Free Pandora's Box by Cristiane Serruya Page A

perfect daughter to honor my parents’ memories. The perfect granddaughter because my grannies lost what they held more precious in life. The perfect wife for Gabriel who treated me like a queen. And the perfect mother, because Gabriela was not responsible for anything wrong or bad that had happened to me. I had to be.” She leaned back, panting. “I have to be.”
    “Calm down,” he shushed. He knelt before her, his warm hands rubbing her arms up and down and up again, settling in her feminine shoulders.
    “Mine are normal reactions to abnormal events. Who told you I have a disorder?”
    Tavish Uilleam suggested it. Maybe more for my sake than yours. “No one. I was just trying to understand. I’m worried, Sophia.” Still not completely convinced, he cupped her face in his hands, the tip of his fingers massaging her temples and kissed her on the corner of her lips. “I don’t want you to be perfect. Perfect women are boring. Perfect wives are even more boring. You make mistakes and there is nothing wrong with that. Be imperfect.”
    “Alistair Connor,” she sighed, tired of the discussion, “as each new trauma piled on top of old ones, they started to push me down again. To get out of... this hole is hard and painful. Sometimes, it feels as if… I’m digging myself out of a coffin with six feet of earth piled over it,” she finished with a whisper, laying her head in the hollow of his neck and shoulder.
    “I know the feeling,” he said quietly as his arms went around her, and her breath softly fanned his skin.
    “Why did we even start talking about PTSD? We’re on our honeymoon.” She breathed in his smell. Sublime Alistair Connor.
    “We were discussing your work schedule,” he explained. He could feel her puckering her straight nose against his neck and knew she was rolling her eyes at him.
    “I’ll revise my schedule at LO but not at the Foundation. Don’t ask me to do more.”
    Hmm. He smiled at the ease with which she gave in after such an outburst to stand her ground. A cell phone in the living room had started ringing but he chose to ignore it. “We could do it together and I could make some suggestions—”
    Not a chance. The phone continued to ring. Grateful for the break, she informed him, “It’s yours.”
    “Fuck. Can’t the bank leave me alone for a few hours?” he muttered and checked his watch. He frowned, worried. It’s almost three o’clock in the morning in London. “I’ll be right back.”
    She gave him a wan smile. “I’ll be waiting.”
    “You better,” he kissed the tip of her nose and went inside.
    When he grabbed the phone, his brows came down as he saw Edward’s number on it. “MacCraig.”
    “Is Sophia near you?” Edward wasted no time with greetings.
    “Nae. Is—” He choked. A sudden panic made Alistair’s heart speed up. He couldn’t voice the words.
    Edward understood the unspoken sentence. “Gabriela is all right. But you have to come back. I waited till now because I knew nothing could be done before. Yesterday, the Leibowitzes succeeded in guaranteeing a hearing at the high court. They have an order from the Brazilian Supreme Court to question Sophia about Gabriela’s welfare. In addition, they are requesting the right to visit her and have shared custody. This was probably what he was doing when Sophia saw him in the street a few months ago.”
    Oh, fuck! “Aye, I remember.”
    “They are also claiming that Sophia abducted Gabriela before the custody case was judged. I already have all the best lawyers on it to delay the hearing but Sophia needs to come back. They have agreed to discuss a settlement, but only if it’s done today. How they know she is traveling and Gabriela is here with the twins, I don’t know!” Edward breathed harshly on the other side of the line. “Alberto is really pressing the case. They are asking for the right to take their granddaughter, as she is alone. And I’m not sure that Sophia can stop them. If you