Title | : | Trapped by Viallis Vows |
Author | : | |
Rating | : | |
ISBN | : | 0373134673 |
ISBN-10 | : | 9780373134670 |
Language | : | English |
Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
Number of Pages | : | 224 |
Publication | : | First published January 10, 2014 |
After falling for the notorious Italian tycoon, waitress Marnie Clarke is horrified to discover that—in Leandro Vialli's world—she's "his dirty little secret." It breaks her fragile heart and she flees with her dignity…and their unborn baby!
Leandro refused to believe the child was his until a paternity test proved him wrong. So when a shocking accident steals Marnie's memories, he seizes his chance. Convincing Marnie that she's his fiancée is Leandro's only chance to secure his legacy.
But before Leandro can say, "I do," the past comes crashing back and Marnie remembers everything…
Trapped by Viallis Vows Reviews
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Uh oh. To quote Obi Wan Kenobi, I have a bad feeling about this.
He's Italian; she's blonde.
He's a $$$ tycoon; she's a waitress.
She buys a dress she can't afford for one of the H's office parties, a dress that is surprisingly tighter than it should have been (eye roll). To make matters worse on the heels of one of the Leandro's exec's telling her she's "Leandros' dirty little secret" she finds out that she wasn't even invited to the party in the first place.
Ouch.
Update #1:
She's studying astronomy and has an offer to go to NASA. Nice!
Abandonment issues. Rotten relative/bad parents alert on both sides. There is little hope.
Major violation of the billionaire/mistress trope. Apparently when he jettisons one of his mistresses, he gives flowers instead of the ubiquitous diamond bracelet. So not only is he an ass-hat billionaire, he's a cheap ass-hat billionaire. The upside is he orders them himself rather than some poor but voluptuous put-upon PA he will later have an affair with and get pregnant. Wait, that's a different Italian bazillionaire.
Update #2 OMG, he's so machiavellian. Awful. Terrible. Devious. Epically so. Some Harley-land readers are going to love all this ANGST. We are heading into some good stuff, but I'm going into spoiler lockdown.
There better be an epic GROVEL.
Spoiler # 2
Okay. Spoilers stop here. If you have read my reviews, I will slam down a 1 star review if the H is a total unrepentant ass-hat and the h is worthy of the title of tiny h aka door-mat. The resolution here does not fall under either category so a solid 3 to 3.5 stars for me. -
One of the better new HPs I've read in a long time. It's a basic, time honored HP plot that I happen to love - Mistress who thinks she's a girlfriend until cruelly set straight by the hero. It had a lot of positives.
*The heroine acted like a responsible adult and went to H to tell him she was pregnant even though he was a giant ass.
*Amnesia!!!
*The heroine did not insta-forgive after the "I'll just marry her while she has amnesia and doesn't know I'm a shithead." plot is revealed
*Hero was a shit, but come on we wouldn't read HPs if that was a no-go. We love to hate on our cruel heroes. Plus, he really did show a lot of growth in the end and had to work for forgiveness.
*Amnesia!!! (just in case I forgot to list that one)
A note on the controversy re: the stay-at-home dad epilogue -
Well this one starts out bad, gets a bit worse and then really excels in h assertiveness at the end. I was proud of the lady, she stood up when she needed to and got that emergency backbone transplant right.
The H on the other hand, well I've made it through Robyn Donald books with more horrible H's but not that many. Still there is a decent H redemption at the end and so overall I liked this book.
CS usually writes the most doormatty h's in all of HPLandia, but she got it right this time and I can only say It Is About Time and also, this was very well done. I am almost liking the new HPlandia again. -
Lots of great reviews on this more-than-a-mistress-now-that-she's pregnant story, so I won't go into details. Suffice it to say that I really enjoyed the amnesia twist so the heroine could get mad at the hero twice. :) He really was a stinker with all of his secrets and distrustful nature. That NASA would want an undergrad in astrophysics from England so bad was kind of a stretch - but then so is retrograde amnesia. :)
Chantelle Shaw's style kind of reminds me of Jessica Steele. She's not the most lyrical writer, but she's logical, shows clear character motivations and always ties off her plot threads. -
This story was just as awesome as the last time.
This was a sweet little gem for me, that ticked off so many of my favorite themes in an asshole hero story. Leandro was definitely an Asshole Supreme, wanting absolutely NOTHING more than sex from his mistress Marnie. He's very indifferent towards her and never asks anything personal of her or her background, nor offers her any of his own. Leandro just wants Marnie available 24/7, and at his beck and call whenever he's needing sex. Leandro's secretary accidentally invites Marnie to an office party, and when she shows up, everybody is chittering to each other and making it obvious they are talking about her. When one of Leandro's office buddies lets Marnie know she's Leandro's "Dirty Little Secret", the fun starts off from there. Leandro shows up late to the party and he's irritated as hell that Marnie is there, and he tells her straight up he would never have invited her. Marnie is both pissed and mortified by Leandro's treatment of her in front of everybody so she leaves. Later he lets her know she's only his mistress for sex and nothing else, and they end up parting ways. I was in heaven. The angst was so good!
This story had it all: -
This book had drama, angst, passion and I was about to give it 5 stars! Then I read the epilogue where our very successful ruthless tycoon decided to become a stay at home dad so that his super brilliant wife, our heroine, could work for NASA. Hero was emasculated and they lived happily ever after. This book could be titled "The Happy Feminist Manifesto." Not what I like when I read a Harlequin Presents.
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Another good HP (spoilers may be below)
I truly hated the H through 80 percent of this book. He was arrogant, cruel and demeaning. He really didn't deserve Marnie. She loved him and he just thought of her as a commodity. He could take her or leave her. And when she left the first time he was thinking that he had no desire for the women he had taken out to dinner that week and I was like he was dating already???? What a pig. And then the amnesia started and I really don't like amnesia books at all but I stuck with it and he still was oinking like a pig the whole time so I almost didn't finish it. It wasn't a wall denter but it was just too much. Then when he found her and watched her give birth I saw him change but it was almost a little too late for me. He became a great Father of course to little, and I hate this name, Stella! (I just kept picturing Marlon Brando screaming it in the street.) And he loves loves loves (I hope I gave it enough loves) Marnie and they live happily ever after. And ride off in the California sunset and she becomes an Astronaut or something. Typical HP and I liked it but it just wasn't great. Maybe I need to move to something non HP for awhile. -
2.5 stars
Marnie, Marnie, Marnie… After a year of living together you’re surprised you’re only his mistress… But how can you be surprised? He never took you out to socialize, you’ve never met his parents, you don’t even know who they are or if he has siblings. Besides, it looks like you’re not into sharing your life with him, you’ve never told him you have siblings or your sad past or your life’s dreams.
If she had made the effort of communicating him about her life I would have felt deeply betrayed by the pig hero but she didn’t make the effort so din’t even feel sorry for her.
I’m not saying he wasn’t despicable, just that I didn’t care for her. And I’m not ranting about him because there are great reviews detailing his pigginess, so I’ll save my effort.
I don’t know if I’m way too dumb or what but I honestly can’t understand this heroine’s logic, which applies to many other HP heroines:
“Her only regret was that Leandro still had not told her he loved her, and she had held back from saying the words to him. But she was sure he cared for her. [...]
She told herself it wasn’t surprising that he found it hard to express his feelings. He had felt unloved by his father and had been abandoned by his mother when he was a boy.”
His duplicity aside… So, you know his issues and still are expecting him to be the one to say “I love you” when you are the emotional woman who feels deeply the feelings and you haven’t expressed them verbally to him ever (she kind of did, but can’t remember because amnesia).
Honestly, how can the heroines demand to hear first the three little words form their closed up heroes when they claim themselves to be the emotionally opened up ones and haven’t ever said a thing.
In the end it looks like the H totally forgot about poor Henry, who's on the way to become a H for a future HP. And the H's half-sister what? She wasn't formally introduced to the h but she was at the attempt of wedding just there completely forgotten.
My favorite line:
“He almost laughed out loud at his arrogance. What he ‘deserved’ was to rot in hell.”
The bonus:
He was celibate (or at least I wanted to believe that) and she made him work for it not a few seconds but a few months. -
So sorry. My very long and detailed review vanished.
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Thoroughly satisfying Hp read. It had amnesia, yeah! Totally differently set up so double yeah! Well written, kept me interested. The hero was quite dastardly. But he he got what was coming to him and had to struggle to get the heroine back. Heroine eventually had a nice bit of backbone. Fun OTT read all around.
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3.5 Tropey Stars
This has an unknowing mistress h, an accidental pregnancy, a jaded H, with a hint of amnesia. There’s plenty going on that kept me entertained. Marnie and Leandro have been an item for a year when her blinders are ripped off. The book opens with Marnie sitting at a company party waiting for Leandro. She’s super excited because this is the first time he’s invited her to anything. Unfortunately, she quickly learns that her invite was a mistake and drama ensues.
Bottom Line- I liked it. Marnie has a spine, and Leandro grows a heart. -
3 - 3.5 stars
I didn't dislike this one but it isn't a fave. While the amnesia worked for the plot, as used many time in HP world, why couldn't the H try to win h back without amnesia? I was a little let down about this one thing and hence my rating. -
I almost gave this 4*'s, because this was so involving, but I disliked how much of a doormat Marnie was, and she was content to be his mistress (yes, despite what she said & thought, their relationship was based *only* on sex). Somehow it didn't seem realistic for them to be living together for a whole year and yet they knew absolutely nothing about each other beyond the bedroom. Did Leandro really have no contact with her except the physical one?
That said, I liked the whole scene when she I'm still not sure that he grovelled enough for me, but it was close at the end. -
4 ⭐️’s this gets a ⭐️ for angst, another ⭐️ for cruel hero, then another ⭐️ for a heroine with a spine, and lastly a ⭐️ for the sexy times.
Sometimes a person can be book-smart and totally miss the social cues. Our heroine, Marnie has no clue she is a mistress. She has lived with Leandro the hero for a year, but knows nothing about him except that he is a sexual dynamo in the bedroom, hallway, etc…He doesn’t take her to any of his functions or on any of his business trips. She accidentally gets invited to a work party, shows up and one of the employees mentions how she is the boss’s “dirty little secret”Her alarm bell should be deafening.
Yet she still isn’t totally convinced as the H has a way of soothing her with sex…again!
Plus she has all the symptoms of a pregnancy but since she is taking birth control she figures it is all good….doesn’t officially get tested til 4 months into the pregnancy.
Meanwhile, the H is busy telling himself that he doesn’t love the h, even though she has been with him a year, and he thinks of her often. Nope it is just sex!
When the h starts coming on too clingy by asking him some questions. He responds, removing no doubt that she is a mistress…
‘The right?’ he said softly, dangerously. ‘If you were my wife I concede that you might have the right to question me, but you are not and never will be my wife. You are my mistress.’
Leandro’s words dropped like pebbles into a pool, causing ripples to disturb the smooth surface. Tension knotted in the pit of Marnie’s stomach. She stood up and turned to face him, conscious of her heart beating painfully hard beneath her ribs.”.
Ok so I think I will stop here. There is so much more to happen in this story… Secrets to be revealed…Let me assure you our h gets a backbone, then gets some amnesia, then gets a titanium backbone where she calls out the H in front of a whole bunch of witnesses.
By the end of the story we have an ott in love hero who has been losing sleep, losing weight, and losing time he could have had with the pregnant h. I so love a sickly looking groveling H by the end of the story!!!
We also get an epilogue 👏 -
This book had heart break, passion, amnesia, and a surprise pregnancy. The hero was a jerk most of the book, but he won me over the last few chapters. The book cover says the heroine is a waitress, but it didn’t say she was going to college to be a scientist. She was a smart heroine, that ended up falling in love with a super-rich guy. He was arrogant, and mean until she left him. Loved the fact she had a backbone. Once she was gone, he realized how much he really loved her, even tho he didn’t believe in love… eye roll. I’m glad he finally found out what was important to him. Good book.
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This is one of the better HP that I have read in recent years. It had all the ingredients of a fantastic book: Mistress to a billionaire, Unplanned pregnancy , Huge disparity in wealth, Supposed other woman, Needy siblings, Terrible relationships with parents, H having a bad past relationship & punishing the h, as a result; and Amnesia, of course! And the best part? It delivered!
With all of the drama and different plot points, one would expect the book to feel rushed but it was rather well paced. I liked the fact that even though Marnie had a tough early life, she pursued a career she was passionate about. The emotions in the latter part of the story leap of the page and both MCs grow and evolve into better people, Marnie stands up for herself and Leandro learns what it is to love.
I really enjoyed Trapped by Vialli's vows so it gets ☆☆☆☆☆ Good job, Miss Shaw! -
This was typical Harlequin fare and despite the amnesia plotline, I really enjoyed myself. It had a terrific romance with an alphahole H, a strong but sweet h and plenty of angst, a cruel untrusting hero, a heroine who makes him work for it, some amazing grovel, and a beautiful HEA.
Side note: I learned a new word in this book, "disorientated" which is the British form of the word "disoriented" .
This was 100% safe for me. -
I enjoyed this one tremendously! The H was harsh and cruel but he repented and what a way to grovel! We saw the evolution of a waitress to an astrophysicist. A weak pathetic women to a strong protective mother.I loved this one and wouldn't mind reading it again
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I enjoyed reading what a jerk the hero was and how she gets rid of him ....and then how he gets her back once he realizes he's out ...better grovel was required so ...three stars
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I really liked this one, especially the non-doormat heroine who forces H to grovel major big time. But let's get real, how does she afford his favorite booze, not to mention some of the groceries and her schoolbooks, tuition, etc., while working one evening a week waitressing? Even a scholarship won't cover all that. When she's in a graduate degree program she only has course work and studying a few days a week? OK, I'm splitting hairs here and worrying about reality (??!?) in an HP??!? (OK, time to go get a cup of tea and forget about ahem, reality.)
I love seeing a smart h who is something other than a writer, marketing/PR, or accountant. Astro physics may be a bit esoteric but I am glad to see authors challenging the usual job stereotypes. But the best part was her taking H apart by the seams for his extreme nasty mind, complete selfish, self-centered world view, vicious assumption, so on. Loved that.
Now back to H. In what universe do you demand a paternity test for a little boy born during your marriage whom you love? And then allowing ex-wife to take kid away because he's not "yours". What a dummy.
This is the same guy who tells his girl friend who's lived with him for over a year that she's just his mistress, that all he wants is sex, that she is not and never will be his wife,that they don't have a relationship, there is no "us", that there's no point in having a mistress who isn't available all the time and that he's never given her any indication that he wanted a future with her.
It's not that he's our typical HP super alpha big cheese, but that he's completely uncaring of anything other than his own convenience and immediate wants. He compartmentalizes everything to minimize the impact to himself and if she doesn't fit the compartment, too bad.
Can we believe that he's actually changed at the HEA? Maybe. He even is willing to quit his business tycoon role and be a house husband. I don't think H will house hubby forever, he's too fond of challenge and winning. Of course this house hubby won't have to dust and vacuum and clean bathrooms, and even cooking can be a bit of a hobby instead of a necessity. -
Leandro was a supreme jerk. And although his change of heart is almost unbelievable, this is an HP so I rolled with it, but boy was it an emotional read. I felt for Marlie, and I also felt for Leandro (despite his cluelessness, arrogance, and ruthlessness). I'm also glad that Marlie didn't give in so easily and we had a grovel. :)
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I don’t know what the title has to do with this story. No one was trapped by any vows. The numb nut/MMC may have stated he was never going to marry but it wasn’t a “vow”. Smdh. Honestly the only likable character was that poor confused kid Henry! The MMC as a jerk off who literally treated the FMC like a blowup doll and the FMC was too stupid to even notice!! The FMC fell in “love” with a dream not a real man. The MMC never fell in love in my opinion. He got caught up in having a kid again and later a real family with a good woman that he f’ked over and felt guilty about.
It wasn’t a bad story just shallow. I didn’t feel any emotions from the characters. Not even during the two separate betrayal scenes, which are usually my favorite points in a book. The book held my attention. I definitely wanted to see what happened but it wasn’t a great story. Well written enough to hold your attention only. Good luck. -
Marnie is Leandro's dirty little secret, but she doesn't know! She thinks they are in a relationship, but when she tells him she will go to work for NASA institute for 9 months he tells her that she can go but they are finished and he will find another mistress. She is appalled by his words and she leaves him. Afterwards she finds out she's pregnant, and tells him. His reaction is awful and he asks for a DNA test, then he accuses her of stealing his jewels (it was her brother's doing but she didn't know): DNA is positive but she refuses to have anything to do with him. She falls, hits her head and loses her memory. He tells her they are engaged and they are going to marry, hoping she never gets her memory back, because he wants to be a good father to their baby. Unfortunately for him she recovers her memories and jilts him at the altar. Eventually, after a big grovel, they are back and happy together. He was a real jerk in the first part of the book, but in the second part of the book the heroine shows her backbone and makes him bite his dust. I liked her more than the hero. He has to change completely to have her back again, but I couldn't forget how he treated her: he was a coward and a stupid when he couldn't realize that she was not the kind of person who could trick him or steal from him. Anyway I enjoyed this book, the pace was bright and I read it without stopping because the story was interesting and well articulated. I recommend it.
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Wow. I knew the plot of this book sounded ridiculous and over the top but the book itself was awful. Sure, the writing was decent but the story and most of all the characters were terrible.
The heroine Marnie was so naive in her relationship with the hero Leandro she was close to be in the dumbest female alive. She was such a doormat. And so needy for affection it made her blind to what was so obviously in front of her. She claimed to have fell in love with him during their year long liaison but honestly I doubt it was anything close to real feelings of love. More like an abundance of affection mixed with lust. Topped off with Leandro being her first real relationship and lover.... Sigh.
Leandro was an emotionally stunted jerk. I understand his reluctance to be in a actual relationship that's not based on sex after his disastrous first marriage. Top that with some serious mommy and daddy issues and you've got a boat load of issues.
This is exactly the sort of book I usually avoid and refuse to finish when I stumble across them. Their over the top, over dramatic, predictable and worst of all give the dumbest of characters life. I am so done with these naive too stupid to live heroines. Enough already. -
Trapped by Vialli's Vows was about Marnie Clarke and Leandro Vialli, an Italian tycoon.
This book was different. There weren’t any OM or OW, and no evil family members. This book focused on the only important thing: Marnie/Leandro and what they truly meant (or didn’t mean) to each other. The story started with Marnie being called "Leandro's dirty little secret" at one of his staff parties. When he arrived not long after this conversation, he told her he did not invite her. She was only to be told he would be home late that evening. After a few quiet yet heated exchange of words, Marnie left. Leandro followed her, they got all handsy, only to have his phone go off and Leandro called a halt by going into his study and shutting Marnie out. Then he was leaving on another trip. The only explanation he would give was that "a...a close friend has been injured in an accident and I need to be with them". While he was gone, Leandro realized he knew very little about Marnie other than the fact he enjoyed having sex with her. He wanted to get her a gift, but he didn't know any hobbies she enjoyed, except for stargazing...so he bought her a book about that.
During his absence, Marnie attended her cousin's wedding. We found out Marnie's late mother had suffered from depression, which instigated her divorce. Marnie had twin older brothers, Luke and Jake, though Luke had died five years earlier and she hadn't seen Jake since. We also learned Marnie wasn't just a cocktail waitress. She was a college student majoring in astronomy. She had gotten top marks in school and had received an invitation from NASA to partake in one of their programs in California.
Returning to London, Marnie saw a photo in the newspaper of Leandro with his arm wrapped around the shoulder of "a stunning brunette" and they looked quite intimate. Arriving home, she ran into her brother, Jake. Wanting to tell Leandro he was visiting, she found his phone was not turned on, so she allowed Jake to stay anyway. He told Marnie he had spent some time in jail for several thefts, but that he was on his way to a job in Scotland and had wanted to touch base with her. Marnie, wanting to help him, opened Leandro's safe and removed a pearl necklace that had belonged to her grandmother. She gave it to Jake to sell so he could have some money. When he got home, Leandro found Marnie asleep in the middle of the afternoon. She told him she had fainted at work and had been sent home. He suggested she see a doctor, but she said no. Not seeming to care that she was sick, they had sex. Afterward, Leandro gave her the book titled "Stargazing for Beginners" which she found a bit impersonal, but said nothing but still said, "thank you".
Marnie mentioned that her aunt had invited them for a visit in September but he said he couldn't go because he would be in Italy. When she said she hadn't known, he said, "I have a busy schedule. I can’t keep you up to date on all my business trips.". He wanted her to go with him. She told him she couldn't go because she had been offered a nine-month postgraduate internship at NASA's research center in California. He was a bit condescending when he asked why NASA would be interested in a waitress. She told him she wasn’t just a waitress but had been attending university to study astronomy. He asked why she had kept it a secret. She said she hadn't been confident she'd do well. She also said he kept secrets too. He said he wasn’t obligated to tell her anything. She said since they had been together a year now, she thought she had a right to know some things about him. (Have you noticed I've not used the word "relationship" in my descriptions of these two? You're about to find out why.) He told her only a wife had that right and she was nothing more than his mistress. She denied it, but he pointed out that she lived with him rent-free. She told him she paid for their food, her clothing, and other things she needed with the money she earned from her job. She said she had never used his credit card because she didn't want to lose her independence. "It would be a fundamental change in our relationship." (Here goes the explanation for my NOT using the word "relationship".) HE snapped, "Our 'relationship'? We are not in a relationship...You are my mistress and for several months we have enjoyed a sexual liaison...". He then said that once she left for California to attend NASA, their liaison would end. Going back to work, he said they would finish their talk when he returned, but she said she wouldn't be there. He said it was her choice, and left, telling her to leave her door key behind. Two weeks later, Marnie learned she was pregnant.
Leandro couldn't forget Marnie, though his thoughts were not always good. He believed she was like every other female he'd ever known, wanting more than he was willing to give. Then Stephanie called. She said she was in London for a photo shoot and wanted to wear some of her mother's jewels. Now we find out she was his half-sister...they had different fathers because their mother had an affair resulting in her birth. He went to get the jewels out for her...only to find all of them gone. His first thought was that Marnie was the only other person who knew the safe combination besides him. He had security bring by some surveillance videos, and he found some footage of Marnie with her brother and thought she had cheated on him. He also decided that Marnie and the man had stolen the jewels. Unwilling to report her to the police, he decided to have his security chief do a background check on her...and learned she had a juvenile record.
When Marnie called to tell Leandro about the baby, he set up a meeting at his house. After arriving, she nearly fell over, and he asked her if she had seen a doctor. She told him yes, that she was pregnant, but he denied it was his. He confronted her with the videotapes of her with Jake and, though she told him Jake was her brother, he didn't believe her. He said all the jewels from the safe were gone. She realized what Jake must have done, all Marnie could say was that she hadn't stolen the jewels. She admitted to getting her grandmother's pearl necklace out, but she denied taking anything else. They argued more, and she fainted. When she came to, she told him the doctor said the pill wasn't always accurate and sometimes failed if a woman got sick...which she had done while they were vacationing in France. He told her that had been four months earlier, and she said she was 17 weeks pregnant. Not wanting to be fooled again, he said he had a friend who could do a non-invasive prenatal paternity test. When she said the test wasn't necessary since she had no other lovers but him, he said it would be done anyway. After the test was done, Leandro was determined to keep Marnie close until he got the results back and then they would need to discuss what to do about custody. She said she was going to California. He said there was no way he'd allow her to take the child that far away. He told her if the test proved he was the father, he would give her the money she needed to go wherever she wanted to study, so long as she left the baby with him and did not fight his having full custody. When she asked him if he meant for her to leave the baby with him for the nine months she would be in California, he said no, he meant for the rest of the child’s life and that “You would be suitably financially recompensed for giving up all your parental rights.”. Marnie was furious! “Do you honestly think I would give up my baby for money?... What kind of man are you to suggest such a terrible thing? I don’t believe any woman would sell her child as you have asked me to do.’ ‘It happens,’ Leandro said grimly.” Marnie got out of the car in the middle of traffic and pouring rain. He told her to get back in the car and calm down, but she said, "The only thing I need is to get away from you...If I could travel to Mars it still wouldn’t be far enough. I hate you, and I never want to see you again.". The next day, Marnie went to find Jake and confront him about the jewels. In Glasgow, Marnie realized she had left her purse on the train she had just left. Rushing back to retrieve it, she fell, hitting her head and all went black.
A week later, Leandro received the DNA results proving he was the father of her baby. He also had a security report proving she had twin brothers, and that one of them had died five years earlier. But that report also told him that Jake had been in jail for theft. He knew either Jake had stolen the jewels without her being aware of it, or she had helped him. He was also getting excited about the baby, but then he acknowledged how badly he had treated Marnie. He also realized she could take the baby anywhere without his consent...and she could marry someone else. He decided his only option was to marry Marnie himself. He figured their sexual compatibility and his money would be enough to induce her to accept his offer. Before he could implement his plan, he learned Marnie was in a hospital in Glasgow. He rushed to Scotland and, upon arriving at the hospital, she told him she had retrograde amnesia. She didn't remember much about the last year of her life...she remembered they lived together, but all the hateful things he had said/done/and accused her of had been lost. Taking advantage of this, he told her they were engaged and were getting married within a few weeks' time. He made her believe they were happy and in love, told her she got top marks in school...but failed to inform her about the offer from NASA. Marnie had some "niggling doubts", but since she had no memory of it, she trusted he was being honest. The only thing he did NOT lie about was being happy concerning the baby.
After being released from the hospital, Leandro took Marnie to Florence for a month. He did everything to make her believe they were in love...but he never said the words, believing he "deserved" to have his baby no matter what he had to do to get it. In the meantime, Marnie kept proving to be innocent of everything he ever accused her of.
The day of the wedding dawned, and Leandro was not feeling all too good about himself...especially after Jake showed up and returned all the jewels, confessing he had memorized the safe combination over her shoulder while she keyed it in. Leandro arrived just minutes before the ceremony, meeting his half-sister at the door. However, Marnie was experiencing a migraine of epic proportions. As her uncle escorted her out to the ceremony, Marnie looked down and saw Leandro and Stephanie...and all her memories came back in one lightning flash after another. In front of their guests, Marnie confronted him with every mean, horrible maneuver he had pulled on her and told him, "I never want to see you again. And if you try to find me, if you hound me and my child, I will go to court and tell a judge that you offered me money to sell you the baby, and that when I refused you took advantage of my amnesia and tried to trick me into marrying you." Marnie's uncle stepped up at this point to take Marnie away. He tried once more, "I know you hate me...But this isn’t just about us and our relationship. You have to think about what the baby needs...'...she turned to look down at him..."We don’t have a relationship. That’s what you once told me...And I am thinking of the baby...For our child’s sake I intend to go as far away as possible from you, because you are cruel and manipulative and those are not the qualities of a good father.’” She took off her engagement. “‘You can have this back. It’s beautiful to look at but completely soulless—just like you.’". Then she disappeared. During ten weeks apart, Marnie had visited her father before returning to her aunt and uncle’s beach house in Norfolk. After a walk on the beach, she saw that Leandro had found her. Though he was determined to have his say, Marnie was just as determined she didn't want to hear it, which floored Leandro. Though she tried to chase him away, he refused to go. Even her aunt and uncle were concerned that she was living in such a remote area so close to her due date, and they agreed that Leandro should stay
For the first time since she had known him, Leandro started opening up with the revelation that he had been married before, and that his ex-wife had tried to pass another man's child as his. (Marnie knew that, though the actions of his ex-wife might explain HIS actions towards Marnie...they still did not excuse them.) She called him on his treatment of her while they had been in Florence, how he had "cold-bloodedly" set out to seduce her in order to gain legal access to the baby. He tried to deny it, but she wouldn't let him. Leandro wasn't used to Marnie being cold towards him. "He knew she had every right to be angry with him, yet he hadn’t really expected her to be so furious. It was a measure of his arrogance that he had assumed she would forgive him, he thought with grim self-derision." While she told him he couldn’t convince her he fell in love with her, he told her they had become friends. She said friends don't lie to each other or manipulate one another to get their own way. He didn't expect her disgust to hurt so much. He made a mistake comparing Marnie to his mom when she said he had hidden the truth about her career opportunity with NASA...he said "I did what I thought was best for the baby. My mother abandoned me for her career and I didn’t want our child to feel the same sense of rejection I’d felt when I was a kid." Marnie said she would never have abandoned her child. She said that from the moment she knew she was pregnant, she would put her career on hold to focus on being a mom. Then she said, "Everything you have done you did for you, and what you wanted, so don’t try to blame the baby for the fact that you behaved like a jerk. The only reason you are here now is because it’s what you want, and if you really cared about my welfare you would go away and leave me alone."
One thing good to be said about Leandro. When the man knew he was in the wrong, he certainly knew how to grovel! He apologized: "I can’t tell you how sorry I am for...For everything. I wish I hadn’t hurt you, and because I know you don’t want me here I wish I could do as you ask and go away. But I can’t leave you alone in this remote place, and I assume you will refuse to allow me to take you back to London...So I will unload my stuff from the car...But believe me, cara, you can’t despise me as much as I despise myself." Eight days later, Leandro needed to go to London, though he planned to be back that night. Learning that she was having back pain, Leandro almost didn't leave, but she urged him to go.
Leandro realized halfway to London he needed to turn back. Not because of the baby, but he finally realized that he was in love with Marnie. Getting the call from Marnie that her water had broken and that she would be having the baby at home, he could hear the panic in her voice...and he felt it as well. He got back in time to help her through the delivery, and to watch their daughter be born. A few days later, they all returned to London, knowing it was a better environment for the baby. Six weeks passed, and the friendship they had started in Florence returned and the bond deepened. After putting the baby down for a nap, Leandro asked Marnie to talk with him for a bit. He handed her some papers that were of rental homes in California. Confused, she looked at Leandro and he told her she would need a place when she attended the NASA program in the fall, for he had found out she could join then. But Marnie misunderstood what he was saying. She believed he was trying to get her to leave the baby behind so she could tend to her career. Though he was hurt by her accusation, he couldn’t fault her for it either. However, he corrected her assumptions by telling her he would be going too. He had decided to step down as CEO of his company and become a stay-at-home Dad so that Marnie could pursue her dreams. He told her he loved her and would do anything for her...even give up his career. Then he proposed. They got married and moved to California where he bought a vineyard and hired Marnie’s brother to run it for him.
It had a nice ending, with a believable HEA. It deserved the five-star rating. Loved Marnie's smackdowns! She was priceless! loved Leandro's grovel. It was needed, epic, and well done.