by Marian Tee
“Never,” the billionaire said very softly, “say something like that in my presence again.”
“I’m sorry.” At the face of Willem de Konigh’s anger, Shane was quick to apologize. “But you can’t blame me, Willem. I know you don’t love me, but my sister? Why her, of all people?” She, too, knew Willem long enough to read him. She knew, just by looking at him, that the game was up as far as her innocent charade was concerned. But she also knew she still had a shot to remain in his good graces, if she played her cards right.
Bingo, Shane thought coldly as the billionaire flushed under his tan at her words.
“It will not happen again.” The billionaire breathed hard. “I will be very much grateful if you could cooperate with me on this, and you will be rewarded amply for your help.”
She lowered her gaze so the billionaire wouldn’t see her eyes glittering at his mention of a reward. Even so, she pretended to refuse, saying in a trembling voice, “I don’t need any reward to do what you want. You betrayed me – you and Serenity betrayed me.” She allowed a little of her bitterness to creep in, knowing it would make her words believable. “Keeping her away from you would be my pleasure.”
The billionaire sucked his breath in audibly. “I am sorry for this, Shane. Just know I am completely to blame for this. And please allow me to atone for my mistake in a way that would be of significant help to you.”
Even with her head bowed, she saw the billionaire’s fists clench, and she held her breath, knowing that whatever Willem had to say next, it would be very important and possibly determine her next move.
“I just have one request.”
Shane whispered, “What is it?”
“Do not be cruel to Serenity. Say only what you need, but do not be cruel about it. She will already be hurt when I leave. I do not want her to suffer even more.”
Shane’s blood went cold.
Fool, she thought, and this time her bitterness knew no bounds. The billionaire was a fool. He could have had Shane as a bride, and yet he had gone on to fall for her little sister.
Her eyes sparkling with fake tears, she choked out to Willem, “Of course.” But in her heart, she was vowing to do the opposite.
The memories aroused all of Shane’s bitterness and pain, causing Serenity to shrink in her seat when their eyes met again.
“You will stay here,” Shane hissed, “and that’s final.”
Serenity shook her head even though the hatred blazing from her half-sister’s eyes made her quake in her seat. “I’m s-sorry, but I’ve made up my mind.”
Shane half rose from her seat, and before anyone could guess what was happening, Shane’s hand had connected with Serenity’s cheek in a resounding slap.
“Shane,” Melanie gasped in shock, completely taken aback by the animosity on her daughter’s face.
Serenity’s eyes were wide with shock, one hand coming up to touch her stinging cheek.
“How dare you be ungrateful when my mother and I were selfless and kind enough to take you in even when you were just my father’s bastard?” Pushing her chair back, Shane stalked around the table and grabbed a fistful of Serenity’s hair.
“Oh my God, Shane!” Melanie jumped to her feet, aghast at the display of violence but helpless against it. She didn’t know Shane this way and was terrified by it. What was happening?
Serenity started struggling the moment Shane dragged her off her chair, but the woman seemed to possess incredible strength, and she couldn’t pull away from Shane.
“We should have just had locked you up,” Shane shouted at her face while her fingers tightened its grip, causing Serenity’s eyes to sting. “At least you wouldn’t have caused us any trouble, and you wouldn’t have been able to flirt with Willem—”
Serenity whitened.
Melanie stilled.
Shane started to laugh. “Did you think I didn’t know?” In the back of her mind, she could hear the billionaire’s voice, warning her against saying anything remotely cruel to her half-sister, but she ignored this.
She shoved Serenity away from her and was satisfied to see Serenity lose her balance, her back hitting the wall with a loud thud before crumpling to the floor.
“Willem came to my room right after he took your virginity,” she sneered. “He told me that you had made him believe you would be practical, but one look at your face after sex made him realize you were going to be clingy and pathetic. So he told me to do what I can and keep you away.”
Serenity felt faint as she listened to Shane speak, and when her sister was finished, she whispered, “You’re lying.”
Shane’s eyes glittered. “Am I?” she taunted. “If I’m lying, then tell me, how do I know that Willem likes to call you his engel?”
Serenity’s heart slowly stopped beating.
“Yes,” Shane jeered. “He told me that. Do you want me to tell you the other things he told me? Like how many times he had fucked you?” It was a bluff, but because she knew of the billionaire’s sexual stamina firsthand, she was certain he would have made her half-sister come more than once. And when Serenity whitened even more at her words, Shane knew she had guessed right.
“You probably thought you’d be special, just because you were a virgin when you came to his bed. But you’re not. You never were.” Bending down, Shane tried to pat Serenity’s head, as if comforting a pet, and only laughed when Serenity slapped her hand away.
“I hate you,” Serenity whispered.
“I hate you, too,” Shane cooed.
Serenity slowly pushed herself up. “I’m leaving tomorrow.” Her voice was weak but determined. “And I’m never coming back here.”
“Go then,” Shane hissed, throwing everything to the wind in her rage. “Willem paid me to send you off, do you know? He thinks it’s awkward, having the two of you live in the same city. He’s grossed out at the idea that you might bump into each other and then you’d start begging him to…” She pretended to think. “Mm, let me see, what was it you said that morning?”
Serenity’s skin crawled. No. Her mind screamed the word out. She had never, never ever thought that her half-sister would have heard—
“Oh, now I remember.” Shane pretended to sniff. “Please, please wait. Please just tell me…”
Serenity wanted to cover her ears…but she didn’t. Somewhere in her heart, she realized that she needed to hear this, needed to accept once and for all that the Dutch billionaire she had loved was not the man she thought he was.
Shane was looking at her, a catty smile playing on her lips as she asked, “And what did he tell you then, my dear sister?” But she didn’t wait for Serenity to speak, answering her own question.
Serenity watched her half-sister’s lips move, but it was as if she was hearing Willem’s own voice speak the words. His beautifully cultured, strongly accented voice, a sound that made her ache with so much love in one second and then break her heart with so much ease in another.
That’s the problem, Ms. Raleigh. You thought I loved you.
It was Shane speaking the words in front of her but in her mind, it was the Dutch billionaire speaking, rejecting her all over again.
Slowly, wordlessly, Serenity turned her back on Shane and Melanie.
“I hope you don’t think we’ll ever let you come back,” Shane screamed. She didn’t think it was possible to hate Serenity more until that moment. Just looking at the younger woman made her sick.
She hated how dignified Serenity was still able to look and act, hated how without a word Serenity made Shane feel like she was the loser here when it was Serenity who had whored herself and tried to steal Willem from Shane.
Shane watched Serenity start to limp away, and the hatred just grew and grew.
Unable to stop herself, she rushed forward and kicked the back of Serenity’s injured knee. Behind her, she heard Melanie gasp but ignored it, her eyes glued on Serenity. She watched her younger sister fall with a gasp, but it was not enough to make her feel any less empty or cr
uel, and her hatred continued to grow.
Her mother tried to walk past her to help Serenity, but Shane quickly pulled the older woman back. “She’s a whore, mother,” she said harshly. “She’s used to being on her back.”
Serenity watched her stepmother and sister walk away as she forced her limbs to move. The moment the door closed, she allowed her tears to fall. There had been a tiny part of her that had always hoped, foolishly, that one day Shane and Melanie would love her.
But now she knew that it had been a stupid little dream, as silly as Shane said she had been, in thinking the Dutch billionaire would see her as someone special.
Now, it was time to accept that she was not special, never was, and never would be special enough for anyone to love.
PART II
Seven months after Book 2
“It’s a brand new milestone for the party island of Teleios,” the reporter declared eagerly as he gestured to the majestic façade of the island’s newest establishment, Mageia, which had been built to rival Dubai’s Atlantis by offering a world-class casino, five-star hotel, and aqua theme park combined.
“Tourism stats have gone up by an unprecedented twenty percent,” the reporter continued in an impressed tone, “and I’ve just received news that there is actually a queue at the docks, with hundreds of guests preferring to wait for their turn even though the island’s management has already released notice a week ago about the island no longer being able to take in more guests.”
Back at the studio, the hosts of a U.S. morning show shook their heads in shared amazement at the unparalleled success of Mageia’s opening. “Why do you think it’s so popular with tourists around the world?” Robert, a twenty-year veteran, asked his co-anchors with genuine curiosity.
“I’m asking myself the same question,” Jared, former model turned TV host, admitted. “It’s not like it’s the first of its kind that was built, and I’m sure, in time, other establishments would top it off.”
The only woman in the group, Emmy, stared at them incredulously. “I guess you really don’t see it, do you?”
Her male co-hosts simultaneously shook their heads back at her. “Care to share?” the business expert of their group, Edward, asked.
Emmy sighed. “It’s the people who own Mageia.”
“The de Konigh Consortium?” Robert asked, startled.
“You three are old fudges and see a consortium of royalty and corporate executives in one family, but the masses see it differently. They see one place where they’ve been guaranteed – and I tell you, it’s written in their brochures, it’s a guarantee – that there will always be at least one de Konigh present overseeing business in Mageia every day. So think about it,” she urged her co-hosts. “You’re promised a chance to see your favorite de Konigh celebrity or royalty whichever day you visit Mageia. For many people, that’s worth the price Mageia charges them for.”
“Now that you mention it,” Robert murmured pensively, “I can definitely see the attraction.” He chuckled self-consciously, adding, “I’d be willing to pay the really expensive fees myself if I know when Farica de Konigh’s coming to work.”
“Exactly,” Emmy said smugly.
Edward nodded in understanding. “Yes, I see it now, and no doubt for the opening, all the women are there to see the head of the de Konigh clan, Willem de Konigh.”
His co-hosts murmured in agreement.
“Speaking of Willem de Konigh,” Emmy said, “have you noticed he’s been on a roll lately? Just last month, he was able to close that deal in Milan, which no one saw coming.”
“A roll’s putting it lightly,” Edward argued good-naturedly. “I’d say he’s on a mission to prove to everyone on earth that he is the best negotiator in town. Before the Milan deal, he also won the bidding for the next island in Dubai, and then there’s the hotel chain he’s starting in South Africa.”
“It’s like he’s determined to impress,” Robert interjected. “And perhaps all this is for his future bride, the Dutch model, Shane Raleigh?”
“Possibly,” Emmy acknowledged. “She is the last woman he has been seen with, and it could be they’re keeping everything under wraps while planning a secret marriage. It’s the usual thing celebrities do these days, isn’t it?”
“Oh boy, imagine the buckets of tears women all over the world would cry when that happens.” Jared, being openly gay, added, “I’ll cry with them, too.”
Willem switched the TV off as the rest of the hosts of the morning show laughed at their co-host’s quip. Placing the remote control on the bedside table, he strode back into his suite’s walk-in closet and began dressing himself.
As he buttoned his shirt, he wondered with detached interest if it was time to put an end to all the rumors swirling around him and Shane. Over half a year had passed since that time, anyway, and it didn’t seem likely she would approach him for any reason.
Even now, Willem didn’t allow himself to think about her, didn’t even allow her name to cross his mind. As far as he was concerned, she had ceased to exist the moment she had decided to go against the rules he had set for them.
Once he was dressed, he went down immediately to join the other de Konighs in greeting their newest batch of guests. As he strode down the hallways leading to the VIP rooms of the casino, the employees who caught sight of Willem happily greeted him.
The first time he and that person had parted, he had been an abominable employer to work for and this time, Willem had been determined it would be the opposite. The day he returned to work, he had immediately given all the employees working at the executive floor paid leave for the week, telling them they deserved it after their years of loyal service. He had also instructed payroll to provide the thousands of people working in his employ a cash bonus, something that had so pleased and surprised his employees they had gotten together to come up with a video thanking him for his generosity. The video had gone viral since then, and just last week Willem had been informed he was in the running for Time Magazine’s Person of the Year award.
It was gratifying, but it had not given him any pleasure.
In Willem’s mind, being a success at work meant that he was moving on, and so he had also forced himself to close one deal after another, taking business risks like he had never had. All of it had paid off, but none had given him any satisfaction either.
Every night, he would come home and he would feel…empty.
Every night, he had to force himself to sleep, had to constantly fight against thinking about her. Every night, he cursed her for forcing his hand, just as he cursed himself for not being strong enough to resist what she had foolishly surrendered—
Enough, Willem told himself savagely.
Inhaling sharply, he took a second to compose himself before entering the suite of rooms reserved for the casino’s VIP guests. Inside, he slipped into his role of welcoming host, greeting his guests with courtesy and just the right amount of charm. He mingled with them for as long as necessary before proceeding to take a seat at one of the baccarat tables, knowing that doing so would encourage the others to play as well.
The vacant seats on his table were quickly filled up, with the one next to him taken by a rather well-known figure.
“Sallis.” He offered his hand to the Greek billionaire, who had been the center of his own controversy a while back when he had tried to win his wife back on national TV.
Mykolas Sallis shook hands with the Dutch billionaire with a smile. “Congratulations on the successful opening of Mageia.”
“It would not have been possible without support from guests such as you,” Willem answered smoothly.
Mykolas laughed. “You are a smooth-talking bastard. I suppose I should count myself lucky for not having the need – so far – to go against you in the boardroom.”
In front of them, the dealer began to deal out their cards.
Both billionaires’ faces were unreadable as they took a look.
The two other players at the table di
d the same and bowed out the first chance they got. When the dealer asked Mykolas if he would like another card, he said yes, and so did Willem when it was his turn.
The dealer revealed her hand, and the billionaires did the same. The latter two had an eight each but the female dealer had a natural nine.
Mykolas and Willem shrugged almost simultaneously, drawing a laugh from the sizeable crowd that had come to gather around them.
The two billionaires proceeded to play several more hands before Mykolas, upon checking his watch, said with regret that he had to leave to meet his wife at the hotel’s piano bar.
“Of course.” Willem slid to his feet as well. “Allow me to accompany you.”
“It would be our pleasure if you could join us for dinner,” Mykolas told his companion as they headed towards the lifts that were exclusive for the use of VIP guests. “My Velvet often accuses me of being overly possessive, so in this instance I would like to have the pleasure of proving her wrong.”
Willem raised a brow, and when the doors of the lift closed in front of them, he asked pleasantly, “Should I be insulted or flattered that you do not consider me a threat to your marriage?”
Mykolas laughed. “Flattered, of course. If not for the rumors about your impending marriage to the Dutch model, I definitely wouldn’t have invited you.”
“Ah.” Willem’s lips compressed.
Mykolas’ expression became thoughtful as he considered the other man. The lift arrived at the lobby, and as they stepped out, he asked conversationally, “Perhaps I have gotten it wrong?”
“Somewhat,” Willem allowed.
The two of them headed to the piano bar in silence, both billionaires impervious to the stares they drew from all the women they walked past. When Willem visibly hesitated, Mykolas said easily, “You will not be intruding on anything, I assure you.”