by Marian Tee
She knew he was not making an idle threat, but she didn’t have a choice, either. “Why do you care what people here say about you anyway?” she cried out. “It’s just rumors, and when the board finishes with the voting for the next chairman, it will all be over.”
“I don’t give a shit about your problems. Just put a stop to the fucking rumors and you can go back to forgetting I ever existed.”
Dahlia burst out angrily, “I can’t! I won’t!”
His lips tightened in fury. “Then you’re making the biggest mistake of your life.”
Realizing no amount of begging or reasoning would change her stepson’s mind, Dahlia threw out her last gamble. “If you do, then you’ll never hear from Rick again.” She held her breath right after, waiting tensely for Helios to call her bluff. But when he didn’t say a word, Dahlia could have laughed in sheer relief.
“What has Rick got to do with anything?”
Trying to keep herself cool, Dahlia murmured, “Don’t deny the rumors about yourself. It will only last for a few months at least. Then it’s over and I won’t need Rick anymore.” The fury that blazed from Helios’ eyes made her swallow, but she forced herself to lift up her chin and demand, “Is that a deal?”
Helios knew he had no choice. He loved MJ with all his heart, but he also owed Rick his life. “I swear to God, Dahlia, if I find out you’ve harmed him in some way, I will fucking wrest control of Andreadis Enterprises from your money-grubbing hands myself. And I’ll make sure you’ll not be in a position to ever have it again.”
Only when Helios had driven away did Herod emerge from behind one of the rooms. He had been there from the very start, but the cowardly and humiliated part of him had made him hide and allow his own mother to handle Helios.
Seeing Helios in the flesh had been a shock to his system. Once, they could have been like twins as both of them had the same golden hair and eyes as well as the tall, swarthy build of their forefathers. But now, all they had were the same coloring. Envy and hatred boiled inside him upon remembering how Helios looked. Certainly nothing like the bloated, wasted image that looked back at him in the mirror every day.
“That will only keep him quiet for a while,” Herod said as he entered the living room.
Dahlia wasn’t surprised to see that her son had been eavesdropping all the while. He had always been spineless, but then that was exactly how she wanted things to be as it allowed her control of the family fortune.
“A while is all that we need,” Dahlia murmured.
“And if he finds out that we don’t actually have Rick in our hands?”
“He won’t find out until it’s too late. By then, our problems will be solved and he’d be made to feel like a fool for falling for our bluff.”
Herod nodded. “Do you by any chance know where Rick is?”
“No, and I don’t really care. I’ve paid the best in the business to find out where he is, and it seems he’s vanished into thin air. I doubt Helios’ men can come up with better results. Whoever it is that’s gotten a hold of Rick, they’re undoubtedly experts at making people disappear.” Her lips formed a smile tinged with malice. “I actually wish I knew who has him. I’d like to hire them myself and get them to make Helios disappear, too. Then our problems would be solved forever.”
Chapter Eleven
“Are you sure you’re good to go home alone?” Yuri asked as he and the others stopped at the edge of the hangar. They had all come to see Helios off, who was flying back a day earlier. The rest of them had their own tasks to take care of in hopes of finding out where Rick was.
“I’m not a fucking baby, Athanas.”
Kellion said, “We all know that, President, but you’ve been, ah, how shall we say it? You’ve been emotionally sensitive since you and your girl brat broke up, so it’s understandable we worry about you.”
Helios flipped him the bird. “Just make sure you’re all back by Monday night. I know you still have a race on Tuesday, and the rookies need at least one officer present for support.”
“Aww shucks,” Andreus drawled. “You still know our schedule. You miss us that much, President?”
“Don’t start on me, Economou. Or we can talk about that person you miss all the time.”
Andreus colored as the other men laughed. “Fuck you. I hope MJ makes you bleed some more,” he muttered before stalking off.
“I better go after him before he explodes,” Kellion said with a shake of his head. “Stay safe. We’ll do our best here.”
When he and Yuri were left alone, Helios asked, “Have you heard any news about MJ’s father and Manolito Chavez?”
Yuri’s face took on a somber cast. “Not a thing, and that’s what’s keeping me on edge. By now we should be hearing any signs of movement, but – nothing. It’s either they’re laying really low – which I hope – or everything they’re doing right now is meant to be hidden from us.”
Helios started at Yuri’s words. “He knows we know about them then?”
“Possibly. Chavez has his own connections, too.” Yuri checked his watch. “You better go now. I’ll make sure to stay on top of things here, and I’ll keep you posted if I hear anything about MJ’s father.”
Helios and Yuri thumped each other on the back. “Thank you,” Helios said gruffly.
Yuri smiled. “MJ’s really changed you, President. You wouldn’t even have thought of saying that before.”
Helios graciously acknowledged the words with his middle finger.
Inside the club’s private jet, Helios waited for the plane to take off and stabilize in the air before taking out his phone. For a long while, he stared at it, knowing there was no way he could escape the truth now.
In a way, he had welcomed the need to put aside his problems with MJ while visiting his old home. The scars he had suffered from the past had long healed. When he had looked at Dahlia, not even resentment had flickered to life. All he had wanted at that time was to get as far away as possible from her and everything that was connected to the Andreadis clan.
But now, it was time to face his problems.
As easily as that, the memories came flooding back in, reminding him of the footage he had obsessively watched, replaying the moment MJ had allowed the other man into her room over and over.
Had they done it? Of course they fucking had. No sane man would do nothing when allowed inside the room of the girl he liked.
Imagining MJ in the arms of another man left him sickened and enraged, but he did his best to control it. Had MJ felt the same all those times she had been confronted with the sight of another woman in his bed when she was just a volunteer at the club?
Helios switched his phone on.
Finding out about Rick’s disappearance out of the blue felt like the ground he had been standing on had suddenly caved in. It had made him think of MJ and how she, too, could so easily disappear from his life. He didn’t want that to happen, nor did he want for another day to be wasted with him clinging to his stupid pride.
If MJ had given herself to another man…then so be it. But it wouldn’t fucking happen again because he would never let her out of her sight after this. He loved MJ, and he would do whatever it took to keep her with him.
****
MJ was out at the school’s soccer field, taking photos of the varsity team and cheerleaders in action and hoping to sell it to the yearbook committee and the college paper, when her phone rang. She froze when she saw who was calling and after another second’s hesitation, she slowly put her camera down on her lap and reached for her phone.
This was the first time he had called since the other night. Since that happened.
“Hello?”
Helios closed his eyes at the sound of her voice, which was more than enough to replenish his tired spirit. He heard the noise in the background and asked, “Are you outside?”
She gripped the phone tighter, a silly part of her imagining it as a way to hold on to Helios longer and to keep him talking to her. Barel
y two days had passed since he was gone and she already felt like she was dying from withdrawal symptoms.
A part of her wanted to get mad at him. Was this what being normal meant to him? No normal guy would just up and fly to Greece in a freaking private jet to find out who were spreading rumors about him. Actually, no normal guy would have someone freaking spread fake rumors about him. Because that was what Helios had wanted her to believe, wasn’t it?
Another part of her just wanted to bawl out and cry. She felt so guilty about what happened between her and Jack. She knew she only had herself to blame for it. Helios had already warned her without words, but she had paid him no heed. And so it happened.
So many things she wanted to say, but in the end all she could say was, “Yeah. I’m at the soccer field, taking pictures.” She wanted to thump her head on the cold hard ground. God. She. Was. An. Idiot. Helios Andreadis was calling her long-distance. After their fight, he was the first one to unbend, the first one to call her. And that was all she had to say?
“I see.” Helios leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and feeling like he was treading closer to the battleground the further in he was into the conversation. “How have you been?”
She tried to answer, but her voice caught in the end. How the heck, she wondered wildly, would she answer that?
Helios heard the unexpected tremor in MJ’s voice and asked sharply, “Are you okay?”
She couldn’t answer, tears clogging her throat.
“MJ? Answer me.”
She wanted to, but what could she say?
Suddenly, everything became clear. He said harshly, “I know about it.”
MJ gasped, one hand flying to cover her mouth as another sob escaped her.
Helios closed his eyes, the only way to ward off images of MJ and another man disappearing into her room together. “I know Jack was in your room the other night.”
She almost dropped her phone at his words. Oh God, oh God. He really did know. She thought about denying it, thought about asking how he knew, but what was the point? He knew. Oh God, Helios knew.
The silence that strained between them made Helios’ breathing harsh. He wished, he wished and prayed with all his fucking might that she would deny it but the more time passed, the more the truth began to sink in.
They had done it.
Another man now knew the feel and taste of MJ’s body.
Helios wanted to go berserk at the thought.
“I’m sorry,” MJ said finally, her voice thin and shaky.
He forced himself to speak. “It’s fine. It happened. It’s all over – done with. We can forget about it—”
She shook her head even though he couldn’t see her. “I can’t forget about it. It was my fault.” She choked on another sob. “I never wanted to be that kind of woman, you know? I always thought I’d fall in love with just one guy, marry him, and live happily ever after. I kinda thought…I always thought it would be you.” She forced herself to laugh. “Silly, right?”
“It’s not silly,” Helios said painfully. “I think it’s sweet.”
She laughed and cried. “You’re not even supposed to know what the word ‘sweet’ means, President.”
He flinched. “Don’t call me that.”
She said miserably, “I don’t think I have the right to call you anything else but that. Before, all I had to be proud of was that I could always be only yours. But not…now…not after that.”
Helios paled, realizing where their conversation was heading. “I just told you it’s okay with me,” he gritted out, trying not to let his panic show.
“But it’s not okay with me,” she cried out. “You are Helios Andreadis, and you really do deserve someone better than me. I just can’t help but think that when we’re together, I only keep dragging you down and you...you used to do the same to me.” It hurt, God it hurt to say such words to him when she knew he had changed, but she had to say them. She needed Helios to realize what the days apart from him had made her realize.
What he told her wasn’t true.
They were never meant to be, and they were both more fucked up when they were together.
She whispered, “Please don’t call me anymore.”
“I’ll never stop calling you,” he snarled back immediately. “I love you, MJ. Do you hear me? I fucking love you and if you think just because you realized there are other better men than me to love you, I won’t give up. Because I can be better – I can be fucking normal, I can be whatever you want me to be—”
“I’m sorry, President.”
His voice broke. “Why the fuck are you doing this to me, brat? I don’t mind suffering. I never even fucking complained. Why can’t you just let me stay in your life?”
“Goodbye.”
Chapter Twelve
“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Katya said glumly. “If I had known Jack would actually really fall for you, I’d never have introduced the two of you at all.” Spotting a vacant table in the cafeteria, she plunked her bag down together with her tray. Sitting down, she continued, “He’s such a playboy. I thought it would be just another game for him.”
“It’s really okay, Kat,” MJ said reassuringly as she took the seat across her friend. “Everything’s my fault.” Swiftly changing the subject, she asked, “But you’ve really gotten me curious. Whatever did Jack do to you that he owes you a favor?”
Katya waved a hand in the air. “Oh, nothing. The usual.”
“You don’t want to tell me?”
“It’s just too embarrassing. But don’t jump to any stupid conclusions – I’ve never liked him, and he’s never liked me. We were just both…at the wrong place and time. And another guy,” she muttered under her breath.
MJ’s eyes brightened. “Aha! I heard that.”
“It’s nothing. Nothing. Forget it. Please?”
She had never seen Katya so flustered. “I will, I will. I promise.”
They proceeded to eat quietly after that, both of them busy with their thoughts even though both of them also did their best to feign interest in their food. Unlike most university cafeterias, Christopoulos University’s cafeteria was designed like a first class restaurant and open round the clock. As a result, most students preferred to enjoy their dinners at the cafeteria rather than be bothered to leave the campus.
At seven in the evening, the cafeteria was at its busiest, with students jostling for table space. MJ allowed herself to be distracted by the noise and activity around her, feeling secretly wistful as she gazed at the laughing carefree expressions on the other freshmen’s faces.
If she had never been James Cartwright’s daughter, maybe she could be like them, too? Worrying only about grades, club activities, and finding a date for Thanksgiving. But then, if she had been like them, she would never had any reason to explore out of town that day, and she would never ever have gotten to meet Rick – or know about Helios Andreadis.
A sigh escaped her.
No, she wouldn’t wish not to be James Cartwright’s daughter, after all. Every tortuous moment spent under his roof had been worth being able to know Helios and, even for a very short time, being cared for by him.
The doors of the cafeteria suddenly slammed open, causing everyone to look up except MJ. When she heard the sound, she looked down at her plate determinedly. Whatever the cause of that commotion was, it was at least one controversy she was not going to be part of.
“MJ?” Katya suddenly said.
“Yeah?” she asked as she fed herself a spoonful of risotto.
“I think you better be ready.”
“Huh?”
“Because right now, Helios Andreadis is heading this way and he does not look…friendly.”
MJ’s head shot up, just in time to see Helios stop right in front of her table. He was dressed in his usual casual attire, but even so, every other guy in the room paled in comparison. He was that beautiful. He was…Mr. Sunshine, after all.
The shock of seeing him
was so great it had her choking, and she made a wild grab for the bottle of water to keep food from snorting out from her nose and mouth.
Dear God, if you love me, please let me know how to perform a self-lobotomy? Because I do not want to ever remember this happening. Ever.
But as always, God didn’t answer on His own.
Instead, God had Helios offering her a handkerchief, neatly pressed, beautifully soft, and pristine white.
Looking down at her, Helios tried to mentally summarize everything he had to say. But all he could think of was how much he loved her. He remembered all the days they had spent together and wanted a thousand more days like it. A million, a billion – an infinite number of days would not be enough. This girl, with her love for tomboyish clothes, her contradicting ways and enchanting optimism – he loved every little thing about her, and his heart would always only beat for her.
When she seemed to have developed a fascination with a spot on the floor, Helios said gruffly, “You have something in the corner of your mouth.” He offered her his handkerchief again.
Grabbing the handkerchief, she patted her mouth clean, muttering, “You don’t need to shout it out to everyone.”
“I wasn’t shouting.” For fuck’s sake, couldn’t he do anything right with her?
“You’re shouting now.”
Helios took deep calming breaths. It was like their first time all over again, and they were fighting like cats and dogs. In any case, shouting at the girl he loved was not the way to woo her back. He looked around, searching for any signs of the other man. But there was none.
Looking back at MJ and seeing that she still hadn’t raised her head, he thought, What the hell, and dropped on one knee in front of her.
The students around them gasped. He had known they would and didn’t give a fuck. He hated this kind of public display with a passion, but he figured that this was the only way he would get MJ to listen. He drew out the roses he held hidden in his back and shoved them at her. “Yours.”