Yuri

by Marian Tee

  Sudden coughs filled the room while another giggle slipped past MJ’s lips.

  After shooting everyone deadly looks, Helios curved an arm around the tiny brunette beside him, pulling her closer as he said, “This is MJ.”

  “Hi, Kalli.” Her voice had just a trace of shyness in it. “I’m Helios’ wife.” This time, her words had a dreamy quality to it, like she still found the fact surreal.

  Kalli shook hands with MJ. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too. I am Kalliope, but you may also call me Kalli. I am the girl Yuri loves.”

  It was Helios’ turn to smirk as a familiar, stoic look fell over Yuri’s too-pretty face. But more than amusement, Helios privately felt relief. Whatever doubts he had over the rightness of having someone like Kalliope Antoniou engaged to the club’s vice president, it had been eliminated by the way the Greek heiress so easily kept Yuri Athanas on his toes.

  He needs someone like that, Helios thought. Yuri had lived too long behind his self-imposed cage. Even Yuri’s own sister hadn’t managed to completely penetrate Yuri’s rigid control over his emotions, but maybe Kalli was the key.

  Hallie Athanas harbored the same hopes. She watched her brother shake his head in exasperation and held her breath. With anyone else, she was sure he would be ruthlessly polite and use his beautiful manners to put the woman in her place.

  But he didn’t.

  “You don’t have to say that all the time, sweetheart,” Hallie heard Yuri say.

  To which his fiancée replied in a perplexed tone, “Why shouldn’t I?”

  Yuri’s jaw clamped shut. How the hell did he answer that without possibly offending Kalli? But as it turned out, he didn’t have to worry about it at all.

  “I like saying it, Yuri.” The grave look that accompanied her words was beginning to be familiar, a sign that she was about to drop another oh-so-truthful bombshell. “I’m proud someone like you loves me.”

  And that was that.

  Seven words, and it threw his entire world off tangent.

  I’m proud someone like you loves me.

  Yuri ran a hand over his face. Sweet, beautiful Kalli. How did she keep doing it? How could she keep breaking his heart when it didn’t even exist?

  ****

  Kalli was left alone with a small group of girls when Yuri temporarily excused himself to take a call. The other men, sensing Kalli’s discomfort at being alone with too many strangers, moved away as well.

  Kalli found her face to face with Hallie Athanas. She was a smaller and more feminine version of Yuri, with her dark hair held back by a lace band and her slim body draped in a pastel-colored dress. She recognized the girl through her photos on the Internet, and Kalli told her so.

  A rueful smile touched the girl’s lips. “I tried researching you, too, but I found nothing.”

  “You’re not supposed to,” Kalli answered matter-of-factly. “There’s a company my grandmother pays to keep photos of me off the Internet.”

  “Oh.” Hallie grinned. “Well, they did a good job.” She hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and surprising Kalli with a quick, tight hug. “I’m really glad to have finally met you, Kalli. I think you’ll be good for my brother.” She was about to say something more when she realized the other girl had become stiff in her arms.

  Mortified, she released Kalli right away, stammering, “I’m sorry, I—”

  Kalli shook her head. “There is nothing to apologize for.” A pause. “I’m not used to being hugged.” Another pause. “But I think I like it…if you really mean it?”

  Hallie’s chest tightened when she realized Yuri’s fiancée wasn’t joking. What kind of life had Kalliope Antoniou led that she would have to ask something like it? Unable to help it, she gave Kalli another hug. “I don’t just mean it. I also want you to know that I think of you as a sister already.”

  Just when Hallie thought the other girl wouldn’t answer, she felt Kalli awkwardly hug her back. “Thank you, Hallie Athanas.” Kalli’s quiet, serious voice caused Hallie to have a ridiculous urge to cry. “From now on, I will look upon you as my sister, too.”

  When they stepped away from each other, the first thing they saw was Kellion’s girlfriend, Aria Redfield, with her compact whiteboard up, a message written on it in uppercase letters.

  YOU GUYS ARE SO EMOTIONAL.

  Kalli blinked while Hallie rolled her eyes.

  MJ laughed, but in truth the odd exchange between Yuri’s sister and fiancée had left her a little teary-eyed. She didn’t know much about Kalliope Antoniou, but there was something so powerfully innocent about the other girl that tugged at her heartstrings.

  It reminded her of how she had been, when all she knew of life was pain, and this had MJ closing her eyes to send a quick prayer to God. Please let Yuri be gentle with her. When she opened her eyes, it was to see all three girls looking at her.

  Aria had her board up. YOU’RE DAYDREAMING AGAIN.

  “I am not!” But MJ couldn’t help blushing because she knew Aria had every reason to think so. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject by making the introductions for Kellion’s girlfriend. “Kalli, this is Aria Redfield. She lives here, too, and she’s the girlfriend of our president Kellion Argyros.”

  The curvy blonde raised her board. NICE TO MEET YOU.

  Kalli frowned.

  Aria erased her message and wrote a new one. We’ll give you a tour now. If we leave it to the men, they’ll only show you their work lab.

  When Aria put her board down, Kalli asked without preamble, “Why don’t you speak?”

  Yuri was about to join Kalli when he found himself coming to a halt at his fiancée’s question. Damn. Of all the things to ask—

  A second later and Kellion had come to stand beside him, his grim face telling Yuri he had heard the same thing.

  “I’m sorry,” Yuri said under his breath. He knew how it still hurt Aria to speak of her past.

  Kellion shook his head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”

  Following his friend’s gaze, Yuri saw that Aria had her whiteboard up in answer. I had a childhood trauma.

  Kalli only stared.

  Aria wrote another message. IT’S RUDE TO STARE.

  But Kalli kept staring.

  Aria raised a brow.

  Finally, Kalli spoke. “We will never be able to forget it, will we?” Her voice was sad.

  Both Yuri and Kellion breathed hard simultaneously at the words.

  Aria’s face had turned white. Knowing how quick-tempered she was, Yuri half-expected the president’s girlfriend to simply walk away and curse Kalli for her rudeness.

  But she didn’t.

  Instead, she answered. Out loud. “No, Kalli.” The rusty quality of her voice couldn’t mar its lovely cadence, nor could it drown the sadness that underscored her words. “I don’t think we can ever forget it. I’m not sure we even should.” A ghost of a smile flitted over her lips. “You see, those memories…make us strong. They make us appreciate…” Her gaze drifted to Kellion. “—what we have now.”

  Then Aria bent her head and hastily started scrawling on her board. It went up after another moment. ALSO, I HATE BEING EMOTIONAL, SO STOP WITH THE EMOTIONAL QUESTIONS.

  MJ burst into laughter, and even Kalli cracked a smile. But when they left, it took a while for the men to break the silence between them.

  “Well,” Helios said finally. “That was something.”

  “As always, the king of understatement.” But Kellion’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

  Andreus clapped a hand over Yuri’s back. “We will do our best to make her feel comfortable and safe here.”

  “Thank you.” He meant it, knowing that other people wouldn’t have been as easily accepting of Kalli’s “different” ways. He was about to tell them of Dr. Korba’s call, wanting their opinion, when he caught sight of Hallie heading their way. Yuri excused himself instead and met his sister halfway.

  “We’ll be waiting for you downstairs,” He
lios told him before stepping inside the elevator.

  Yuri waited for the others to leave before telling Hallie, “Thank you for doing what you did for Kalli.”

  Hallie shook her head. “How can I not? She’s the reason we’re free.”

  Yuri stiffened, like he always did when Hallie brought up the past. If it were up to him, he would have done everything possible to wipe the terrible memories from his sister’s mind. But he could not.

  No one could.

  “Yuri?”

  Hallie’s suddenly worried tone made him frown. “What is it?”

  “Y-you will love her, won’t you?”

  “Of course.” He uttered the lie without hesitation and saw that he was so good at pretending to be the nice guy he even had his younger sister fooled. Apparently, he could fool everyone but himself.

  Chapter Five

  Yuri and his sister were on their way to join the rest of the club in the common room when they saw Kellion heading their way.

  “I’m afraid we have a little situation.” Wicked amusement gleamed in Kellion’s green eyes as he spoke.

  Yuri was instantly on his guard. “What is it?” When the president had that look, it usually spelled trouble…for someone else. In this case, that would be him.

  “MJ and Aria took her to the room prepared for her and I’m afraid she doesn’t like it.” Kellion smirked. “Kalli asked to be taken to your room because that’s – and I quote – where she belongs.”

  When Yuri made it to his bedroom, he found his fiancée alone and busy unpacking.

  She glanced up the moment he entered and continued to watch him with unwavering eyes as he closed the door behind him.

  Like all the other officers’ suites in the club, Yuri’s was vast and elegant. Since his tastes ran in the minimalist side, his bedroom sported a neutral palette of whites and grays, with occasional accents of wood.

  It would have been a beautiful room for anyone’s standards, but for Yuri it had always been just a place to wrestle with his nightmares every night. It was more a prison than a room, a place for punishment than rest, but somehow, it was different now.

  Somehow, Kalli made the shadows go away, made all things dark and painful disappear with how beautifully innocent she was.

  She might not be completely normal, but she represented everything good in the world.

  Taking a deep breath, he asked quietly, “I was told you wanted to sleep here?” He watched her face closely as he waited for her reply and saw not a hint of embarrassment as Kalli nodded at him.

  “People who are lovers sleep in one room.” She then added wisely, “I read it on the Internet.”

  If the Internet were a man, Yuri would have gladly strangled it by now. Also, what kind of antiquated parental controls did Mila Antoniou install in their system? Wasn’t Kalli too – too innocent to know anything about lovers?

  “I see.” He briefly considered enlightening her about how the Internet was mostly filled with lies but eventually decided against it, remembering how the cabin crew had warned him against bringing up any kind of untruth with Kalli.

  Wariness flickered in her violet eyes. “I may stay here then?”

  God help me, Yuri thought. But out loud, he said the only thing he could say. “Yes.”

  A smile that was dazzling in its innocence and sweetness touched her lips, and Yuri found himself mesmerized. “Thank you.” Her husky, lilting voice deepened the enthrallment and again his body began to stir.

  Kalli sat at the edge of his bed and patted the space next to her.

  His body burned at the invitation. What the hell was happening to him? Even though his mind knew it was a simple invitation for him to sit beside her, his body insisted on an illusion. It told him Kalli was seducing him, tempting Yuri to join her in bed.

  When Yuri sat next to her, Kalli was confused to find her fiancé had turned into a rock, his body hard and stiff, a stony expression on his handsome face. Blinking in confusion, she closed the distance between them, unknowingly pressing her breasts against his arm as she reached to touch his forehead.

  He stiffened at her touch, and thinking he had rejected her, she snatched her hand away.

  Fuck! Seeing the look of hurt in her eyes, he realized she had misinterpreted his reaction and automatically captured her hand. “I’m sorry.” His tone was low and fierce. Yuri hated how callous he was with her, when with everyone else he was always careful and in control. This girl had saved him and his sister. He owed her everything, and he mustn’t ever forget it.

  The pain didn’t fade from Kalli’s violet eyes. “You don’t want me to touch you?”

  The ache in his groin intensified. “I want to, of course. Only, you surprised me.” It was the only thing closest to the truth he could think of saying.

  “Oh.” The hurt faded. “I’m sorry I surprised you.”

  She glanced away then, her eyes drifting to the large windows in front of them. It faced the university’s gardens, which were renowned for its award-winning landscaping. The school’s founders, the Christopoulos family, prided itself in having one of the world’s most beautiful campuses and spared no expense in ensuring it retained its title.

  “This kind of sunset,” she said softly, “it reminds me of the ones we saw in South Africa. They were…magical.”

  His lips curved as he tried to imagine how Kalli would have looked in her African expedition. Probably wearing something feminine and appropriate, he thought. She reminded him of her little sister that way.

  “You’ve traveled a lot with your grandmother?” he asked.

  She nodded, a wistful expression on her face. “Europe, Asia, South America…”

  “The United States?”

  Slowly, Kalli shook her head.

  Yuri was bemused. “Everywhere but here?”

  “Yes.” Kalli’s gaze remained at the orange-tinted skies as she said, “I think Grandmother didn’t want me to be hurt.” Before he could ask what that meant, she continued matter-of-factly, “She told me you were busy with school and your club, and that if we came here you might not have time for me. I told her you would, because you loved me.” This time, her gaze sought his. “You would, wouldn’t you, Yuri?”

  He wanted to say yes. But to do so would lie, and the thought of lying to someone like Kalli was suddenly sickening. He had already lied to her so many times, had lied to her for years, ever since he had promised to love her.

  He heard himself ask, “Why is it so easy for you to believe I love you? And that you love me?”

  “Why wouldn’t it?” she asked simply. “You said so, and you have no reason to lie to me, do you?”

  The words made no sense. The words made every sense.

  In her world, people didn’t lie. People didn’t need time to find out if one or the other could be trusted. People simply loved.

  But in his world – the real world – it wasn’t that simple. It wasn’t that black and white.

  In Yuri’s world, people didn’t always have a choice. People still loved, but they also had to lie because they loved.

  Like Yuri had to do now.

  “If you had come here,” he said levelly, “I would have dropped everything to be with you.” It was the truth. “Because you’re right. Because I love you.” And that was the lie.

  A moment later, he felt something—

  Looking down, he saw her fingers brushing against his, and he automatically clasped hers. Her hand, small, pale, and soft, felt too right in his.

  “Thank you, Yuri.” Her eyes were shining with love, happiness, and trust.

  He shook his head. “Thank you, Kalli.”

  The silence that grew between them was comfortable, almost too much so. Minutes passed, and he felt Kalli leaning her head against his shoulder.

  “I want to stay like this forever,” she whispered.

  “I want that, too.” But this time, Yuri realized uneasily he was no longer sure if he were speaking the truth or another lie. He thought of Dr. Si
las Korba’s call. Unlike their earlier encounter, the doctor had fawned on him over the phone, thanking him profusely for taking care of his former patient’s granddaughter.

  People think I have cured her because of you, Mr. Athanas. I am now able to charge higher fees, and it is all because you have taken responsibility of Ms. Antoniou. But I beg you, sir. If she ever suffers from another relapse, please call on me first instead of taking her back to Athens.

  Beside him, Kalli suddenly stiffened. “Yuri.”

  She shivered, and Yuri automatically wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “Cold?”

  “No.” Her voice was small. She laid her head against his chest. “I feel like…” She paused, and Yuri sensed her mentally searching for the right words. “It’s like what Grandmama used to say when she had a feeling something bad was going to happen.”

  Yuri tightened his hold around her. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you, sweetheart.”

  Kalli didn’t answer, only shifting in his arms as she pressed her head closer to his chest. He realized then she was listening to his heartbeat and, for some reason, drawing comfort from it.

  Sweet, beautiful Kalli.

  But still, Dr. Korba’s words slithered into his mind. Please be on your guard, Mr. Athanas. She’s been known to hurt other people when she’s having one of her attacks.

  As if hearing the same warning, Kalli shivered in his arms.

  Chapter Six

  “You’re ashamed of me,” the violet-eyed girl in a long, floral dress said sadly.

  “You know that’s not true,” the tall, angelically handsome guy before her answered.

  “Then you will let me do this?”

  Pause.

  “If it’s truly what you need.” The guy spoke with audible reluctance.

  A smile that transformed her face into something untouchably ethereal, and then she was murmuring in a breathy voice, “Thank you, Yuri.” She raised herself up to place a kiss on the guy’s cheek. After, she hurriedly but gracefully walked past her companion. Her steps were light and nimble, it was as if her feet didn’t seem to touch the ground.