Page 17 of Modern Romance October 2025 5-8

The heat in his eyes flared to anger. But it was true. He’d not told her anything about his family other than that both his parents were dead. He’d not explained the nuances about his stepmother, the reasons why things were so obviously frosty.

‘So how do you want this week to work?’ She pushed on before he could snap—before her own anger unravelled. ‘Are we going to go to fancy dinners? Spending time with your friends? Because you didn’t want me to do any of that with you the last time we were married. You wanted me to stay locked up on the island villa, living a quiet life that you came and went from, remember?’ She bit her lip sharply. ‘And how do I explain our choice to spend so much time apart? Do I tell them all I went to London to start my career as acleaner? Won’tthatlittle detail overshadow your important event?’

But he didn’t bite. ‘Cleaning is honest work, Bethan.’ He tensed, focused on that last. ‘Nothing to be ashamed about.’

‘It’s beneath your family’s status.’ There was an army of cleaners at that compound. The wealthy operated in a different realm.

‘My mother was a cleaner,’ he said softly.

Bethan gaped. She’d not known that but of course she’d known little of his childhood. They’d bonded over being orphans but both skipped over detail—too busy connecting on a physical level dancing in the waves, in the sheets. Lost in the intoxication of each other. And she at least hadn’t wanted to bring that mood down. She’d thought it would all come out eventually, given they were ‘soulmates’...

‘The foundation is in honour of her,’ Ares added quietly. ‘She died several years ago. I think I told you that.’

She had a sharp flash of comprehension. ‘She’s Melina.’

‘Yes.’

She’d not even known his mother’s name. They’d made so many mistakes.

‘Some in the family don’t want the Vasiliadis name to be associated with it,’ he added stiffly. ‘My half-brother, Alex, and I were only a couple of months apart in age. Gia doesn’t like to be reminded of my father’s infidelity but I don’t like what happened to my mother to be forgotten.’

Hishalf-brother? Bethan was completely confused. She’d assumed Gia had been his father’s second wife—that she’d married Ares’s father after his mother’s death. But she’d not asked and Ares hadn’t said. This was fundamental.

‘What happened to her?’ she asked. Andwherewas this Alex?

That calm, emotional mask descended over Ares’s hard sculpted features. He wasn’t going to answer. She glanced down at her empty hands.

‘She was taken advantage of by an older, married man.’ His words were soft. ‘When she got pregnant he abandoned her. Her fledgling career was destroyed and she was burdened with her mistake for the rest of her life.’ He rolled his shoulders and stood. ‘I don’t know about you but it’s past time for food.’

Almost numb, Bethan followed him to the kitchen, where he began pulling containers from the fridge and covered dishes from the oven, setting them on the dining table in the corner. He added a couple of plates, grabbed a couple of glasses. But she turned over what he’d said and the more she thought about it, the more concerned she grew.

‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?’ she asked. But what she’d said was true. He hadn’t trusted her.

‘I don’t discuss it with anyone.’ He fished in a cutlery drawer.

‘I was yourwife.’ She couldn’t hold back her hurt whisper.

He paused, glancing across at her. ‘And was there nothing you kept from me back then, Bethan?’

She stared back helplessly. Because there had been. She’d been reluctant to share her past with him then. Her grief had been too raw. She’d not wanted to drag down those heady days—they’d been a delirious, passionateescape. She’d figured it would all come out eventually, only she’d dropped down to earth with a bump. But now, now she realised this was more complicated than her loss. She thought about the way he’d changed around his family. And that time he’d changed aroundher. The cold mask that had dropped so quickly and easily.

He opened the containers and began serving food onto his plate. ‘You can go on a hunger strike if you want, but I’m too famished to fight more right now.’

Bethan took the seat across from his. The dishes he’d pulled were her favourites. But it wasn’t that he’d remembered and done that deliberately, it was that she had pretty basic tastes. The trouble was there were memories attached to these tastes. As she nibbled she remembered the warmth of those long days and even longer nights. But the food also helped settle her wired system and helped herthink. She’d learned more about him in the last few minutes than she’d learned in the entire time they’d been together years ago. She needed to know more. Understand more. Because it might help her resolve this. But not only did she feel more curious, she also felt more inclined to support him.

They both finished their plates silently. He seemingly as lost in thought as she. Eventually she stood, helped clear the dishes, then turned to him.

‘Will you show me which room I can use?’ she asked.

He wiped his hands then tossed the cloth onto the counter. ‘So you’ll stay.’

‘For the gala, yes.’ She couldn’t resist that soaring curiosity.

Besides, she was doing it for his mother—a woman hurt and alone and who—for more reasons than Bethan was sure he’d admitted—he wanted to honour. She respected him for that.

And if Gia had been no kind of parent to him, Ares had been alone too. Unless his half-brother had been there? What had happened in that horribly cold compound that had made him so closed off? Maybe if she understood him more, she might be at peace with why they’d not worked out. Maybe this week would help her actually get over him.

She followed him through the apartment. It was large and she could keep her distance easily enough. Presumably he’d be at work during the day, so it mightn’t be that bad at all. He paused by a door and gestured. She glanced in and saw her bag was already there. He’d expected her acquiescence and his assistant had quietly arranged everything.