Twenty-Seven
P IPPI: Please answer the phone.
Pippi: Please. Let's talk.
Pippi: Please.
Pippi: I love you.
But her phone remained silent, and the tears wouldn't stop falling. Pride begged her to give up, to cut her losses and consider the possibility that she could be wrong.
Acheron Simonides was a billionaire.
A drop-dead-gorgeous, incredibly sexy Greek billionaire!
Was it truly possible for a man like him to fall for a girl like her?
She stared at the messages she had typed, wondering how it would feel if Acheron turned out to be a jerk and made his own cruel viral post. How Pathetic Women Can Get, Exhibit One.
Just imagining it made her want to throw up.
So give up.
But her heart refused to heed the words.
Love was supposed to be about taking risks together, and if she wanted to be with Acheron, she needed to find the courage to face these risks.
Pippi: I'm not going to give you up without a fight.
After taking a deep breath, she hit Send, and her heart skipped a beat.
Oh, the things she did for love.
To distract herself, she clicked on her phone's browser and started searching for the latest news about Acheron. Falling in love with a billionaire meant learning how to handle the rumors—-
And that was when she saw it.
A tweet from a well-known society gossip columnist, sharing a photo of Acheron and Amelia kissing in a pub.
The hashtag below it: #ATM
If only she could believe it meant 'automated teller machine'.
****
A CHERON HAD JUST GOTTEN back home when the news broke out, and when he saw Wickham waiting for him in the hallway outside his apartment, he knew right away something had fucking gone wrong again.
"How bad is it?"
"Extremely," Wickham said grimly, "if Ms. Jones happens to see them."
The billionaire took one look at the tweeted photos Wickham showed and stepped back into the elevator without a word. He knew - he already fucking knew - if he didn't make it in time, he might lose her for good.
When the knock sounded on the Joneses' front door, everyone looked at each other, knowing it could only be one person.
"I just want to talk."
And it was Acheron, of course.
"Don't let him in," Pippi cried out when Astrid started to stand.
But her mother only gave her a chiding look. "I didn't raise you to be a coward."
"Mom, please ."
Astrid steeled herself against the tremor in her daughter's voice. "At least just talk to him..."
Pippi 's heart started to sink as she watched Astrid walk away to open the door.
Talk to him?
She couldn't even think of him without falling apart.
The door started to open.
I can't.
And she found herself breaking into a run.
Acheron caught sight of Pippi's tearstained face just as she flew up the stairs, and his heart clenched. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Why couldn't he stop hurting her? He glanced at Astrid, torn between his need to apologize and go after the woman he loved—-
"You're forgiven," the older woman said softly.
"Thank you."
Pippi heard Acheron's footsteps, and in her panic she locked herself in the first room she could reach -
And it just happened to be the Monarch Room.
Which was his room.
Omigodomigodomigodomigod.
His things were everywhere, and so were the memories - God, there were too many memories, and she sank to her knees with a sob.
Pain ravaged Acheron's heart at hearing Pippi cry. "It's not what you think, baby."
Pippi squeezed her eyes shut against the hoarse sound of his voice.
"You were right all along. Amelia...had feelings for me, and she set the whole scene up. She wanted to keep causing trouble between us—-"
And she succeeded , Pippi thought dully.
"She's gone now."
But for how long?
Because it was completely clear to her now.
She was wrong about him.
"Pippi, I love you."
A hysterical laugh escaped her. "You don't."
He loved Amelia, not her.
"I love you. I've always loved you—-"
"Stop lying."
"I'm not. I love you—-"
"How can you love me," she choked out, "when all of the risks you've taken in your life were for her?" And just like that, all her pain came pouring out. "Anthony Nolasco could've killed you just for wanting her, and yet you still ended up falling in love with Amelia. She nearly cost you your whole business, but you still took her back in! And I...And I..."
God, just thinking about it hurt so damn much.
"I g-gave you e-everything, and you left me—-you couldn't even take a single risk—-"
The pain in her voice devastated him. "I was scared. I thought I was doing the right thing, leaving you so you wouldn't suffer the way Millie did. I didn't want others to hurt you—-"
"So you decided it was better for you to hurt me instead?"
"I'm sorry."
"Baby, I'm sorry."
"Pippi, please."
"I love you."
"Please, baby."
He begged her on his knees, begged her for hours, begged until his voice became hoarse and ragged - he begged and begged until he realized...she was right.
He had never taken any risks for her.
And it was time to change that.