The Mélendez Forgotten Marriage Read Online Free PDF Page B

way. The staff members were all very respectful and, unlike some of the wealthy men Emelia had met amongst her father’s set, Javier treated them with equal respect. He addressed each of them by name and asked after their partners and family as if they were as important to him as his own.
    â€˜Would you like today’s papers?’ one of the flight attendants asked once they were settled in their seats.
    â€˜Not today, thank you, Anya,’ Javier said with a ghost of a rueful smile.
    Emelia suppressed a little frown of annoyance. She would have liked to have read up on the news. After all, it was a different world she lived in now. She had two years’ worth of news and gossip to catch up on. And then another thought came to her. Maybe there was something about the accident in the papers, some clue as to what had caused it. Peter, as the manager of a trendy hotel, well frequented by the jet-setting crowd of London, had been a popular public figure. Surely she had a right to know what had led up to the tragic accident that had taken her friend from her.
    â€˜Don’t pout, querida ,’ Javier said when he caught the tail end of her look. ‘I am trying to protect you.’
    Emelia frowned at him. ‘From what?’ she asked.
    He gave her one of his unreadable looks. ‘I think youshould know there has been some speculation about your accident,’ he said.
    Her frown deepened. ‘What sort of speculation?’
    â€˜The usual gossip and innuendo the press like to stir up from time to time,’ he said. ‘You are the wife of a high profile businessman, Emelia. You might not remember it, but you were regularly hounded by the press for any hint of a scandal. It’s what sells papers and magazines, even if the stuff they print isn’t always true.’
    Emelia chewed on the end of one of her neatly manicured nails. She was the focus of the press? How could that be possible? She lived a fairly boring life, or at least she thought she had until after she had woken up from her coma. She had long ago given up her dreams of being a concert pianist and was now concentrating on a career in teaching. But the sort of fame or infamy Javier was talking about had definitely not been a part of her plan.
    She dropped her finger from her mouth. ‘What are the papers saying about the accident?’ she asked.
    His dark eyes hardened as they held hers. ‘They are saying you were running away with Peter Marshall.’
    Emelia opened her eyes wide. ‘Running away? As in…as in leaving you?’
    â€˜It is just gossip, Emelia,’ he said. ‘Such things have been said before and no doubt they will be said again. I have to defend myself against similar claims all the time.’
    She pressed her lips together. ‘I might not be able to remember the last two years of my life but I can assure you I’m not the sort of person to run away with another man whilst married to another,’ she said. ‘Surely you don’t believe any of that stuff?’
    He gave her a slight movement of his lips, not exactly a smile, more of a grimace of resignation. ‘It is the life we live, querida . All high profile people and celebrities are exposed to it. It’s the tall poppy syndrome. I did warn you when we met how it would be. I have had to live with it for many years—lies, conjecture, gossip, innuendo. It is the price one pays for being successful.’
    Emelia gnawed on her fingernail again as the jet took off from the runway. She didn’t like the thought of people deliberately besmirching her name and reputation. She wasn’t a cheater. She believed in absolute faithfulness. She had seen first-hand the damage wrought when a partner strayed, as her father had played around on each of his wives, causing so much hurt and distress and the betrayal of trust.
    â€˜Do not trouble yourself about it for now,’ Javier said into the silence. ‘I