to collect Lucette for their date, but as the minutes ticked by, Lucette ’s unease grew. She figured he'd be gone the one night she'd decided to tell Ariston how she felt.It almost seemed like a sign, a portent of things to come. Or rather, not to come.At seven forty-five, she texted Ariston . At eight, she took off her heels and her earrings—both had been starting to hurt
Lucette came to, lying on a stretcher. Two paramedics were wheeling her to an ambulance, and panic clutched at her so hard she could barely speak."My baby—"One of them reassured her that they were taking her to a hospital, and Ariston reached for her hand. His hand felt cold, as cold as hers. She realized that he was scared. He knew the worst was happening.The worst always happens.Just hours ago, she’d been buoying up her courage to tell Ariston she loved him. Now everything has fallen apart. Nothing could be the same. Her relationship with Ariston had been expedient at its core; without this child kicking in her womb, there was no need for a marriage.And yet she couldn’t think about losing Ariston on top of losing the baby; it was too much to bear. So she forced her mind to go blank, and after a few seconds, her panic was replaced by a numb, frozen feeling—a feeling she’d thought she’d never have to experience again.It was the way she’d felt when she’d realised Annelise wa
"It’s difficult to say what’s going to happen," the doctor told Ariston when he went to ask for more details about his son’s condition. "Of course, there have been terrific strides made in the care of premature babies. But I don’t like to give any promises at this stage, because premature infants’ immune systems aren’t fully developed and neither are their lungs. It’s very easy for them to catch an infection and have it become serious. "Ariston nodded, his throat tight. He’d just tried to promise Lucette it was going to be okay. But she was right: he couldn’t promise anything. And he didn’t know if their marriage, fragile as it was, would survive this.He stood outside the neonatal ICU and watched his impossibly small son flail with tiny red fists. He was covered in tubes to help him breathe, eat, and live. It made Ariston ache with fierce love—and a desperate fear.Eventually, he went back to see Lucette . She was awake in bed, and while the sight of her lifted his spirits, the
"Where are we going?" Lucette asked as they stepped out onto the pavement in front of her apartment.It was three months since their son had been born, and he was coming home from the hospital tomorrow. To celebrate, Ariston was taking her out to dinner.It had been a long, harrowing three months.Annas—the name meant ‘a gift given by God’—had had several lung infections that had terrified both Ariston and Lucette at the time, and twice it had been touch and go. Lucette had felt more fear than she ever had before, and yet with Ariston ’s support and strength, she’d met every challenge head-on, determined to believe in her son, to imbue him with all the strength and love she felt.And he was healthy now—weighing just over five pounds and more precious to Ariston and Lucette than they ever could have known.Ariston hailed a cab, and as the car pulled to the kerb, he leaned over the window to give directions. He’d been making a big secret of their destination, which made Lucette