“Oh, no—” Zoe’s heart ached for his loss.
“That tragedy was probably the reason I was so eager to get married and start a family. We honeymooned in Italy, but I sensed something was wrong even then.”
“Wrong? What do you mean?”
“She wasn’t responsive the way she was before we got married. Sometimes I got the feeling she was avoiding me.”
Zoe couldn’t imagine it, not with Andreas.
“Once we realized she was pregnant, I was thrilled and thought it had to be the morning sickness affecting her. But in time I realized she wasn’t going to change. By the time our son was born, we’d become completely estranged. Any joy had gone out of our marriage, but Ari brought me back to life.”
“She never explained what was wrong?”
His expression grew bleak. “Never, but because of Ari I didn’t want a divorce. We tolerated each other until the night he woke up screaming in pain. We rushed him to the hospital and learned he had a ruptured intestine.”
“Oh, the poor little thing.”
“He needed an operation and the doctor wanted our blood types.”
Suddenly Zoe knew what she was going to hear. The whole time he’d been talking, she’d decided his wife had been guilt ridden over something traumatic. “Is that when you found out she had a secret?”
His gaze locked with hers. “Ari needed blood. After the operation, the doctor told me privately that he couldn’t be mine.”
She closed her eyes tightly. “How unbearable.”
“I won’t lie about that, but at least I finally understood why our marriage never worked.” In the next breath he told her the rest. Lia had slept one time with another man before their wedding at a girl’s bachelor party. There’d been a lot of drinking. The whole thing sickened Zoe. She couldn’t imagine what it did to Andreas.
“Lia doesn’t want a divorce. She has begged me to try again, but I fell out of love and the trust has completely gone out of our marriage.”
“No one understands lack of trust better than I do.”
“She still wants me back. At first she moved to Athens and threatened that I would never see Ari again. Of course that was absurd. The judge awarded us joint custody.”
“I understand that’s why you fly to Athens as often as you do.”
He nodded. “He’s young and I haven’t wanted to take him back and forth on the jet. It’s been better that I fly there. The situation has been working. I’ve turned the private Gavras suite at the hotel into my home away from home. But I plan to change the situation soon.”
“How?”
“Lia has bought a villa in Athens and asked me for more money beyond the settlement to refurbish it. I gave it to her and pray she has already moved out of her parents’ villa. The second I find out that she has, I’ll take her to court for a change in visitation. We’ll trade off every eight days so we both get more and equal time with Ari.”
“Do you think she’ll agree to it?”
“No. Lia will fight me all the way, but she’ll lose because she doesn’t have a job and no means of support except family money. I have the weight on my side because I earn the living.
“The judge will hear I want Ari back at the villa with me. The equal division of time every eight days means I’ll be able to travel when he’s not with me, and work part-time at home when he’s in the house. Ari is getting older and I hope he won’t mind the flights.”
“If he’s with you, he’ll love it, Andreas. You’ve moved heaven and earth to make this work.”
“Unfortunately it’s not over yet. That’s why I’ve told you about her. It’s better to be forewarned where Lia is concerned.”
The fasten seat belt light flashed on. She buckled up. “Does the man she slept with know what happened?”
He sat back and fastened his. “It’s possible, but that’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it on the flight to Athens in the morning when we’re not rushed. Right now I must run you to the apartment because I have to get back to the office for a few hours to finish up some work.”
“I understand.”
In another half hour Zoe was back in the flat, wishing Andreas hadn’t had to go. After kissing her cheek at the door, he’d walked swiftly away. Left to her own devices, she needed to talk to someone and pulled out her cell phone.