by Marian Tee
As she and Eric talked, four words kept echoing in her mind.
Please don’t answer it. Please don’t answer it.
Damen was talking to the photographer now. She watched as Damen and Eric shook hands, heart still in her throat.
Please don’t answer it. Please don’t answer—
When the photographer left, Damen turned around to face her, the smile on his face heartbreakingly dazzling. That smile easily summed up everything she loved about him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was – or had once been – a Greek billionaire.
“The photographer’s infatuated with you,” Damen said in a low, half-teasing, half-exasperated voice.
Mairi managed a laugh. “I don’t think so.” His phone had stopped buzzing, and she allowed herself to start breathing again.
“Yes, he is. It’s making me rethink whether I should let you be interviewed alone—” Damen suddenly stopped speaking.
Mairi knew why. It was that sound again.
Please don’t answer it. Please don’t answer it.
If he did, there was no point staying with him. She loved Damen too much to force him to stay with her when it was obvious he already loved someone else.
The phone vibrating in his pocket was impossible to ignore. Biting back a curse but knowing there was no help for it, Damen turned back to Mairi, saying gruffly, “Could you excuse me? I need to take this call. I won’t be long at all.”
Mairi’s heart shattered, and it kept shattering into innumerable pieces even as she made herself smile. “No problem,” she said lightly. She started walking backwards, pride not letting her turn away and give her the chance to cry without being seen. She was done crying. She was done being weak. “I’ll just entertain myself with Drake instead.” They were great last words, but there was no thrill, no satisfaction, from saying them.
Not bothering to wait for Damen to reply, she spun around and headed straight to Drake, trying not to run as she did. She had to get to Drake, Mairi thought feverishly as she made her way past the players waiting for their turn. Drake would know what to do to make her…strong. Drake would know what to tell her so she could survive the pain spreading like cancer inside her body, a gnawing, clawing hurt that served as a reminder of how Damen couldn’t bear not talking to Alina even if his conscience dictated that he stay true to his marriage and the feelings he no longer had.
Damen watched his wife go, stunned immobile by Mairi’s words.
Entertain herself with Drake? Had his wife just told him that she would be flirting with Drake while he was otherwise occupied?
Without another moment’s hesitation, Damen stalked after his wife. Everything was forgotten, everything made unimportant compared to the need to make Mairi realize one thing.
She belonged to Damen – and only Damen.
Mairi gasped when someone cupped her elbow from behind. The next thing she knew, she was being whirled around, her body slamming against Damen’s lean hard form.
When her startled gaze met his, Damen snarled down at her in a low, furious voice, “Where do you think you’re going?” But Damen didn’t give her a chance to reply, instead tightening his grip on her as he led her towards one of the unoccupied balconies.
Waiters balancing trays swerved out of his way, and a couple of guests almost tripped on their own feet in their effort to avoid Damen, who was bearing down on them like a charging knight.
“People are talking,” Mairi hissed.
“Let them talk.” Damen didn’t even bother to look around him.
Mairi tried to struggle out of his hold. “Let go of me.” She welcomed the anger rising inside her, knowing it would prevent her from succumbing to self-pity. The memory of Damen answering his phone – of choosing to talk to another woman while Mairi was right next to him – had her stomach hurting, forcing Mairi to lash out in her pain. “I want to go to Drake—”
Pain roared up inside him.
Maneuvering both of them into the balcony, Damen slammed the doors closed after them. A second later, he had Mairi imprisoned in his arms, his lips conquering hers.
Mairi tried her best to stay unresponsive, willing herself to be immune to the way his tongue moved inside her mouth. But it was impossible, and both of them knew it.
“Don’t ever say his fucking name again when you’re with me,” Damen muttered against Mairi’s lips before slowly pulling away.
Then don’t talk to Alina when you’re with me, either! That was what she wanted to say. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. For suddenly, a terribly strong urge to retch had hit her, and with a cry Mairi pushed past Damen, rushing towards the aluminum waste basket in the corner.
The sick look on Mairi’s face had Damen taking after her with a curse, his jealousy forgotten as he held her hair back while Mairi bent down and threw up. What the hell was wrong with her?
Another half-minute of retching followed before Mairi slowly straightened. Damen immediately took out his handkerchief, using it to carefully wipe her mouth. His worry intensified as he noticed Mairi’s pallor and the way her lip trembled.
“Are you ill?” The words burst out from him. Theo, please do not let her be ill.
Mairi weakly shook her head. Oh God, why this? Why? Just when she had decided to leave Damen, why this? Why now?
Damen demanded tautly, “Then what is it—”
Cutting him off, Mairi whispered, “I’m pregnant.” The truth crashed down on her as she spoke the words out loud. Oh God, everything made sense now. Why she always felt overly emotional, needy, and insecure.
Damen’s jaw dropped. He stared at Mairi incomprehensively, his mind still trying to cope with her revelation. Mairi was pregnant?
His head jerked back to hers, Damen needing to see Mairi’s face so he could be sure he hadn’t just imagined her saying the words.
Mairi looked back at him, pale, quiet, and looking so terribly fragile that an aching sense of protectiveness surged up inside him.
“You’re pregnant.” The truth hit him as he said the words.
The tender smile that broke on Damen’s lips made Mairi whisper uncertainly, “You’re…not angry about it?”
His eyes widened. “Why the hell would I be angry about it?”
Because it might make Alina turn away from you.
The haunted look in Mairi’s gaze made him cup her face. “Look at me, sweetheart.” He sensed her reluctance to do so, and it made him even more determined to convince her of how happy he was with her news. When their gazes finally met, Damen said fiercely, “I’m ecstatic about us having a baby. If there’s something I can say or do to convince you how damn happy I am about this, tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll say it.”
Slowly, he placed a hand on her womb, and his entire body shook at the thought that right this moment, his child was resting in it, a miracle he and Mairi created. Lifting his gaze back to Mairi, he asked roughly, “Are you unhappy about this?”
She shook her head. “I’m…just as ecstatic.” Her voice wobbled at the last word.
“But something’s troubling you.” He waited for Mairi to speak, to tell him what was wrong. But she didn’t. And a moment after, the reason why came to him. He said dully, “It’s still him, isn’t it?”
Tears started to fall, leaving a wet trail on Mairi’s cheeks. Each teardrop was a bitter reminder of every instance he had hurt Mairi.
“Theo, Mairi…” A painful laugh escaped Damen, the cynical part of him amused by the irony of how the tables had been turned. Once, he had despised all the trappings that came with love and marriage. Now, it was the other way around, Damen willing to sell his soul for a chance to make Mairi love him again.
He looked at his wife, his chest squeezing hard at the love that wanted to burst out of his heart. “Can’t you find it in yourself to give me one more chance?” His pride was in tatters, but he didn’t give a damn.
Mairi wept harder at the question. Oh God, if only he meant it. If only he had asked it without knowing they
were about to have a baby.
Her silent rejection nearly drove him to his knees. “Can you at least…can you at least promise that you won’t leave me, Mairi? That you won’t take our baby away?” Damen knew he was begging, but he didn’t give a damn about it either. His entire future, his fucking life hinged on her answer, and he would do everything to ensure that Mairi never disappeared from his life again. One time of losing sight of her was more than enough. Going through it a second time would be a nightmare he would never survive.
Looking down at the large, strong hand resting on her belly, his touch possessive and tender, Mairi shakily laid her hand over his, tears falling faster as she whispered, “Yes.”
Her answer was bittersweet, and Damen said hollowly, “Because you pity me.”
More tears fell, so fast it was as if there was no way to stop them. Again, she whispered a lie to keep her heart from shattering. “Yes.”
Chapter Nine
She said: To wed a Greek billionaire, one must be prepared to be wrapped up in cotton wool.
He said: I love you, matakia mou. I will never tire of telling you that. But I cannot let you publish such a lie.
She said: You’re denying you wrapped me up in cotton wool when I got pregnant?
He said: Absolutely. It was in silk and satin. But after your pregnancy, I admit to switching back to lace and leather—
(Note to editor: We’ll be deleting that last line about my post-pregnancy wardrobe.)
“The doctor said that I had to take things slowly. He didn’t say I was an invalid.” Mairi’s sputtered protest came out as a laugh as Damen and Drake both hastened to open the hospital’s doors for her, beating the security guard to doing his job.
“We can’t be careful enough,” Damen muttered after shooting the hapless guard a cold look for not being quick enough to do what he was supposed to.
Mairi rolled her eyes even though a warm rush of pleasure washed over her at Damen’s concern. Poor Damen, Mairi thought as she peeked at her husband. Although he still looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous – the crowd of nurses and female interns outside her doctor’s office was proof of it – Damen was also noticeably paler than usual.
Damen caught sight of his wife’s look and grimaced. “I know what you’re thinking and I do not agree, matakia mou.”
She exclaimed with wide-eyed innocence, “I’m not thinking anything.”
He almost snorted. “You cannot fool me, my beautiful wife. You are too poor a liar, and your eyes are too expressive.” As he spoke, he automatically held her back when he saw a bus bearing down on them, not wanting to risk Mairi crossing the road when there was a huge vehicle about to drive past. “I am not being overly protective.” He was not. He was just being cautious, which was understandable after the little talk he had with Mairi’s doctor. Damen had absolutely no idea that women in this age still died of pregnancy. How the fuck was that possible? People were able to make a fucking airplane fly but they couldn’t make pregnancy 100% safe for expectant mothers?
When the bus drove past them, Mairi again tried to step off the sidewalk, but she was stopped by her husband once more. Looking up, she saw that a motorcycle was bearing down on them this time. She burst into laughter, and glancing at Drake over her shoulder, she said, “Tell him he’s overreacting, Drake. You know it’s true!” For once, she did it without any ulterior motive of making Damen jealous. She was just too happy, the way Damen had devoted his every moment to her since he had learned of her pregnancy last night making her feel lighthearted and bubbly.
Everything felt perfect. The sun couldn’t shine brightly enough, the sky couldn’t be blue enough, and oh God, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. For a moment, she lost herself in cloud nine, and because she was looking at Drake, she completely missed the fleeting look of stark pain in Damen’s gaze when he heard her talk to Drake in an affectionate voice.
Drake didn’t. The chilling kind of look Damen often directed at him was impossible to ignore, but as always, Drake deliberately paid it no heed. He was done interfering between the two, the guilt inside him still fresh. At night, an imaginary Paige would sometimes chide him for causing too much pain for both Damen and Mairi. The Paige in his mind would urge him to make things right between the two, and what Paige wanted, she got. Even if she was not real. Even if it meant he would have to kill a thousand men to have her smile.
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 momen
ts 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?”
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.”