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“Mairi?”
“Y-yes?”
“I am happy that you didn’t lose the courage to make your dream come true.”
Oh.
How was it that her mind had conveniently neglected to consider that Stavros would know about that horrible blog, the one that had exposed her dreams and turned it into a living nightmare?
She choked out, “Stavros—-”
“I just hope that your Greek billionaire knows how lucky he is to have a woman like you to love him. Because if I had been the one your heart had chosen, I would do my best not to fail you again.”
Chapter 16
On the center of Damen’s table was the envelope his unexpected visitor had thrown at him, as silently insidious as the sly gaze of the snake in the Garden of Eden. Inside it was knowledge forbidden and tempting, and even though hours had already passed he still could not decide what to do about it.
Glancing at his watch, he realized with a little surprise that it was already nine in the evening. He put a call to Mairi’s mobile and she answered at the first ring. “Damen?”
“I just called to make sure everything is well with you.”
“Of course it is,” she assured him right away. “I’m in bed already.”
“Early night?”
“I need to try to sleep, otherwise I’ll just stay up and keep missing you.”
She was so fucking sweet. If only he didn’t have so many goddamn doubts about her now.
Mairi tried not to be hurt when it took a while for Damen to answer, “I miss you, too.”
I miss you.
I miss you, too.
She pressed her hand to her mouth, hard. She mustn’t let him know how hearing him say “I miss you, too” made her want to cry these days. But God...oh God, why didn’t these words sound like how they used to sound? What had she done wrong?
“How was your day?”
Clearing her throat, she lied, “I just stayed here all day.” There was no point telling him about Stavros over the phone. It was the kind of conversation better done in person, where she’d have a chance to make sure he would see on her face that she was telling the truth.
“I see.”
An awkward silence followed, and again she had to press her hand to her mouth. In the past, she would have no problem filling the gap and chatting the night away. In the past, she would eagerly ask him questions but...it wasn’t the same between them now.
Her bright tone as false as her words, she said, “I gotta go, Damen. My aunts are trying to call me via Skype – I hadn’t been able to reach them all day.”
She was lying, Damen thought. But could he blame her? She might have changed, but she had not changed towards him. It was him who had changed towards her, and he didn’t know how to find his way back to what they once were.
“I’ll let you go then. Have a good night’s sleep. I will be back tomorrow as early as I can.”
“Thanks.” She ended the call, feeling like she had ended it as if she had only been talking to her boss and not the man she was supposed to marry.
When Damen put the phone down, he didn’t let himself think. He simply reached for the envelope and started to read.
By the time he finished reading the entire blog that had exposed Mairi’s childhood diary, he was sick to his stomach.
He called Mairi’s bodyguard, asking for a report for the first time. “Did she leave the house today?”
“Yes, sir.”
She had lied.
She had lied.
“And where did she go? Who was she with?”
The bodyguard answered in an inflectionless voice, “She had dinner with Stavros Manolis.”
“YOU MUST WAKE, MS. Tanner.”
It took a while for the housekeeper’s voice to rouse her from a deep and heavy sleep, and a few more moments for Mairi to sit up and realize that something was wrong. The woman could not look at her straight in the eye. Why?
“Ms. Tanner, you are requested to leave the premises immediately.”
Mairi stared at her blankly.
The housekeeper’s voice became more strained. “The order came from Mr. Leventis himself.”
“W-what? I don’t understand.”
“I’m sorry about this, Ms. Tanner. But you really have to leave now. I heard him...” The housekeeper wringed her hands. “I heard him talk to the head of the house’s security. If you are not out of here in ten minutes, he would have you escorted out of the premises even if it means you would be abandoned on the street in your bedclothes.”
She shook her head, feeling like she had woken in a horrible alternate reality. “What’s going on?”
“You must go now, Ms. Tanner. He’s in a very bad mood. Your possessions will be sent to whichever address you provide us with. But now, Ms. Tanner...please. It is for your own good I tell you to leave now.”
