Cassandra's Song by Carole Gift Page

Author:Carole Gift Page
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2001-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

From her balcony, Cassie stared incredulously at the couple on the beach below. It couldn’t be Antonio…but, undeniably, it was. There was no mistaking that physique, that face, that walk. A shard of disappointment tore at Cassie’s heart. How could it be? Her Antonio…the man who had kissed her so tenderly just hours ago…out on a moonlit stroll with another woman, someone he obviously knew intimately.

Cassie wrapped her flimsy robe around her and slipped back inside the darkened bedroom. Quietly she shut the sliding door and made her way back to the canopy bed. Like a soldier wounded in battle, she crawled between the covers and curled in a fetal position, hugging her knees against her chest. She pressed her fist against her mouth to keep from sobbing.

After a while she heard the front door open down-stairs. She listened carefully. Yes. Footsteps on the stairs, an occasional step creaking. Cassie slipped out of bed and opened her door a crack. At the opposite end of the hall, shafts of moonlight streaming through the skylight revealed the silhouette of a man and a woman. Antonio, still carrying the delicate woman in his arms, opened a door and disappeared inside.

Cassie shut her own door and returned to bed. She lay still, staring up into the darkness, her heart still pounding fiercely. What had she just seen? And what did it mean?

The answer was evident. The woman in Antonio’s arms lived in this very house. She wasn’t just a girlfriend or a passing flirtation. She was Antonio’s wife. His wife!

But why, in the name of heaven, did he keep her a secret? What terrible thing has happened that he felt it necessary to hide her from his friends and colleagues and the world at large?

Cassie’s thoughts raced. Maybe she’s an invalid and can’t walk. Or she’s suffering from some debilitating or degenerative disease. Maybe she can’t be a real wife to him, but he’s too loyal to leave her. Maybe she’s lost her mind. But no, she didn’t seem insane. But she could be emotionally troubled.

Cassie recalled the day she spotted them at the restaurant. The woman had looked forlorn, withdrawn, despondent, while Antonio appeared to be trying fervently to reason with her. What issues divided them? What conflicts spurred Antonio to seek solace in the arms of another woman?

Cassie winced. She was that other woman. But whatever struggles Antonio and his wife were experiencing, he had no right to keep his marriage a secret. He had no right to court Cassie and lead her to believe he cared for her when he was already committed to another.

Antonio’s words earlier this evening came crashing back into Cassie’s mind, taking on an ominous new meaning: I’ve got responsibilities, obligations you know nothing about.

“You sure do!” Cassie said brokenly. “The most profound obligation of all…a wife! How could you do this to me, Antonio? Or to her? To yourself! I thought you were a decent, honorable man. A godly man.”

Cassie threw back her covers and climbed out of bed.

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