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Because the truth was—-
She missed him.
Even when she knew it was wrong.
Even when she knew it made her weak.
She missed him, and she loved him still, and maybe that would never go away.
Sometimes, she was so badly tempted to take Ella’s phone while her daughter was sleeping. Maybe, she could pretend to be Ella and maybe she could text Kyr, asking him—-
What?
And that was when her fantasies ended.
Because there wasn’t really anything she could say, was there?
“We’re here.” It was the driver, and Pollyanna welcomed the distraction. Pushing all thoughts of Kyr aside, she focused on her children, making them laugh as she did a quick count off.
“Dio.”
“Here.”
“Ella.”
“Here.”
“Leo.”
Her second son beamed at her and babbled nonsense.
“He says ‘here’, too,” Ella supplied.
“And Annalisa?”
The nanny pretended to listen to the sleeping baby and reported, “She says don’t bother her.”
And so they laughed as they came out of the limousine, and they held hands as they entered the ballroom. Everyone immediately stood up and gave her a thunderous applause, and even Pollyanna was taken aback by the enthusiasm the crowd was showing. She looked down and saw that her twins were beaming, and she knew that no matter what happened, seeing her twins proud of her had turned this into one of the best nights of her life.
Once her family was settled in the VIP table, the host called her to the stage right away. He complimented her for looking ravishing, congratulated her for winning, and all the while, she could only manage a strained smile, thinking, was she really ready to give a thank-you speech in front of all of these guests?
But as it turned out, she had nothing to worry about.
“And now, let’s welcome our very special surprise guest, here to make a speech about the newest Entrepreneur of the Year Awardee—-” The host paused for effect before announcing in a booming voice, “Ladies of gentlemen, Mr. Kyrillos Gazis!”
Again, the crowd cheered and clapped wildly, and she saw in the periphery of her eye the twins actually jumping up and down, like their favorite superhero had just been called to the stage.
And maybe it was, she thought faintly.
Immobilized by shock, Pollyanna couldn’t make her head turn even though she knew that her very reclusive husband had to be here somewhere, maybe was already walking—-
She noticed some rather brazen-looking females in the crowd start to point and giggle, even batting their eyelashes at someone behind her, and she knew it could be no one else but him.
A moment later, and her husband appeared, taking the microphone from the host. He looked taller and more powerful in his tux, and so agonizingly beautiful it just hurt to look at him.
Oh, Kyr.
What are you doing here?
Their eyes met.
Her breath caught.
No. She couldn’t be seeing that. She couldn’t. It was impossible.
And then she heard him say on the microphone, “I love you.”
The crowd went crazy, and she knew it had to be because it was their first time to hear the Greek billionaire speak French.
“I love you,” Kyr repeated, still in French, and even when his security team had to form an impromptu barricade to keep the crowd from surging forward, he only had eyes for his wife. He repeated it for the third time, and when she blinked rapidly to keep the tears from falling, he knew that she had finally gotten it.
The world might think he just wanted to sound sexy, but he didn’t give a damn about that. What mattered was that his wife knew the truth, and she did. He looked at her, forcing back tears, and he knew she understood that he was saying he was a selfish bastard and that he knew now he was too late.
And for one moment, he could only stare at her, hoping that just this once, she could see past his mistakes and hear him.
Like she once did.
I’m sorry, my love.
I want to fight for you until the end of my life, but now I know that sometimes...love demands a greater sacrifice.
And for the two of them, love demanded that he take a step back.
Love demanded that he let his wife have the life she deserved...away from him.
He dragged oxygen into his lungs and when he saw her lips start to tremble, he knew she had heard him.
Now, we finish it, he thought dully.
And so Kyr switched to English.
“I love how selfless you are. I love how hopelessly easy it is to make you smile, love, and...forgive. I love you as the mother to my children, the way you never hesitate to change and do everything—-” He paused, and a crooked smile flashed on his lips. “For our children, I think you’ll even swear in public, if you think that’s what it would take to protect them.”
The crowd laughed, but the twins laughed harder than the rest of them.
