Free His Diamond Like No Other (Mills & Boon Medical) by Lucy Clark Page A

stairs.’
    ‘Oh, no.’
    ‘She was drifting in and out of consciousness and she was cold. She’d sustained a concussion and at one point it did look as though she might lose the baby.’
    ‘Obviously, Spencer managed to pull through.’
    At the mention of his son, Sean smiled. ‘He’s a tough little lad. Resilient.’ The smile slowly faded as he met Jane’s gaze. ‘After his birth, Daina admitted to me that she hadn’t accidentally fallen down the stairs as I’d presumed.’
    Jane gasped, covering her mouth as she whispered, ‘She’d thrown herself down voluntarily.’
    He nodded. ‘Yes.’
    ‘What happened?’
    ‘I finally saw the real Daina. After almost six years of my life, during which I’d tried everything I could to make her happy, to give her what she wanted, to try and please her, I saw her true self. She admitted that she’d continued drinking and even taking drugs throughout the pregnancy in the hope that the baby would abort spontaneously, but it hadn’t so, in her mind, terminating the pregnancy herself was the next logical conclusion.’
    ‘She always had such a convoluted way of thinking.’
    ‘Yes.’ He looked at Jane. ‘You understand completely.’ He reached out and took her hand in his. Jane tried not to react to the warmth that shot up her arm and burst into a mass of tingles throughout her entire body. Why on earth did one simple touch from him affect her in such a way?
    ‘I’ve never been able to talk to anyone else about Daina,’ he continued, completely unaware of how she was feeling. She wanted to pull her hand away but knew that would raise more questions than anything else. Instead, she focused on what he was saying. ‘Not even my parents, as close as we are, really grasped the full level of Daina’s vindictiveness. Sure, they could see she was a little unstable at times but she was quite the actress and played us all.’
    ‘Yes.’ Jane shifted back a little, the action causing Sean to casually release her hand. She quickly grasped the toy catalogue from her bag, needing something to hold onto, trying desperately to concentrate on what he was saying rather than the way he was making her feel.
    Even her own parents hadn’t understood the full extent of Daina’s moods, hadn’t seen the way she’d emotionally bullied Jane for years prior to the accident. Now, with Sean, Jane was finally coming to realise, just as he was, that someone else truly understood. It provided them with an instant bond, even though it was formed through negative experiences.
    ‘Spencer,’ Sean continued, ‘was in the neonate intensive care unit for the next three months but he was a fighter. After the delivery Daina was kept in overnight for observation and was then discharged, but before she left the hospital I told her our marriage was over. I would be filing for divorce as soon as possible and that if she didn’t agree, if she did anything to contest it, I would have her charged with attempted manslaughter of our child.’
    ‘You were angry.’
    ‘I was livid, not only at her but at myself. I couldn’t believe I’d been such a fool and for such a long time.’
    ‘You made up rational excuses for her behaviour,’ Jane offered.
    ‘Exactly.’ He spread his arms wide. ‘I can’t believe how...freeing it is to talk to you like this, Jane. You understand.’
    ‘I do.’
    Sean paused for a moment, looking at her as though he was seeing her for the time. She was not merely Daina’s sister or Spencer’s aunt...she was Jane, a woman who had clearly been through some terrible emotional experiences but instead of allowing them to make her weak had drawn strength from them, working hard and specialising in treating children with eating disorders who were also lost. She was trying to make a difference in the world and that realisation made him appreciate her even more.

CHAPTER FIVE
    ‘ W ELL, ’S EAN SAID after a long moment. They’d stood there, staring at each other, and Jane