Echoes of the Heart Read Free

victim in this whole charade, she had no reason to feel guilty.
    Hugh took her hands in his. ‘Your hands are freezing.’
    ‘Please, don’t. People will see us, and that will only fuel the rumours.’
    He smiled bitterly and dropped her hands. ‘All thanks to Lloyd’s blasted suicide note claiming he took his life because we were lovers.’
    She let out a pent-up breath. ‘I’m sorry you were implicated in all of this.’
    Hugh’s lips thinned as he shook his head. ‘It isn’t your fault. Lloyd set us both up with his lies.’
    ‘He hated you because you started defeating him in the courtroom,’ she revealed.
    ‘He knew he could rely on lawyer-client confidentiality. I can’t expose his lies to reveal the hold he had over you, or to clear my own name. If I’d known how corrupt he was, I would never have agreed to become his lawyer.’
    ‘There was no way you could’ve realised. He was clever at covering his tracks.’
    ‘There were rumours…’
    ‘That’s all they ever were. There was never any proof of his activities or he would’ve been disbarred.’
    Hugh’s lips twisted in disgust. ‘There was enough suspicion to stop him being appointed as a judge.’
    ‘He could never understand why he wasn’t appointed. He blamed the fact that—‘
    ‘I know what he believed, Amanda. He was arrogant, malicious, and underhanded to the very last breath.’
    A shiver shook through her slender frame when she thought of Lloyd’s deviousness. She struggled to suppress tears that gathered and stung eyes that were already gritty and sore from lack of sleep.
    ‘His behaviour was unforgivable,’ Hugh said. ‘What will you do?’
    There was a wealth of caring in his voice, and she fought against the sudden need to throw herself into his arms and sob her heart out. It had been so long since anyone had stood up for her. She’d coped alone for what seemed to be an eternity.
    ‘I’ll survive.’ She heard the brittle edge to her voice and steeled herself to keep talking. ‘It’s over now. The most important thing is that my aunt continues to be cared for.’
    Hugh’s mouth tightened with suppressed anger. ‘If only I could clear our reputations with the truth.’
    ‘Mud sticks, Hugh. People believe what they want to believe and to them, I’ve always been a heartless gold-digger.’
    She watched his fists clench at his sides.
    ‘Lloyd really was a bastard. Not content with making your life miserable while he was alive; he had to send a copy of his suicide note to the press, making sure you suffered in his death.’ A vehement curse of frustration left his lips. ‘One last swipe to tarnish your reputation and divert people from discovering the truth.’
    She shook her head with regret. ‘He also wanted to blacken your name.’
    ‘Well, he’s succeeded. Quite a few people are convinced we’re lovers.’
    ‘All the more reason not to be seen talking like this.’
    ‘Damn him!’ Hugh punched his right fist into his left palm. ‘I feel like tipping off the press anonymously to the real circumstances of your marriage.’
    ‘Please, don’t,’ she said with a shudder. Trying to shut out painful memories, she closed her eyelids tightly. Her life with Lloyd had been a living hell, but somehow she was going to put it behind her. With supreme willpower, she wiped the tears from her eyes and the emotion from her face. ‘You know Lloyd’s got a hold over me, even in death. If the truth is revealed all I’ve been through will be...’ Her voice broke with the effort of suppressing her fears.
    He put his hand on her arm in a gesture of reassurance. ‘Don’t worry. I won’t do anything that will hurt you, and I’m too successful in court for this whole debacle to hurt me professionally. It will blow over in time.’
    Hugh’s focus darted to a point behind Amanda. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose and all her self-protective instincts switched to full alert.
    ‘Jake Formosa’s heading this way.