The Life She Left Behind by Maisey Yates

begged him to reconsider, that he had had to promise this Spanish prince that I would be an obedient and dutiful wife, a wife who would not try to interfere in his own preferred lifestyle of bed hopping amongst his many mistresses. ‘When I told him that I didn’t want to marry this prince, he said that I was ungrateful and ignoring my royal duty. He said that I would grow accustomed to my husband. Accustomed. To endure marriage to a man who has simply agreed to marry me because he wants an heir, and to whom my father has virtually auctioned me off in exchange for a royal alliance. How could that ever be having my best interests at heart?’
    â€˜I should have thought such a marriage would suit you, Sophia. After all, it’s well documented that your own chosen lifestyle involves something very similar, when it comes to bed hopping.’
    A body blow indeed and one that drove the blood from Sophia’s face and doubled the pain in her heart. It shouldn’t matter what Ash thought of her. That was not part of her plan. But still his denunciation of her hurt and it wasn’t one she could defend herself against. Not without telling him far more than she wanted him to know.
    â€˜Then you thought wrong,’ was all she could permit herself to say. ‘That is not the kind of marriage I want. I can’t bear the thought of this marriage.’ Her panic and fear was there in her voice; even she could hear it herself, so how much more obvious must it be to Ash?
    She must try to stay calm. Not even to Ash could she truly explain the distaste, the loathing, the fear, she had of being forced by law to give herself in a marriage bed in the most intimate way possible when… No, that was one secret that she must keep no matter what, just as she had already kept it for so long.
    Not even to Ash? Definitely not to Ash. Now she was letting her emotions get muddled instead of focusing on the practicalities of her situation.
    Steadying her breathing she told Ash as calmly as she could, ‘When I marry I want to know and respect my husband and our marriage. I want to love him and be loved by him. I want us to bring our children up in the safe secure circle of that love.’ That, after all, was the truth.
    And it was a truth that Ash heard and couldn’t refute. He frowned. Against his will he was forced to acknowledge that there was something in her voice that touched old nerves, revived old memories. Revived them? Since when had they really needed reviving? He had never forgotten, could never forget.
    â€˜Please, Ash, I’m begging you for your help.’

THE SANTINA CROWN
Royalty has never been so scandalous!

    STOP THE PRESS— Crown prince in shock marriage

    The tabloid headlines…

    When Crown Prince Alessandro of Santina proposes to paparazzi favorite Allegra Jackson it promises to be the social event of the decade—outrageous headlines guaranteed!

    The salacious gossip…

    Harlequin Presents invites you to rub shoulders with royalty, sheikhs and glamorous socialites. Step into the decadent playground of the world’s rich and famous, where one thing is for sure—royalty has never been so scandalous!

    Enjoy all eight installments from The Santina Crown miniseries and Harlequin Presents:

    THE PRICE OF ROYAL DUTY—Penny Jordan
    THE SHEIKH’S HEIR—Sharon Kendrick
    SANTINA’S SCANDALOUS PRINCESS—Kate Hewitt
    THE MAN BEHIND THE SCARS—Caitlin Crews
    DEFYING THE PRINCE—Sarah Morgan
    PRINCESS FROM THE SHADOWS—Maisey Yates
    THE GIRL NOBODY WANTED—Lynn Raye Harris
    PLAYING THE ROYAL GAME—Carol Marinelli

Want to discuss The Santina Crown series with your fellow Harlequin Presents fans? Visit www.iheartpresents.com—a blog dedicated to the readers and writers of Harlequin Presents!

    And connect with even more Harlequin readers at the Harleuqin.com Community at http://community.harlequin.com!

Maisey Yates knew she wanted