The Art of Wedding a Greek Billionaire Page 2
Chapter Three
6 Days Ago
Drake Morrison pressed Delete after reading the file the head of his security team emailed him. Afterwards, he calmly proceeded with destroying all the information he had filed about Mairi Tanner. But when he came to the new data he had received regarding Damen Leventis and all his interests, Drake hesitated. He recalled the earlier conversation he had with his security head on the phone.
‘How grave was her injury?’ Drake asked. He had a difficult time not reacting to the photo he held in his hand. Being ex-army had made him immune to the sight of blood a long time ago. But the fact that the photo showed evidence of Mairi suffering, of Mairi bleeding – the fact that he had forced a young woman to such desperate straits was what was making his stomach turn over.
“The nearest hospital was just a block away, but she didn’t admit herself there. She went straight to Damen Leventis’ hospital. She also appeared not to have any money with her as she paid the cab driver with her bracelet.”
Drake breathed harshly. “Did she get treated right away there?”
“No. She insisted on seeing Damen first. She went hysterical when the staff didn’t allow her into his room. Damen’s sister arrived about thirty minutes later and that was when she was finally able to get in.”
Slowly, Drake swung his chair around so he could hold the photo over the wastebasket. He lit up one corner using his lighter. As the tip of the photo began to burn, the flame engulfing the entire photo in seconds, Drake slowly allowed the ashes to fall.
It reminded him of the time he still had nightmares of, a day when ashes rained all around. He remembered her. A short-haired brunette whose eyes were always compassionate, even when they had witnessed inhumane acts over and over during the war. Even when Drake had been forced to abandon her, she had not stopped looking at him like he was her hero.
Go, Drake. I can’t keep up and I won’t be able to save the hostage.
I can’t fucking leave you—
Yes. You can. You have to. Now go! It’s either me or the hostage, and you know I’d rather kill myself if an innocent dies because of me. So please go.
I’ll come back for you.
I know you will.
And he had gone back for her, but by then he was too late. She had disappeared.
In a moment of uncontrollable rage, Drake kicked the waste basket away as he got to his feet. He punched the wall in sheer fury, and the cement cracked under his fist. He was no hero, never was, and never would be. His failure to rescue her had been proof of that, and all these years the only thing he had been able to do was find ways to convince himself that Paige could have survived. That Paige was alive.
Now he understood why he had been so damn determined to woo Yanna Everleigh away, even if it had been obvious she was in love with her Dutch billionaire boss. If Yanna had fallen for him, her secret bodyguard, then maybe Paige could have suffered from Stockholm Syndrome and fallen for her own captor. If she had, life would have been good for her. She was the kind that any man could fall in love with.
But if she had not, then she would have fought to the death.
Now he understood why he had been so damn determined to push Mairi past her limits and force her to be strong. If Mairi had been able to cope, even when it felt like the man she loved more than life had abandoned her, then it would have meant Paige could also have survived.
And Mairi had survived, but at what cost?
If he had the chance to turn back time, would he have changed his mind?
The answer had Drake stalking back to his table. He transferred all the data he had to make or break Damen Leventis into a memory stick. He had used Mairi callously, selfishly, and ruthlessly. He would never be able to make it up to her, but at least what he had in his hands could secure her future with Leventis.
I’m sorry, Mairi. I’m sorry I had to use you.
He had needed to see Mairi fight with everything she had to be strong. It was the only way to make himself believe that somewhere in this world, Paige was alive and was waiting for him to save her.
Stay alive, Paige. Stay alive for me.
Part Two
Chapter One
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire, one must be prepared to have all expectations surpassed.
He said: You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you? Our wedding was like a hole-in-the-wall affair and I still think we should marry again. You deserve a proper—
She said: I mean it. My every dream came true when I saw you waiting for me.
Note to editor: We’ll get back to drafting this chapter later. My beloved wife has just given me a raging hard-on that cannot be ignored a moment longer.
A tall dark-haired man stood with his back to the windows, sunlight cascading from behind to lay golden stripes on the royal blue carpet. He had the strong classic features of a Greek god, but marring its perfection were the faintest shadows of bruises that were still in the process of healing. He was dressed in a well-tailored black suit, with a snowy white shirt underneath.
The room he was in had marble floors, expensive stenciled wallpaper, and high vaulted ceilings. At two hundred square meters, the room was the largest in the building and cost more than a thousand dollars at night, something not any ordinary person could afford.
Even so, there was no denying the truth.
This was a hospital room, and it was not fit to be the wedding venue for a man who was once a billionaire.
When the door opened, Damen Leventis drew his breath sharply at the sight that greeted him. Standing in the doorway was the girl he would risk everything for.
Mairi Tanner.
The girl who had captured his heart…and whose heart his own cruelty and cynicism had caused to break…over and over.
For a moment, all they did was stare at each other.
Memories, short but vivid, passed through his mind, and Damen’s fists clenched at his sides.
So many memories…
Mairi, the first time he had seen her in Diana’s school, her beautiful smiling face a picture of innocence and optimism…
Mairi, the first time he had kissed her, and with a dazed look in her eyes, all she could say was ‘hi’…
Mairi, the first time he had told her the truth about his engagement to Alina Kokinos, and she could only look at him helplessly as if wanting to stop loving him but unable to…
Damen’s chest heaved.
So many damn memories, and most of them were darkened by the pain he had caused Mairi.
If he was an honorable man, he would cancel the wedding and let her go. She deserved someone better, someone who would never cause her to cry a single teardrop.
But he was not an honorable man when it came to Mairi.
He was a man whose heart no longer belonged to himself, a man whose life would be forfeit if she ever left his side.
He would never let her go. It didn’t matter if she no longer loved him. It didn’t matter if she only chose to stay with him out of pity.
Damen would take Mairi any way he could.
****
Mairi smoothed one trembling hand over the lacy overskirt of her dress, a concoction of white silk that her best friend Velvet Lambert-Sallis had especially ordered for her. Velvet was on her honeymoon now, and it was only at Mairi’s insistence that neither Velvet nor Mandy had come to her wedding. Everything about her life now was a mess, and she didn’t want her friends to suffer from any kind of public backlash because of her.
As the stylist continued to weave her hair into artful curls, Mairi let her gaze drift around the spacious walk-in closet of Damen’s hospital room, now serving as her temporary bridal boudoir.
Next to the door was a lovely waist-high rosewood cabinet, and gracing its top was a vase of exotic roses sent by Drake Morrison. The flowers had come with a handwritten note, and remembering the message made Mairi hastily blink back tears.
In your heart, you never betrayed him.
And he knows that.
Mairi nodded, her eyes going to her reflection. The wreath was a gift from her aunts, a work of art made from gold-plated vines and pearls roped in the shape of flowers. They had spoken on the phone last night, and when the memory of their conversation fluttered inside her mind, Mairi had to take deep breaths to keep herself from breaking down.
‘We so badly want to be there, Mairi, but right now we can help you more if we stay here,’ Vilma had said.
‘This time, dear girl, we’ll be fighting for you. And all we ask is that you be strong for us. Can you do that for us, Mairi?’ Norah had asked.
The stylist stepped back to admire his handiwork. “There, we’re done…”
Mairi slid her feet into the shoes that looked very much like glass slippers, a gift from Diana Leventis and her classmates. The girls had used their own allowance to buy Mairi their gift, and they had sent it with a selfie photo of the entire class.
We love you, Ms. Yay!
Thank you for teaching us to dream.
Slowly, she stood up, and the stylist took her hand to draw Mairi towards the full-length mirror at the side of the room.
A young woman looked back at her, dressed in a white silk dress that bared her shoulders and emphasized the slimness of her waist before falling to a loose ballerina skirt that fell a few inches past her knees.
So many people had suffered because of her foolish heart and her decision to love blindly.
This time, it would be different.
This time, she would be strong for everyone.
It might be a mistake to love Damen after everything, but it was a mistake that she knew she would make over and over again.
She loved Damen, and she would always love him but this time, she would make sure her love would hurt no one – not her aunts, not her friends, not even Damen – but herself.
“Are you ready?”
It was not the stylist who spoke. This time, the low, dark voice came from Ioniko Vlahos, one of the few persons who had remained at her side from the very start. Dressed in a dove gray suit, the Greek billionaire had insisted on the honor of giving her away when he realized that neither Mairi nor Damen would be dissuaded from their decision to marry before leaving the hospital.
She nodded.
Ioniko moved to her side and gently took her arm. Looking down at Mairi, he realized that a part of him had always known this beautiful young woman would never belong to him. From the very start, Mairi only had eyes for one Greek billionaire.
Still, he had to ask, “You are sure of this?”
A brief smile touched her lips as she answered honestly, “It’s what I’ve always dreamed of.”
Ioniko’s lips curved.
That explained it all, really.
Since Damen Leventis was no longer a Greek billionaire, that really explained it all.
****
Damen’s chest tightened with each step Mairi took towards him.
Beside him, Damen’s best man said under his breath, “You must allow yourself to breathe, my friend.” He was Stavros Manolis, another Greek billionaire whose looks and power had turned him into a celebrity figure. Notorious for being reclusive and aloof, Stavros had shocked the world when it was revealed that he, too, had been vying for the hand of Mairi Tanner, now labelled as a modern-day Mata Hari.
Color stained Damen’s high cheekbones at the realization that he had not taken a breath since the first step Mairi took inside his room. Having overheard Stavros’ aside, the nurses who had been invited to witness the wedding giggled to themselves.
But soon the sounds died and all was left was the most profound silence as Mairi came to stand in front of Damen.
Their gazes met.
And no words had to be spoken.
In the background, the priest started to speak. “Dearly beloved, you have come to this place today so that the Lord may seal and strengthen your love…”
Slowly, Damen reached for Mairi’s hand.
Her fingers curled around his and tightened, and the quiet show of support and loyalty humbled Damen.
Soon, the time came for Mairi to profess her eternal love to Damen.
“Do you take Damen to be your husband? Do you promise to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love him and honor him all the days of your life?”
Fear erupted from nowhere, suffocating her, and for a moment she was lost in the most awful memories.
Esther Leventis, calling her a slut because she had slept with him even if he was promised to another woman…
Cleon Frangos, licking his lips as he unzipped his pants while telling her that they could come into an understanding…
Alina Kokinos, telling Mairi that she had been sleeping with Damen since he had thrown her out…
Mairi squeezed her eyes shut.
No.
She was going to put everything behind her now.
When she opened her eyes, Damen was gazing at her, his eyes fierce, his jaw clenched hard.
Everything inside Damen demanded that he beg for Mairi to stay with him, to marry him, and to love him. But he held the words back even if doing so almost killed him. He was not as selfish as he had thought, after all.
If she married him, the future ahead of them was anything but rosy.
He was no longer a Greek billionaire.
He was only a man who made too many mistakes, and all he could offer her was his love.
He would not keep her with him if she chose to be smart and run away from this wedding.
And so he waited.
Time passed ever so slowly. Around them were reminders of forces that were for and against them. The documents of Esther’s lawsuit against him on the bedside table, the gift from his sister and her aunts, the men who cared for Mairi enough to give her away to Damen if she so chose…
At that moment, Damen realized none of it mattered.
Whether people stood by them or not didn’t matter.
All he wanted was Mairi to be his wife, and if she said yes, then he would fight to the death to keep her safe, cherished, and loved.
“I do.”
His head jerked up, Damen unable to believe that he had really heard Mairi whisper the words.
Unshed tears shone in her eyes as she whispered again, more fiercely, “I do.”
The rest of what the priest had to say was lost in the applause that followed.
Damen pulled Mairi into his arms, and cupping her face, he took her mouth in a kiss that, for as long as it lasted, obliterated every memory of pain.
As their lips met in that one kiss sealing their union, it was as if the past had never happened, and Damen Leventis and Mairi Tanner were just two people who had always been in love with each other.
But no kiss lasted forever.
When Damen and Mairi parted, everything came back.
Every heartache.
Every teardrop.
And the knowledge that this was a wedding of two broken, beating hearts.
Chapter Two
She said: When you wed a Greek billionaire, it will feel like the start of a new life.
He said: Technically, you have never wed a Greek billionaire, matakia mou.
She said: I haven’t???
He said: Never. Because when you wed me, I was no longer a billionaire. I was just an ordinary Greek man – but you still married me. It was the most humbling moment of my life.
Coming out of the office of the private jet Stavros had lent them for their flight back to Greece, Damen espied Mairi asleep in one of the luxurious couch seats, its footpad raised. She had already changed out of her wedding dress and into a practical beige pantsuit. Not the typical going-away outfit for certain, but then, they really weren’t going away for a honeymoon.
Once his battle with Esther and the Kokinos was over, Damen vowed to himself that he would give Mairi the wedding trip she deserved. Anything in the world, anywhere in the wor
ld – it would be hers.
For long moments, he allowed himself the luxury of simply staring at her. Even in her sleep, she appeared anxious and tired, and his heart clenched at the sight of it. Slowly, he made his way towards her. He reached out to touch her face only to hesitate mid-air. It was goddamn hard to shake away the feeling that he had lost the right to touch her.
Please don’t let him think I’m awake.
Maybe it was ESP. Maybe it was true love – on her part at least – but whatever it was, it had made Mairi sense Damen the moment he came to her side. She willed herself to keep her breath steady.
If Velvet had been in her place, she would have made a bold seductive pose as she stretched on the seat and maybe even crooked a finger to get her own Greek billionaire husband to come near. And if it had been Mandy, her other friend would have opened her eyes and asked Damen in her practical voice why he was staring at her.
But Mairi was not her friends.
She was…her…and so she continued to pretend that she was asleep.
As Damen crouched down next to her seat, he noticed the way Mairi’s eyes suddenly squeezed shut. Her throat had bobbed silently, too, and Damen’s lips twitched as he realized that his bride was actually pretending to be asleep.
No doubt she, too, had been unable to think of a way to break the ice between them. He was the man who had her thrown into jail, and she had married him. She had admitted to his face that she had allowed another man to touch her, and he had married her. It just wasn’t ice between them – it was a whole glacier the size of Mt. Everest.
He said quietly, “Mairi?”
Now was her time to let him know she was awake, Mairi thought.
But a second later, what she ended up doing was…
“Yoooooaaaaaarrrrrrr…”
Damen tried his best to suppress his smile as Mairi let out the most grossest-sounding snore. Aside from knowing for a fact that Mairi did not snore when sleeping, no human female could produce such a sound naturally. It sounded more like a cross between a rhino’s roar and an ogre’s phlegm-filled cough.