Page 204 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

‘I didn’t know you were pregnant!’

‘We’ve been over that. I tried to get through to you to talk about our marriage, but you refused to hear me out.’

She stopped short. Remembering his prohibition on the topic? It worked because she didn’t try to plead her case. Just as well. He didn’t have the patience for that.

‘By then I knew you were the sort of man I didn’t want around my baby. Even if you hadn’t moved on within a week and taken that gorgeous redhead as your mistress.’

So Dido had known about Ginevra. Once that would have pleased him, now he felt only a heaviness in his chest.

When he’d learned how Dido had used him, he’d felt so raw that for the first time ever, he’d actively sought camouflage. He’d gone out of his way to be seen in public with a beautiful woman, not because he wanted her, but to show Dido he wasn’t pining.

And to prove to himself that Dido hadn’t been anything special. But it hadn’t worked that way.

‘She wasn’t my mistress. She was a convenient companion.’

The words surprised him. He hadn’t planned to explain. But he needed to build a bridge between himself and Dido if he wanted to find out more about Athena. His curiosity on the subject was insatiable.

Dido shrugged dismissively. ‘Call it what you like, it doesn’t matter now.’

Yet her tone and assessing stare belied her words. Sensation tickled his belly. Satisfaction?

‘So you were in shock at the news you were pregnant. And then?’

‘It was hard to take in, but it was…exciting and scary.’

‘Scary? Was something wrong?’

She paused then drew a slow breath. ‘Just the usual. Wondering if the baby would be healthy and survive to term. Worrying about finances and coping alone. Single motherhood isn’t easy. Plus feeling my body was no longer completely my own.’

Panos digested that. His imaginings had focused on the excitement of bringing a new life into the world. Dido’s words, delivered with no dramatic flourishes but with flat pragmatism, rocked him.

‘But the pregnancy went well?’

Dido looked up sharply. After a moment she said, ‘I had some ups and downs but Athena was fine and it was a straightforward delivery.’

Ups and downs that involved hospitalisation? That tight feeling in his chest returned. ‘Define ups and downs.’

‘It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.’

‘If it doesn’t matter, why can’t you tell me?’

‘Because you’d think I was making things up to get sympathy.’ Her mouth flattened yet her eyes blazed. ‘But since you want to know, I had severe morning sickness, far more severe than normal. It affected my ability to work or do anything much. I was dehydrated and lost weight instead of gaining it. Hyperemesis gravidarum, it’s called.’

Panos felt his jaw loosen. So much for the joys of expecting a child. ‘How sick were you?’

‘You believe me, then?’ Dido shook her head, defiance leaching away. She reached for a water glass and sipped. ‘Enough to be admitted to hospital a couple of times.’

He sank back in his seat. Now he understood her aunt’s concern. He was concerned and he was sitting across the table from her, able to see that she was perfectly well. Or was she? ‘Are there any long-term effects for you?’

Startled eyes met his. Worry for her health was the last thing she expected.

Something ground hard through his belly. Discomfort.

‘No, I avoided kidney damage and the depression eventually lifted.’

Depression too? Panos’ skin crawled. Nothing could make him forget that he’d missed two years of Athena’s life because of Dido, but hearing what she’d suffered to bring their baby into the world stirred unwilling sympathy. It reinforced how intimate the link was between mother and child. The link he’d threatened to break.

His voice sounded harsh when he said, ‘If I’d known, I would have done what I could to help.’