Page 15 of His Forgotten Wife

Dolly stared, eyes wide in wonder as they arrived at the main deck. She made a conscious effort to untangle herself from Ares’s side. Even without the animosity aimed at her by his parents, it was clear that they were desperate to spend time with him.

All around her, the world seemed to shimmer in turquoise shades.

The yacht had veered away from the busier parts of the coastline, and they were now approaching a secluded cove nestled between jagged cliffs.

The cove, almost invisible from afar, opened to reveal a small, crescent-shaped beach with powdery white sand and lush greenery spilling down the rocky slopes.

Dolly scrunched her toes in her flip-flops, desperate to feel that sand. Although she didn’t want to explore it with so many eyes on them.

Leaning over the railing on the yacht’s side, she noted that the water was crystal clear, shifting in shades from bright teal to deep blue, with gentle waves lapping softly against the shore.

“Careful,” a voice said at her ear. “We don’t want you to fall overboard. At least not before you learn how to swim.”

She barely processed Ares’s words past the stinging waves of pleasure radiating from his fingers on her bare flesh.

Damn her and her crop top. If she had thought getting that pent-up grief and tightness out of her chest would give her relief, she was wrong.

It seemed like it had created even more space in her body for that zinging awareness of him.

Somehow the hug had been exactly what she’d needed—comforting and warm—while this touch on her waist felt different.

“I made up that list to show you that you can’t give me everything,” she croaked out.

“You should have known better than to challenge me, Dahlia.” When she took a step back, the rogue laughed. “We’re engaged, remember?” His warm breath coasted over the shell of her ear, making her shiver. “You can’t jerk like that every time I touch you.”

“And you can’t use me as an excuse to miss the celebration,” she said, for once getting the upper hand.

He groaned. “I’d rather explore that cove with you.”

Her chest and neck heating, Dolly remembered the earnestness in his sister’s eyes that morning. “I have something to make this easier.”

She opened the small beach bag she had brought with her. Reaching past the various sundry items, she finally found a pair of sleek, top-of-the-range noise-canceling earbuds she’d ordered before leaving New York, among several other items for him. They looked like tiny worms in his large palms.

“I’ve given Arabella a few pointers to give you when you talk to different cousins.

She knows to prompt you with details that you can ask about.

” When he looked doubtful, she tsked at him as if he were a recalcitrant child.

“Come, Ares. Remember the time your young cousin Darius sent you that hand-drawn card after you did a video call with his entire class about computers? You said it would have been nice to talk to him properly. You won’t get this chance again.

Also, remember Darius’s mother told you that he’s a geeky kid who gets picked on a lot and that it would mean the world to him if he could bring his brilliant computer-billionaire cousin Ares Demetrius to talk to his class? ”

“You’re right.” An instant calmness settled over his expression as he tucked the earbuds inside his ears. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss to her temple that made her heart stutter. “What would I do without you, Dahlia?”

Pretending as if she hadn’t heard him or felt those words deep in her core, she angled her head toward the waiting crowd.

Stefano, Sergio, his grandparents, his parents and some cousins she had met the night she had arrived, surrounded a festive-looking table arranged with cake and drinks.

When Juliana extended a glass of wine to Ares, Dolly reached out to take the glass from her. “Ares doesn’t drink alcohol.”

Juliana stilled, cast her son a glance that betrayed her anguish, and then jerked her hand back. As if Dolly’s touch might poison the drink.

The crowd around them got louder, raising their glasses in toasts as Dolly shifted so Ares’s father could stand next to his son.

Raising her own flute, Dolly stared around the smiling, excited faces even as their lengthy toasts flew over her head. It was clear that the Demetrius extended family was a very close-knit one, and most of them genuinely wanted to celebrate his well-being.

More than one cousin she had dealt with on the phone or email—usually to execute some order Ares had given regarding donation or scholarship or financial loan—came to greet her and congratulate her, remembering her better after this second meeting.

Ares himself made rounds to greet each guest, with his father as chaperone.

Curiosity lit a path through Dolly as she noted the pile of smartly wrapped presents waiting for Ares. What kind of presents had his family chosen for him? And for just a second, her mind wandered to that forbidden place she had locked the doors on and thrown the key away.

What if she and Ares were truly an engaged couple and she was meeting his family for the first time?

If things were not distant between him and them, and if they could see how much she cared about them, would they like her too?

Would they have welcomed her into the family with the warmth with which they greeted Ares after all these years?

What would it be like if Juliana wanted to help her upgrade her wardrobe because she wanted to really help Dolly?

What would it be like to get to know Arabella, as she’d hinted at?

“Is it true that Ares does not like to celebrate his birthday?” Juliana said, reaching her.

It was a nod to the high-pressured environment Dolly had worked in for so many years, driven by Ares’s stringent demands, that she didn’t startle at the older woman’s whisper.

One sidelong glance at her told Dolly that she might as well be a search engine about her son when it came to the older woman.

And that made it easier to see her with compassion.

“No, he doesn’t. Although it’s not that he has anything against his birthday in particular.

He doesn’t like the pomp and the cheer, I believe. ”

Tears lingered at the corners of Juliana’s eyes. It could be the suddenly fierce breeze causing it, but Dolly knew that wasn’t the case.

“When he sold the app in senior year, we had all been working round the clock. My job was literally to feed him at appropriate intervals, get him to move, hydrate him, force him to catch sleep, while Christina, our other friend, negotiated contracts and translated the legalese for him. When the sale was done and he’d signed on the dotted line, do you know what he wanted to do? ”

“What?” Juliana said, her fingers clasping Dolly’s forearm tightly. As if she couldn’t take the chance that Dolly might leave the story incomplete and disappear.

“He wanted to work on the next version of the app. Christina and I and our friend Isiah, we had to drag him to the restaurant and demand that he enjoy a nice dinner with us. It was only when I nearly fainted out of hunger that he came out of the trance.”

Juliana sniffed loudly in resonse. “I saw you hand him the earbuds and the prickly ball in his hands,” she said next.

“The earbuds are top-of-the-line noise-canceling. This way, the noise is more of a background buzz. And the prickly ball in his hand grounds him, tethers him to the people around him and the conversation. He really has a brilliant mind. But on a social level, he’s a little high maintenance.”

For the first time since Dolly had arrived a few days ago, Juliana turned and looked at her. Took in Dolly as a woman and maybe even as an actual person. The stare, while much softer, reminded Dolly of her son’s. “You knew today wouldn’t be enjoyable for him?”

“It’s not just today, Mrs. Demetrius. This anniversary celebration, these guests, the constant cheer and music, everyone circling him…all of it disturbs Ares. Especially now, when he’s not himself a hundred percent.”

“Why didn’t he tell us to cancel the whole damn thing then?” Juliana said, an ache in her voice. “Why doesn’t he ever tell us anything?”

The second question was rhetorical and not for Dolly to answer. But she tried to address the first one. That Juliana ached to get to know her son was obvious.

“As much as the noise and the crowds bother him, he wants to spend time with you all. He wants to build a connection with Arabella and you and his…father. The accident and the coma, I believe—” Dolly had to swallow her own ache here “—have shaken him up, forced him to see his life from a new perspective. I think he misses having you all in his life.”

If possible, Juliana looked even more miserable at the last thought. She nodded. “Apparently my eighteen-year-old daughter, Arabella, has more sense than me.”

Dolly raised her brows at the sudden turn in the conversation.

“I’m sorry for being so uppity to you, Ms. Singh. It’s clear you care about my son.”

Mouth falling open, Dolly stared at the older woman.

“I just don’t understand how you didn’t visit him all the weeks he was in hospital,” Juliana said, confusion clouding her words. “I mean, yes, Ares has made excuses for you, but still…”

To that, Dolly had no reply. She simply took a sip of her drink, which turned out to be some kind of strawberry-flavored cocktail.

Whatever she saw in her face, a soft smile broke through Juliana’s serious facade.

“I don’t know how much you and Ares have talked about this, but we could do a Christmas wedding, you know.

Whatever you want, big and grand or small and elegant…

I could arrange it all for you. And since it’s a few months away, it could give your grandfather time to recover from his surgery so that he can attend too.

Please, consider having the wedding here.

His grandparents would be heartbroken if they missed it. ”