Chapter 46

She bit her lip as hurt pride fought with an instinctive desire to make amends. Because wasn’t this something she was going to have to teach her baby—that forgiveness should always follow repentance? And there was absolutely no doubt from the stricken expression on Theodore’s face that his remorse was genuine. He looked so vulnerable, so unlike the composed and confident man she had come to know. His eyes were clouded with regret, his usually firm mouth turned down at the corners, and it struck her how much this moment meant to him. Her heart ached, but she knew that this was a crucial moment for them both.

‘Yes, Theodore,’ she said softly, her voice barely more than a whisper. ‘I can forgive you.’

He stared at her, but her generous clemency only heightened his sense of disquiet. It made him realize then that if they wanted some kind of future together, he had to go one step further. He had to open up in a way he had never done before. But it wasn’t easy—because everything in him rebe