She was doing it again. She was dodging his questions by supplying questions of her own. “Zoe, stop with the questions. Just walk me through what happened to the annulment papers and the check.”
Her gaze narrowed and her lips pressed into a firm line. Seconds passed and at last she spoke. “Fine. You want to know. Here it is. I had the papers. They were over there on the kitchen counter. I signed them. I put them in the envelope to drop in the mail. And then I ripped up your check into tiny pieces which I dropped in the garbage.”
“Is it possible you accidentally dropped the papers in the garbage, too?” When she frowned at him, he said, “Okay. I just had to ask.”
“I can assure you the check was the only thing I trashed.”
“Why would you do that?”
“What? You don’t think this place lives up to your standards and that I was foolish to toss away the money?”
“No, that isn’t it.” He clenched his jaw. He wasn’t going to fall in that rabbit hole with her. What he needed to do was concentrate on the whereabouts of the annulment papers. “So you ripped up the check. What did you do with the papers? We need to make sure they didn’t end up in the wrong hands.”
“If they did, I didn’t do it.”
He believed her. It was highly doubtful, because by now he’d have been contacted for blackmail or it would have been sold to the paparazzi. Demetrius had a feeling the papers were right here in this apartment.
“Where did you last see the papers?”
“I...I don’t know.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’ve tried to remember ever since you told me they are missing, but I can’t remember what I did with the envelope after I signed the papers.”
“Think hard.”
“I am. I must have posted it. That’s the only reasonable explanation. They must have lost it.”
“You didn’t send it by special courier?”
She shook her head. “You have to believe me. I did what you wanted.”
What he wanted? He never wanted this annulment. The only reason he’d issued the papers was because she’d walked out on him. He was about to say as much when he noticed her eyes grow shiny. Were those tears in her eyes? Please don’t start crying. He was never good with women when they became emotional.
He moved to the counter. “Is this where you signed the papers?”
“Sì. That’s the last place I remember having them.” She paused as though she remembered something—something important. “I remember signing them and slipping them in the envelope. Then my phone rang. It was an important client.”
“And?”
Zoe worried her bottom lip. Her gaze didn’t meet his. “I had to go into the office early.”
“Think hard about what you did with the papers.”
Her eyes widened. “My mother offered to post them.”
“Your mother? She knows about us? I thought you were waiting to tell her?” This could be a complication he hadn’t anticipated.
“I swear I didn’t tell her about us. She didn’t have a clue what was in the envelope.”
“So what do you think happened?”
“I think I know.” Zoe rushed out of the room and down the hallway.
Demetrius followed. Zoe entered a small, modest bedroom. She stepped up to an old chest of drawers and pulled open the top drawer. Frantically she started flipping through papers and envelopes.
“Zoe, what are you doing?”
She didn’t stop to look at him as her search continued. “This is where my mother keeps her important papers.” Zoe grasped a large manila envelope and held it up. “It’s here.”
Demetrius raked his fingers through his hair. A mix of relief and worry rushed through him. Was he really supposed to believe her mother was hiding annulment papers for a marriage that she wasn’t supposed to know about?
Zoe smiled. “Isn’t this great?”
“Great?”
“Yeah, you know, because no one else has the papers. The media doesn’t know. Your reputation as a reformed, reliable prince is intact.”
“Until you mother finds the papers missing and does something about it.”
“That won’t happen. She couldn’t tell anyone even if she wanted to.” There was a certainty in Zoe’s voice, but he wasn’t so sure. He didn’t even know her mother except for what Zoe had told him about the woman.
“Why won’t it happen?” When Zoe averted her gaze, he stepped closer to her. “Zoe, stop with the cryptic comments. Tell me what is going on. I need to understand.”
THIS WAS GOING to be the most difficult conversation of her life.
Where did she even start?
Demetrius stepped closer. “Zoe, whatever it is, just say it. I’m listening.”
She glanced up, meeting his unwavering stare. Within his eyes she found a steadiness that she craved. She could do this. She would get through this confession just like she’d endured all of the doctors’ visits, the testing and the trying times with her mother.
“It all started before you and I met. My mother started forgetting little things at first, like not going to the market. And then I started to notice her cooking had changed. Instead of the big, traditional meals, she would heat up ready-to-serve food. And sometimes it was burned. My mother never burned food in the past. She was amazing in the kitchen.” Zoe blinked, keeping her tears at bay. “I didn’t want to see what was happening to her, and she was so busy trying to cover up her lapses that she was too embarrassed to ask for help. So we both ignored the telltale signs—signs I didn’t even know I should be watching for.”
Demetrius reached out to her, but Zoe backed away. If she gave in to the tears now, she’d never get this out and she’d kept it bottled up for too long. He had to realize that a future with her wasn’t possible. He already had an entire nation’s troubles to handle. He didn’t need hers, too.
She drew in an unsteady breath. “By the time I met you, my mother was no longer able to keep up with her job and was let go. That’s when we couldn’t ignore her problem any longer. The doctors told us it was Alzheimer’s. But I was in denial. I couldn’t accept that I am going to lose my mother one agonizing piece at a time until she no longer knows me.” A sob caught in Zoe’s throat. She choked it down. “My mother’s going to forget everything.”
“I had no idea.”
“You weren’t supposed to know. I couldn’t cope with the diagnosis. The last thing I wanted was sympathy. I just wanted to pretend everything was normal.”
“And I was the perfect distraction.”
She nodded. “I let myself get swept up in the romance, and I did my best to block out the problems at home. I tried to keep everything as routine as possible. But as time went on, my mother’s condition got harder and harder to ignore. When we were out with friends, my mother grew quiet and withdrawn, only talking when spoken to and answering with short, vague answers. Her gaze would dart around the group watching for other peoples’ facial responses to certain comments and then she’d respond accordingly.” Zoe blinked repeatedly. “I am watching my mother disappear and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
Sympathy reflected in Demetrius’s