Yuri

by Marian Tee

  “If Mila Antoniou had wanted her grandmother in the care of medical professionals,” Yuri said quietly, “that would have happened years ago.”

  Silas swallowed his disappointment as he realized that there was nothing else he could do. “I understand.” He hesitated then asked, “Perhaps I may call on you or Ms. Antoniou from time to time, just to ensure she is not suffering from post-traumatic shock caused by her grandmother’s death?”

  Yuri frowned. There was something about the doctor he didn’t quite trust. Then again, this might only be because such timidity was scarce among the Afxisi. He said finally, “You may call me.”

  And that meant Silas was to only direct his calls to Yuri Athanas but not Kalliope Antoniou herself. The unspoken words were made evident by the way Yuri gazed at him, the pleasant smile on the boy’s face sending an unwanted shiver down the doctor’s spine.

  Silas Korba had left over half an hour ago by the time Yuri heard footsteps descending from the grand staircase.

  He turned around and was treated to his third major shock in recent days.

  Kalliope Antoniou stood at the foot of the stairs, fresh magnolia pinned on her ebony hair, her body draped in a long dark violet cotton dress and her feet strapped in bronze-colored Valentino sandals. Flanking each side of her was an extra-large monogrammed Louis Vuitton suitcase.

  “I will go with you now,” his fiancée said in her usual calm voice.

  “I see.” He would have laughed out loud if he weren’t so stunned at how fast things were moving. Just like that, Yuri thought incredulously. They hadn’t seen each other for four years. They barely knew each other, and just like that, she wanted to go with him to—

  Yuri asked softly, “Where do you want us to go?”

  Kalliope’s head cocked to the side, and her tone was faintly quizzical when she answered, “To your home in America, of course.”

  “Of course,” he heard himself answer even though inside he knew there was no ‘of course’ about what she wanted. When he reached for her luggage, she shook her head and placed her hand in his instead. Then she made Yuri take the handle of one trolley with his other hand while she took hold of the second one.

  She looked up at him, asking gravely, “This is how we should walk, shouldn’t we?”

  Yuri was half-amused, half exasperated. “According to…?”

  “The Internet,” she answered simply.

  “Ah.” Yuri remembered Mila telling him how Kalli believed everything on the Internet to be true, leading the matriarch to implement parental controls on all the computers, gadgets, and TVs in their home.

  One of these days, he needed to have a talk with Kalli about the Internet. But for now, Yuri decided he should go along. It would be less tiring for both of them. He said finally, “We should do whatever feels right.”

  A pause.

  Then softly, Kalli answered, “This feels right.”

  Yuri’s heart clenched, knowing that from someone who had suffered as much as Kalli had, the words were more than a stranger like him deserved.

  He said quietly, “Then we’ll hold hands.”

  And so they did.

  When they were inside the limousine, Kalli choosing to sit beside him, Yuri asked, “You’re not afraid??”

  She shook her head.

  “Why?” He felt he had to ask, if only to make sure that he would keep doing whatever it was that had taken away her fear.

  A quizzical expression touched Kalli’s exquisite face, and her tone was surprised as she replied, “Because you said you love me.”

  Chapter Three

  Whenever tabloids featured officers of the Afxisi, the headlines typically varied but the gist of them remained the same. Helios Andreadis was the hotheaded sun god, Kellion Argyros the charmingly wicked playboy, and Andreus Economou the mysterious and dangerous bad boy. Each had his own vice, which the media loved to exaggerate for the club’s adoring, obsessed fans.

  But with Yuri Athanas, it was different.

  The paparazzi had long given up on trying to dig out any dirt on the club’s current vice president and instead delighted in speculating what kind of girl would eventually capture the Greek bachelor’s heart.

  Some thought that no less than a princess would do for the club’s lone angel, who was also known for his old-fashioned and conservative ways. Others believed that Yuri Athanas would remain elusive until he was as old as George Clooney and, also like the actor, find someone who had both brains and beauty. The more cynical, however, believed Yuri was just like any other rich young man and would eventually fall for a trashy sex symbol.

  Naturally, none of their conjectures was close to the truth.

  “Is that your girlfriend?”

  “Give us a smile, beautiful!”

  “Where you guys going?”

  All the shouting and rapid-fire questioning would have disturbed Kalli if not for the way Yuri’s hand tightened around hers. It gave her a sense of peace and safety, and when Yuri murmured, “Don’t mind them. I’ll protect you,” she relaxed immediately.

  If Yuri said so, she thought, it must be true.

  Although Yuri had taken steps to mislead the paparazzi, a small number had still decided to leave nothing to chance by camping out in Athens’ airport, and they had gotten their reward when, for the first time since Yuri had risen to fame, the Afxisi’s scandal-free vice president stepped out of the limousine with a girl in tow.

  In minutes, their numbers swelled by the dozens, and Yuri’s jaw clenched. It was a rare display of temper, and the sight whipped the crowd into an excited frenzy.

  “Give us a kiss, Yuri!”

  “Look at the camera, you guys!”

  Even with airport security helping his bodyguards ensure their privacy, the aggressive jostling amongst the reporters and their cameramen forced Yuri to pull Kalli closer towards him. “Keep your head down,” he ordered under his breath.

  Kalli obeyed the command automatically. Her grandmother had warned her this would happen once the world found out she was Yuri’s beloved girl. Many people are fascinated with Yuri Athanas because he’s part of a very famous group, Mila Antoniou had explained to her. Many of them will lie to you about Yuri, but you mustn’t believe them. You mustn’t trust them, mustn’t even listen to them. The only thing that matters, Mila had said gravely, was what the people you love is telling you.

  Even as the furor around them made Kalli’s chest tighten, she sought to calm herself, not wishing to worry the man beside her. They walked with both their heads down, Kalli pressing close to Yuri, her innocent mind completely unaware that doing so had triggered a completely unexpected reaction.

  What the hell was happening to him?

  Yuri’s teeth clenched at the way his body suddenly stirred in hyper-awareness of Kalli’s soft curves. While he hadn’t played the field as much as his friends had, he was far from being inexperienced. Control over his sexual needs had never been a problem, or at least it hadn’t been until—

  Kalli suddenly looked up at him, her forehead furrowed in concern. “Yuri?”

  Fighting to keep his face blank, he shook his head, “It’s nothing.” The noise from the paparazzi faded as they went past immigration, replaced by the low, steady burr coming from the jets parked at the hangar’s private section.

  With no one to bother them from this point, Yuri carefully set Kalli away from him, needing to put as much distance between them. He must have been celibate far too long, Yuri told himself. God knew when was the last time he had even jerked himself off—

  “Yuri?”

  “Yes?” Glancing back at Kalli, Yuri was surprised at the faintly troubled expression on her face.

  “Did I do something to displease you?”

  She had sensed his withdrawal from her, Yuri realized with sudden insight. It was beginning to be clear to him that he had a lot more to understand about Kalli, things that hadn’t found its way on his detectives’ report.

  Resolving to be more careful i
n the way he reacted around Kalli, he only had a moment’s hesitation before slowly taking hold of her hand. “There’s little you can do or say that will displease me, Kalli.” He kept his gaze on her so she would see that he wasn’t lying.

  The troubled expression disappeared from her face. “I was worried.” Her fingers twined with his as she spoke.

  Too sweet, he thought. He had to be careful with Kalliope Antoniou. He had to make sure she never realized that the man who had promised to love her didn’t have a heart.

  ****

  The plane had been airborne for almost an hour by the time Yuri went back to the lobby, where Kalli was supposed to be but wasn’t. He raised a brow at the stewardess, who then answered him with a fond smile, “Where she always is.”

  “The kitchen?”

  “As always, Mr. Athanas.” The stewardess’ smile turned into a grin, and the rest of the cabin crew – all employed by the Antoniou’s law firm – grinned, too. He realized then that the staff was inordinately fond of his fiancée, a rarity among those in the employ of most heiresses he knew of.

  “How long have you been serving the Antoniou family, Brenda?” he asked.

  Brenda flushed with pleasure at Yuri’s use of her name. She knew that he had only known it because of her name plate, but even so most other wealthy people she knew wouldn’t have bothered to do the same. It only shows that the late Mrs. Antoniou had made the right choice, Brenda thought. This young man was indeed the right one to take care of Kalliope.

  Wishing to be as much help to her new employer, she said, “I’ve been with the family since I completed my training so about…ten years. Practically everyone here has been employed by the Antonious for just as long.”

  “I see.” Yuri studied the faces around him. “Then I’m assuming that you are all sufficiently cognizant of Kalliope’s special circumstances?”

  Brenda’s smile dimmed. “We were there when she was rescued.” Even now, she had to repress a shudder at the memories, and she hurriedly changed the subject, saying, “If there’s anything we can do to help you…” She halted.

  Correctly guessing the reason for her hesitation, Yuri said gently, “You have nothing to worry about. I don’t consider your offer of help presumptuous. My first priority is Ms. Antoniou’s wellbeing, and as such I’d appreciate anything that could help me understand her better.”

  Relief shone in Brenda’s eyes. “You have nothing to worry about us, sir. Although we’ve also had to sign a non-disclosure before working for the Antonious, all of us are greatly fond of Ms. Kalliope. It would be our greatest joy to help her in any way.”

  “I’m glad to hear that since you all no doubt know my fiancée better than I do at the moment.” Yuri’s smile was wry.

  “Well, she loves food a lot,” Brenda murmured thoughtfully. “She loves to prepare those cute lunchboxes for people she likes.”

  “And for the people she don’t like?”

  Brenda frowned.

  “I don’t think we’ve ever seen Ms. Kalliope dislike anyone,” Ned, the bartender, volunteered. “But she gets extremely upset when she sees leftovers on people’s plates.”

  Yuri nodded and mentally filed the information away for future reference.

  Seeing his genuine reception of their advice, the rest of the staff eagerly proceeded to share their insights.

  Amy, the other stewardess, proudly spoke of his fiancée’s intellectual accomplishments. Ms. Kalliope learned Arabic in one week, sir, she had gushed.

  One of the senior security officers cautioned him about her innocence. She doesn’t cry, sir, but she goes alarmingly silent for days when she witnesses bad things. Even Mrs. Antoniou doesn’t understand what goes on in her mind when it happens.

  Ten minutes later, a more knowledgeable and grimly reflective Yuri joined his fiancée in the kitchen. She looked up the moment he entered, her violet eyes wide and a frilly apron over her dress. She could have easily passed for a Stepford wife if not for the functional but unfashionable hair net she had over her head.

  The sight of it almost made Yuri smile. A black-haired goddess in a hair net, he thought wryly. It was just one of the many fascinating things that made his fiancée an intriguing paradox.

  “Hi,” he said finally, seeing that Kalli was still staring at him.

  “Hi.”

  The wary note in her voice made him ask immediately, “What’s wrong?”

  A brief hesitation before Kalli replied quietly, “I’m nervous.” Her words made him notice the way her fingers silently but restlessly moved on the edge of the table, alternately tapping and tracing, while her violet eyes stayed on his face.

  Something about it made Yuri’s fists clench. “Why?” Whatever it was, he would fix it.

  “I’m not sure if…” Her gaze lowered, and that was when he saw what she had on the bento box. Lying on top of colorful crackers and amidst cheese flowers were baked cookies shaped in letters that spelled YURI.

  Ah.

  Slowly, Yuri approached her, not wanting to give her any reason to bolt. He could see it in the stiff posture of her body and in the way her knuckles had now turned white with how tightly she was gripping the edge of the counter.

  When he reached the counter, she asked, “Do you like it?” Her tone was defensive, but there was childish yearning in it, too. His heart, which Yuri thought was long dead, showed the smallest sign of life, two microscopic pieces joining together at the realization of just how important he was to the girl he had promised to marry.

  “I love it.” He made sure to keep his eyes on her as he spoke, remembering the staff’s advice about speaking the truth to Kalli. The tension eased from her form, but for Yuri it wasn’t enough. Wanting her completely relaxed with him, he gestured to the cookie, asking, “May I eat it?”

  She shook her head, surprising him, and cocked her head to the side questioningly at him. “Aren’t you going to take a photo of it?”

  It was Yuri’s turn to be bemused. “Why would I?”

  “Because,” she answered patiently, “that’s what people do.” And she added with a combination of innocence and wisdom, “I’ve seen it in the Internet. People take photos of what they love and upload it to Instagram.”

  When Kalli’s guileless violet eyes went back to him, Yuri didn’t have it in himself to refuse. She was already running circles around him, he thought, without even knowing it. Despite the sardonic thought, Yuri still found himself doing as asked, taking a photo of the admittedly lovely bento box and obediently uploading it to his Instagram.

  “Done,” he said lightly.

  Kalli was busy swiping on her phone, and when she looked at him, there was confused surprise in her eyes. “It’s your first photo on your Instagram account.”

  “Yes.” Yuri managed to keep his tone bland even though he had a feeling everyone at the club was now thinking either his account or his mind had been hacked.

  He could even hear Kellion laughing his damn head off about it. Yuri Athanas’ first Instagram photo is an oh-so-cute bento box. The thought alone was enough to make him mentally wince, but then he saw the sweet, pretty smile on Kalli’s rosy lips—

  Her next words were even sweeter. “I feel very special, Yuri. Thank you.” And just like that, she bent over the counter to place a quick, shy kiss on his cheek.

  Yuri was frozen in his spot. Goddammit. He had the insane urge to touch the place where her lips touched his skin. Goddammit. He was acting like a boy in the throes of first love. Goddammit.

  He heard Kalli asking in a concerned tone, “You’re looking flushed, Yuri. Is something wrong?”

  Everything was wrong, Yuri thought.

  But of course he couldn’t say that.

  Careful to keep his eyes hooded from her all too-seeing gaze, he murmured, “Nothing, Kalli. Everything’s perfect.”

  Chapter Four

  “Kalli, this is the former president of the Afxisi, Helios Andreadis.” Yuri kept his gaze on his fiancée as he spoke. All but one
officer of the Afxisi was present to greet them, the three pairs forming a half-circle in the private hallway that only high-ranking members of their club had access to.

  “Helios, this is my fiancée Kalli.” He managed to keep his tone polite, but his form was rigid with tension as he kept an eye for any sign of discomfort from Kalli. If it had been up to him, he would have taken her straight to her room. The introductions could have waited. She was his first priority, and knowing how sheltered her existence had been, he had wanted to give her time to adjust to her new life.

  But when he had broached the idea, Kalli had only blinked and asked, “Are you ashamed of me?”

  And so here they were now.

  Kalli was gazing at Helios pensively. He was about to ask her why when he heard her murmur, “He really does look like the sun god.”

  A giggle escaped MJ while Helios lifted one sardonic brow. The other officers did their best to maintain straight faces.

  Yuri’s lips twitched even as he told Kalli solemnly, “You’re absolutely right.”

  The sun god turned to look at him, and the message in his golden gaze was readily decipherable. Fuck you.

  Yuri wisely ignored this, concentrating instead on his delightful bundle of honesty. “You have nothing to be afraid of with him, sweetheart. He’s a lot like Tigger.” It was a ludicrous analogy, but he did it anyway because one, the cabin crew had told him of Kalli’s obsession with Winnie the Pooh and, second, because he liked yanking Helios’ chain.

  When Yuri turned to Kalli, he saw that she was now looking at Helios like he was a god.

  Helios meanwhile looked like he wanted to kill Yuri.

  Kalli offered her hand. “I am honored to meet you, Helios Andreadis.”

  The formal tone had the near-seven-foot biker blinking, but his voice was gentle when he returned the greeting. “It’s my honor.” They shook hands. “And as we don’t stand on formalities here, I shall call you Kalli, if that’s okay.”

  A regal nod from his fiancée. “Anything from someone who is as adorable as Tigger.”