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She asked in a near inaudible voice, “Are you really happy about the baby?” Money was so incredibly tight these days, and she hated it that because of her unplanned pregnancy, Damen might just be forced to ask for a loan from the few people who had stuck by them.
Damen tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes, Mairi’s question puzzling him. “Why would you even ask such a question? I know you do not believe me, but I love you, Mairi. This baby is a product of our love, so how could it not be just as precious for me?” He paused, wondering how much he could say, but in the end, the truth won out. He had promised himself he would never lie to Mairi again – or at least not when it came to his feelings – and he was determined to keep that promise.
“This baby is a blessing for more than one reason, Mairi, and do you know why?”
She shook her head.
He said simply, “It’s a blessing because I know our child has created an eternal bond between you and me, and no matter if you want to get rid of this bond, you won’t be able to. I can only hope that the baby will keep you married to me forever.”
Mairi’s fingers curled against his shirt, now wet with her tears. She so wanted to believe Damen. And she almost did. Almost. She asked haltingly, “Why have you never asked me if the baby is...yours?”
A pained smile curved on Damen’s cruelly beautiful lips, and his voice was made hoarse by his regret and humility as he said, “Because I have always been the one who lied in our relationship. Never you.” He swallowed, remembering the time when Mairi had admitted to him that she had fallen in love with him at first sight. “Not even when it would have been better for you to lie.”
Chapter 14
Esther Leventis’ blood chilled at the underlying note of furious panic in Yehor Kokinos’ voice when he answered her call. He always sounded in control whenever they talked, a man who knew he had absolute power in his ever-increasing world. But now he sounded exactly the opposite.
“I hope I did not catch you in a bad time, but this is important.” They had not talked in over two weeks, long enough to have her worried. Enough to have Esther swallow her pride and call him first. “The hearing is coming up soon, Yehor. We have not yet discussed—-”
“I don’t have time for your petty problems,” Yehor said, cutting her off.
“A potential merger that could make us a monopoly of the industry is not petty!”
Yehor’s temper snapped. “You’re right! It’s not petty when it should have been. I should have known you would be incapable of keeping your son in line. After all,” he added in disgust, “if you couldn’t do it with your husband—-”
“How dare you?” Esther screeched, never failing to feel livid whenever the topic of her deceased husband was introduced.
“I dare because we both know that your son has always been the real brains behind your company. Short-term gains were all you could bring, while your son has always been the one credited for Leventis’ long-term growth. You brought more profit by squeezing money out of your suppliers and employees, but that can only give you a paltry few millions at best.”
Esther’s fingers tightened around the receiver, her body shaking with mute rage. “If you don’t stop being rude, I swear—-”
“You swear what? You have already done your worst to your son, but he’s survived it. So what can you still do, Esther?” he jeered. Cursing the woman in his mind, he muttered almost to himself, “I should have known better than to trust you. If I hadn’t gotten myself embroiled in your stupid plans, I would have seen it coming. Someone is trying to take my company away—-” Yehor bit off the rest of his words, knowing he had already said too much.
But it was already too late.
“Who could take your company away from you?” Esther asked sharply, her question prompted not by concern over Yehor but more for his ability to keep his bargain with her.
“Forget I said anything,” Yehor said curtly and slammed the phone down.
But Esther could not forget, and the feeling of something bad persisted inside her. She was not a suspicious woman by nature. She relied only on facts and never on feelings, but she also knew she would be dumb to ignore what her instincts were telling her.
Someone knocked on her door, and before she could demand who it was, the door burst open, Cimon Onassis pushing past Esther’s harried-looking secretary.
A sick feeling formed in her stomach. Cimon Onassis was the president of the company’s accounting department as well as being the man she had bribed to doctor certain accounts so that everything would show in her favor and not Damen’s.
