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He looked at his wife, his chest squeezing hard at the love that wanted to burst out of his heart. “Can’t you find it in yourself to give me one more chance?” His pride was in tatters, but he didn’t give a damn.
Mairi wept harder at the question. Oh God, if only he meant it. If only he had asked it without knowing they were about to have a baby.
Her silent rejection nearly drove him to his knees. “Can you at least...can you at least promise that you won’t leave me, Mairi? That you won’t take our baby away?” Damen knew he was begging, but he didn’t give a damn about it either. His entire future, his fucking life hinged on her answer, and he would do everything to ensure that Mairi never disappeared from his life again. One time of losing sight of her was more than enough. Going through it a second time would be a nightmare he would never survive.
Looking down at the large, strong hand resting on her belly, his touch possessive and tender, Mairi shakily laid her hand over his, tears falling faster as she whispered, “Yes.”
Her answer was bittersweet, and Damen said hollowly, “Because you pity me.”
More tears fell, so fast it was as if there was no way to stop them. Again, she whispered a lie to keep her heart from shattering. “Yes.”
Chapter 13
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire, one must be prepared to be wrapped up in cotton wool.
He said: I love you, matakia mou. I will never tire of telling you that. But I cannot let you publish such a lie.
She said: You’re denying you wrapped me up in cotton wool when I got pregnant?
He said: Absolutely. It was in silk and satin. But after your pregnancy, I admit to switching back to lace and leather—-
(Note to editor: We’ll be deleting that last line about my post-pregnancy wardrobe.)
“THE DOCTOR SAID THAT I had to take things slowly. He didn’t say I was an invalid.” Mairi’s sputtered protest came out as a laugh as Damen and Drake both hastened to open the hospital’s doors for her, beating the security guard to doing his job.
“We can’t be careful enough,” Damen muttered after shooting the hapless guard a cold look for not being quick enough to do what he was supposed to.
Mairi rolled her eyes even though a warm rush of pleasure washed over her at Damen’s concern. Poor Damen, Mairi thought as she peeked at her husband. Although he still looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous – the crowd of nurses and female interns outside her doctor’s office was proof of it – Damen was also noticeably paler than usual.
Damen caught sight of his wife’s look and grimaced. “I know what you’re thinking and I do not agree, matakia mou.”
She exclaimed with wide-eyed innocence, “I’m not thinking anything.”
He almost snorted. “You cannot fool me, my beautiful wife. You are too poor a liar, and your eyes are too expressive.” As he spoke, he automatically held her back when he saw a bus bearing down on them, not wanting to risk Mairi crossing the road when there was a huge vehicle about to drive past. “I am not being overly protective.” He was not. He was just being cautious, which was understandable after the little talk he had with Mairi’s doctor. Damen had absolutely no idea that women in this age still died of pregnancy. How the fuck was that possible? People were able to make a fucking airplane fly but they couldn’t make pregnancy 100% safe for expectant mothers?
When the bus drove past them, Mairi again tried to step off the sidewalk, but she was stopped by her husband once more. Looking up, she saw that a motorcycle was bearing down on them this time. She burst into laughter, and glancing at Drake over her shoulder, she said, “Tell him he’s overreacting, Drake. You know it’s true!” For once, she did it without any ulterior motive of making Damen jealous. She was just too happy, the way Damen had devoted his every moment to her since he had learned of her pregnancy last night making her feel lighthearted and bubbly.
Everything felt perfect. The sun couldn’t shine brightly enough, the sky couldn’t be blue enough, and oh God, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. For a moment, she lost herself in cloud nine, and because she was looking at Drake, she completely missed the fleeting look of stark pain in Damen’s gaze when he heard her talk to Drake in an affectionate voice.
Drake didn’t. The chilling kind of look Damen often directed at him was impossible to ignore, but as always, Drake deliberately paid it no heed. He was done interfering between the two, the guilt inside him still fresh. At night, an imaginary Paige would sometimes chide him for causing too much pain for both Damen and Mairi. The Paige in his mind would urge him to make things right between the two, and what Paige wanted, she got. Even if she was not real. Even if it meant he would have to kill a thousand men to have her smile.
