"Good afternoon Mrs. St. James."

Annie entered the foyer of her home and turned to the accented voice of Mona, the St. James trusted housekeeper and cook. The woman had been with them since she married Julien and helped her raise Zayn, Jasmine and Camelia.

"Good afternoon, Mona." She responded, placing her handbag on the round table in the center of the foyer. "I presume we have a guest?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Mona nodded. "There is a man insisting to see you and Mr. St. James. I made it quite clear Mr. St. James is not present. He's waiting in the parlor."

Annie turned her body staring intently at the closed door. "Did he mention his name?"

"Cristiano Russo."

Of course.

"I'll see to him. Thank you, Mona." Dismissing the woman and mentally preparing herself for what was to come.

"I will ready some refreshments." Mona says, ready to walk in the direction of the kitchen.

"Don't bother. Our guest will not be staying long." She replied.

Squaring her shoulders, Annie flung the door to the parlor with such force it bounced against the door stopper against the wall as she stepped further into the room, facing the man who broke Jasmine's heart. She didn't know what to feel when she entered. All she could register beyond her haze of brewing anger was her control.

It was slipping faster than she could catch it imagining what Jasmine had said about her time in his home.

She strode forward and looked him directly in the eyes when he raised his eyes to hers. The man's ability to have the nerve to look her in the eyes was both impressive and incredibly stupid.

They were dark eyes, surrounded by dark eyelashes and eyebrows. His hair was pitch black and slicked back from his face. His nose was regally straight and a pair of matching firm lips graced his mouth.

For a first impression he instantly gave off dark vibes— of masculine aggression and yet he appeared proud with an inborn air surrounding him.

He was handsome, she'd give him that much. The dangerously handsome type.

She could instantly see how Jasmine became enamored with him. He executed a charm and mysterious darkness that had women questioning if he were carved from the Gods or entirely human.

Her sharp eyes traced down the length of him.

He wore a suit–all black, matching his aura. A powerful set of shoulders were encased in the cloth shielding his strength.

For a moment he briefly reminded her of her Julien. However, looks were one thing. His behavior didn't match the qualities her husband withheld.

The older woman gazed down at him patiently with wise, deep blue eyes, surrounded by dark long lashes. He was frozen in place, his eyes riveted on her.

Angelica St. James.

In a flash of recognition, Cristiano stood in a fluid motion and offered a slight bow.

Finally facing her and concentrating on her for the first time, he couldn't help but see the steel in her resolve.

Her glacier expression could have frozen fire.

She was a regally graceful, strength and power seeping from her aura with an inborn command befitting a queen. She watched him, stance erect, narrowing her deep blue eyes shooting liquid ice.

No wonder people named her the Ice Queen. But this woman was not made of ice. When one was as experienced as him reading people, detecting what others were blind to, he saw a cold and unforgiving exterior. But it was as clear as day, this woman's heart was not made of ice.

This woman was a protector. A justice seeker and above all a mother. The ferociousness he sensed she held back, proved enough.

This woman cared more deeply than she showed. Her Ice Queen facade was just a mask to ward off others.

She used it as her shield born out of sheer survival mode and protectiveness. This woman, he quickly concluded, was a woman who didn't mind if she got her fingernails dirty. This woman was ready for battle and would strike without batting an eyelash in the name of her family and loved ones.

Already, he had tremendous respect for her and noticed immediately the qualities and traits he saw in his Yasmina.

One could never deny overlooking a powerful woman–they were rare.

"Mrs. St. James."

"Sit down Mr. Russo." Angelica commanded.

Cristiano, with no other wish to be on her good side obeyed, settling back into the armchair.

"Why are you here?" She asks, clasping her and behind her back and standing as erect as a Queen.

Cristiano took a deep breath before he spoke. "I'm here for your daughter who I've wronged beyond measure. I would also like to speak to you privately concerning my stance in her life."

Annie quirked an eyebrow. "She most certainly doesn't want to see you or have anything to do with you after what you've put her through. And to be quite frank, I do not blame her. What you've done is beyond reproach. You have quite the nerve to show your face here."

Cristiano stared at her pleadingly for forgiveness as if she was a mighty angel he was beseeching and the only one to help grant his wish. But this woman was no angel. She looked like a mighty avenger and the effect of her icy cold eyes reminded of him a stormy winter in Russia.

Their forceful depths had him looking away in shame.

"You left a broken woman behind who's struggling to mend what was left of her heart after you tore it from her chest. What makes you believe coming here would change anything? What makes you think I would want you anywhere near my daughter after you broke her?"

Heat crept up his neck.

She questioned him in a calmness that was slightly alarming. Her careful words felt like a hundred daggers stabbing through his skin.

"Nothing I can say will take back everything I have done to your daughter." He began in a agonizing tone. "It is reprehensible. I dying from the inside out because of my sins. But I know one thing and one thing only, regret is far from what I feel. One emotion stands out far above the rest of the darkness residing in my soul: I love her. I feel her in my very soul, through the blood coursing through my veins." Cristiano fisted his hands pressing them to his chest. "Every thought, every breath I breathe, every heart beat thuds with her name, her essence, overtaking every atom in my body."

"How poetic." She commented distastefully, beginning to slowly pace.

"I'm a helpless, foolish man without her angelic light." He continued, as if she never said anything. "I cannot not live. I'm a dying man for that I'm a sure. Everyday I'm slowly losing myself without her. I love her and I'm here to fight for her."

"Words mean nothing without actions. . . As you've proven before. Jasmine shared everything you said to her to win her heart. For all I know, you could be using the same tactics you've always used to serve your purpose." Annie said, still standing, watching him intently. "However, I have one question for you." She pauses for a moment. "Why now? Why wait this long and never bothered to grovel on your hands and knees for her?"

Cristiano sat straighter, twisting the wedding ring he never took off since the day of their wedding.

"I stayed away from for months because . . .I felt I was no better than scum. I believed she would be better without me in her life. I didn't feel worthy of her. Until I came to my senses and realized I've changed. I can become the man she requires of me. I am capable of love and I have enough of it with her by my side to last us a lifetime. I learned I'm weak without her. I'm a nobody. My life holds no feeling, no life. It was empty and miserable without her in it. I need her."

"You may have woken up too late, Mr. Russo. Now that you've had your awakening and decided its time to man up, what makes you believe she'd even consider giving you the time of day?"

Cristiano felt like a little boy being scolded under her scrutiny and criticism. She had a strong way with words and an even harsher way to make someone feel lesser than they felt. He deserved it all of course. He brought it all to himself. Mistake after mistake after mistake.

Fate was cruel yet just.

"I believe its never too late to fight for what you believe in. I am a man with many faults. I've lived and died. I was wrong. I was selfish. I lied, cheated, hurt and destroyed her life and mine. But I believe she and I have a chance. And it wasn't evident unti I grew the courage to see her. The night she was attacked, I was there coming to beg her to take me back when I found her. . ."

He watched her clenched jaw and the little muscle that throbbed in her cheek. She was angry to be reminded her daughter almost died. Many nights he'd lain awake, staring at the ceiling re-living that God-awful night. What if he hadn't grown the nerve to see her? She would have died. Was it coincidence or a higher power bringing him to his senses?

All he knew was fate worked in mysterious ways. And he was never ever going to waste another minute regretting. He was on a mission and this time doing everything by the book to finish it the right way without manipulation, threats, lies and charm.

Cristiano took a deep breath and continued. "What I've done will never be erased. Never from my memory and never from hers. But if you must know, my feelings for her were never a lie. I love her with all my heart and soul. I married the woman I loved. My proposal was showed to look it was made under false pretenses but I wanted her. Marrying her was no lie. Expressing my love for her was no lie. I made love to your daughter with nothing but love in my heart for her. That was all very real. The wrong here were my methods to achieve my purpose. That was wrong."

A deafening silence issued. Cristiano felt the tense exchange hanging in the air between them.

"Did you believe time would soften her towards you?" She asked.

"No. That was never my intention." He denied, shaking his head.

"Has it not occurred to you that perhaps Jasmine does not want you?"

"I–"

"She's miserable. You let pride stand in your way." She taunted.

"I have no pride left." He admitted with a tired sigh.

A bone weary sadness combined with pain and anger slumped his shoulders.

"When you love hard, you fight hard. . . Especially when a man is at the brink of imminent fatherhood."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked, his eyebrows forming into a frown.

"Jasmine is pregnant with your children, Mr. Russo. Are you honesty telling you had no idea? I would think a man that takes extreme measures to know everything and do everything possible would have found out."

Cristiano stared at her for an endless, stunned moment as he struggled to draw air into his lungs and comprehend the significance of her words hitting him.

Jasmine pregnant? With his children?

"I–I don't understand. Jasmine is–"

"Pregnant with twins. Your twins." Annie finished for him.

Realization slammed into him with such force he felt light-headed. He tore his gaze from Annie and stared at the rug beneath is feet. With an effort, he dragged a ragged breath into his lungs and moistened his dry lips. For several heartbeats he could only stare unseeingly at nothing.

He recalled questioning her strange behavior and appearance. Something off about her. Her clothing was looser, her face paler. A haunted look never leaving her eyes. All this time she was hiding her pregnancy from the world, mainly from him in fear he may find out and took great pains to keep it from him.

She was going to have twins, his twins. Their babies. Carrying them beneath her great big heart. He was to become a father.

His heart skidded to a halt, then thumped back to life. He squeezed his eyes shut, absorbing the joy, savoring the miracle.

The stunning news leaving him senseless lasted but a few moments, for he felt a greater sorrow enter his heart.

It was obvious she was never planing to tell him, willfully denying their children the knowledge of its father.

She took great pains to keep him in the dark.

She didn't want anything to do with him.

Nothing.

Cristiano ran a hand over his stoic face.

"She was never planning to inform, was she?"

"No, she wasn't." Annie answered in a quipped tone.

She wanted nothing to do with him. And he did not blame her one bit. Her reasons to exclude him were justified.

He had done nothing but hurt her, impregnated her, pushed her from his life, and left her alone to bare the responsibility of his mistakes.

It killed him a little by little at what he missed. It killed him more knowing she was doing it all alone. He could only imagine how scared and anxious she must be.

How angry she must be with him.

His sorrow turned to ashes at the thought of almost losing the babies because of a serial killer. She almost died and their babies would have died with her. Tears misted his eyes and silently sent a thank you to God for placing him at the right place at the right time. He would have lost her.

But soon he realized he already had lost her by his actions and lack of effort. She was to become a mother and he a father but their story was not a happy one.

Their story ended with suffering, pain and lies. They could have been two people in love, planning to be together for the rest of their lives. It was pointless to waste time wishing that it was or could have been different.

"Tell me, Mr. Russo. . .you claim you love her. But do you know what loving another entails? How much it takes to prove you that your love is true?"

"I met someone who I would trade my life for. Her life means more me to than my life. When I found myself lying helplessly in her arms, I knew I was in love with her. She is the only woman I have ever loved And the only woman I will ever love." He responded, his voice grave.

Annie nodded.

"Love—It's never enough. A woman needs more, we require actions to match those words. So when you love a woman, don't just tell her she's the one, show her. You need to show her she's wanted. Give her some faith, hold her tight and prove to her it will last forever. Because to really love a woman you need to understand her, hear every thought, see every dream shinning through her eyes.

"Love is based on the foundation you build together. Love is seeing everything you need. It's a combination of respect, understanding, communication and companionship. Never ever show the person you love a reason to doubt it. Love is sweeter when it's true. It doesn't have to be perfect, but true and loyal."

His Yasmina was all he ever needed.

"I cannot erase what has happened but I know I can start where I am, use my new found knowledge and do what I can. When I lost her I learned the value of life. I was not able to give her what she required from me when I had to fight my demons. She loved me when I couldn't love myself. But time has made me wiser. Loss made me stronger. The void she left woke me. She is everything I think about, everything I need and someone I would trade my life for. I plan to love her unconditionally until my last dying breath."

Annie regarded him for a long moment, crossing her arms over her chest. He was nothing but genuine. It was in his eyes, his body language. There were no clues he was lying. She quickly came to the conclusion this broken man before her learned a hefty lesson from life and completely reformed.

Perhaps, there was hope after all.

Cristiano saw her jaw was set in a grim, forbidding line as the silence stretched for endless minutes.

"Duchess?" A rich British voice called.

It was Julien's deep voice vibrating through their vast home. Both Cristiano and Annie turn to the sound of his voice.

When she told Julien of what happened to their daughter he was silently seething the entire time she retold him the events of Jasmine's experiences. The muscle in the side of his cheek bounced with renewed anger when she revealed she almost died. He had to lean over his desk, planting his closed fists against the surface. His chest was heaving where if anyone saw him they would have assumed he ran a marathon.

"Where's the bastard who nearly killed her?" He snarled.

"He's dead by the hands of your new son-in-law–Cristiano." Annie answered softly, laying a tender hand over his shoulder trying to help calm him.

"He saved her??" He asked in surprise. "He was there?" Turning to watch his wife's expression.

Annie's lips were tight but she nods continuing to explain.

"Was he there to win her back, you believe?" Julien asked, straightening the lapels of his suit in jerky movements.

"I believe so. There is no other explanation." Annie answered as honestly as she felt.

"Why the hell didn't Zayn contact us?" He growled, reaching for his office phone. "He should have been the one to protect his sister!"

"Julien, he didn't know." She reasoned. "He was away overseeing the Bed and Breakfast. She kept us all in the dark."

Julien took a deep controlled breath through his flaring nostrils. "Where is her so called husband, now?"

Annie shook her head. "I truly don't know. She doesn't know either."

"I can have him eliminated immediately." He began, clasping the phone tightly. "One call and–"

"Julien!" Annie quickly argued. "Your daughter is pregnant. He is to be a father. Do not stoop to this level until we learn what's to happen next. What if he comes back? What if he tries fighting for a future with her like I believe he attempted before finding her being attacked?" Annie took a deep, patient breath. "Let us not rush to conclusions. If he shows his face, let him explain himself. Let us see for ourselves what we're up against."

She could have exploded and raged, and planned to do the worst knowing the events that took place in her daughters life but one of them needed to be reasonable and open minded.

Rash decisions always ended in regret.

"Our love was tested at one time, don't you remember?" Annie reminded him.

Julien's gaze turned tender. He replaced the phone and reached to cup his wife's face lovingly.

"I will never forget that dark time in our lives." He says gravely.

Annie kisses his lips softly, embracing him. Their foreheads touched gently as they looked into each other's eyes.

"But you fought for us. You fought for our love and it prevailed. I can still remember how insecure I was. The mistakes I made to deny what I believed wasn't meant to be. But we overcame the worst. Perhaps, Cristiano should be given the same chance. Let's see if he's honorable enough to own up to his mistakes. . .lets try to learn if he's worthy of Jasmine. We all make mistakes and we all learn from them. If we don't take chances, then we'll always regret and we don't want to stand in the way of fate."

"I'm in here, Julien." Annie replied back.