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The problem was, fixing other people’s hearts was not really his forte.
All Drake knew was how to break them.
“Drake, tell him,” Mairi was insisting as Damen hailed a cab, her husband obviously deciding it was the safer option compared to taking the short five-minute walk back home.
Around them, people who recognized Mairi and Damen started taking pictures. Mairi appeared completely oblivious to it, but Damen and Drake were not, both of them not ruling out the possibility that either Yehor Kokinos or Esther Leventis would snap at any moment and do irreparable harm to Mairi.
Mairi, his wife, who was, Damen thought with a mixture of exasperation and tenderness, as clueless as ever. Dressed in a lilac high-waist dress that effectively hid her tiny bump, Mairi looked more like a beautiful girl fresh out of college than an expectant mother.
The glow about her made Mairi appear more mesmerizing than ever, and Damen suspected it was why the Greek public was still unable to get enough of her. Local gossip websites were filled with photos of them, and the most popular of them were often the most mundane. A shot of Damen and Mairi walking to the market holding hands, a shot of Damen assisting his wife out of the cab, or a shot of Mairi chatting happily with a tavern owner while he brewed coffee.
As Mairi and Damen continued to lead normal lives minus the trappings that came with Damen’s previous billionaire lifestyle, the public slowly began to see themselves in his wife. No longer was she a notorious gold digger in their eyes. Instead, she was a Cinderella who had found her Prince Charming...and chose to love him still even if he was no longer a prince.
A cab finally stopped before them. But before Mairi could get in, Damen held her back while Drake went forward to inspect the vehicle’s safety and determine whether the driver was someone to be suspicious about.
Mairi threw her hands up. “You’re acting just as ridiculous as Damen! What’s next? Secret Service agents tailing us?”
Drake almost smiled, and when he turned around to face the couple, he saw that the ex-billionaire’s lips had twitched, too. Mairi’s words were actually true, with Damen selling off his sports car to afford the fees of Drake’s men and ensure that they worked incognito in keeping Mairi safe as well as tailing his enemies, waiting for them to betray themselves.
“It’s safe,” was all Drake said.
Mairi sighed. “Hopeless. You are both hopeless.”
Inside the cab, Damen immediately pulled Mairi to him, wanting her close to him all the time.
Mairi didn’t resist at all when Damen tugged her close. She wanted the same thing, but she just couldn’t bring herself to reach for him first, seeing it as an act of weakness she couldn’t afford to make.
Ahead of them, Damen spied a boutique for infants. “Would you like to stop there? We haven’t bought anything yet for our baby.”
There was a tiny pause before Mairi said brightly, “I think it would be way cooler and more meaningful if we did it the old school way, don’t you think?”
His forehead furrowed. “What are you suggesting?”
“I could knit...”
“You can do that of course, but I don’t want you tired unnecessarily. Besides, there are other stuff that we must buy.” He paused. “Unless of course you are thinking of building a crib for the baby, too?”
Mairi stuck out her tongue. “Ha-ha.”
The reluctance on Mairi’s face bemused Damen. Admittedly, he knew little about pregnant women, but wasn’t it natural for them to be eager to shop for the baby’s needs?
A moment later, the truth hit him, and his chest constricted. It was moments like this, Damen acknowledged grimly, that he almost wanted to give Mairi up. A woman like Mairi deserved a real billionaire and not a former one like him.
He said quietly, “I can afford it.”
Mairi flushed, hating that Damen caught on to her so easily. She said quickly, vehemently, “I know you can.” She didn’t want anyone – not even Drake – to think that she doubted Damen’s capability to provide for her and their baby. Damen Leventis was one of the proudest men she knew, and it didn’t escape Mairi that his pride had also repeatedly suffered a great beating ever since she came into his life.
The thought had her drawing her breath sharply, Mairi doing her best to blink back tears that had sprung out of nowhere. Pregnancy hormones had made her even more melodramatic, with a tendency to cry over the smallest things.
Damen shook his head when he saw Mairi lower her head. He knew what that meant. He pulled her to him without a word. She struggled, which he expected, but he didn’t let her go, and soon her tears were soaking his shirt.
He asked gruffly, “What have I done to make you cry?”
