Chapter 12
To trust a Greek billionaire, you must not give up on them on the first try, or the second, or the third...
She said: Get ready to be hurt a lot of times.
He said (wincing): Think of it this way. We get a lot of practice begging, too. The next book can be The Art of Groveling.
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H E STILL HADN’T CALLED .
It was the uppermost thought on her mind as she showered and changed into a cerulean wraparound dress. As she applied her makeup, she told herself that it was because he hadn’t yet figured how to apologize to her without losing face. Greek billionaires were terribly arrogant, after all. She couldn’t even think of a single Harlequin title that had a humble Greek billionaire in it.
Also , Mairi thought stalwartly as she worked her hair into a chignon, humble was good on paper but in real life? It was so not sexy.
So all in all, this was good and healthy for their rela—-
Her thoughts stuttered to a stop, and she mentally scrambled for the right word to describe what they had.
Lover and cheater.
Mistress and benefactor.
Slut and client.
Mairi ran to the sink to throw up.
Two hours later, she was hurrying towards the auditorium, face scrubbed clean of tear-ravaged makeup and dressed instead in an elegant but simple cotton candy pink sheath dress.
Velvet and Mandy were already in their seats when Mairi joined them. “Where’s the pretty dress we bought yesterday?” Velvet asked, surprised.
“Wardrobe malfunction,” Mairi lied, thinking that should cover the fact that she had thrown up all over it because of sheer nervousness...and heartbreak.
“Oh...and your makeup?” Mandy asked.
“Umm...application malfunction?” She pretended she didn’t notice her friends throwing her suspicious looks after that.
Finally, Velvet cleared her throat. “Okay. Yay you for all the mishaps then.”
Even Mairi had to crack a smile at that.
Mandy gave her a quick hug. “Break a leg, okay? And chin up. I have no idea what you’re going through again to say all those silly lies, but I’m certain it has to do with your Greek billionaire. Whatever it is, remember we’re here for you.”
She did her best to remember that, especially since the award ceremony had started and the usual red carpet had been rolled out for the VIP guests.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a warm round of applause for the first of our guests of honor, Mr. Ioniko Vlahos.”
Ioniko walked down the red carpet in a swift pace, looking absolutely gorgeous and sexy in a black three-piece suit and a crimson necktie. He looked at her only for the briefest moment, his eyes warm. And then he was walking past her and ascending the stage to take his place on the VIP row.
“Thank you, dear students and teachers. And now, another round of applause for our next guests of honor, Mr. Damen Leventis and his lovely fiancée, Ms. Alina Kokinos.”
Hearing the words spoken in her presence hurt a lot more than she had expected.
She closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight of them together. There was a heightened sense of excitement in the crowd at the sight of them, and she squeezed her eyes shut more tightly when she began to hear them talk about how Damen and the Kokinos heiress looked so good together—-
Oh.
He was walking past her now. She knew it was so, without even looking, because she knew his scent.
He was walking past her now, another woman by his side. His fiancée. His side. A place she might never have.
Mairi literally found herself swaying on her feet, but her friends helped her stay upright as they kept their arms around Mairi’s waist like three bosom buddies.
Mr. Damen Leventis and his lovely fiancée, Ms. Alina Kokinos...
The names and words became louder and louder with every echo in her mind. She wanted to cover her ears and stop herself from hearing it, but she knew it was impossible.
Mandy suddenly squeezed her hand. “Ms. Thorn just called your name.”
Mairi forced her eyes to open and tried to think past her erratic heartbeat and the gnawing pain inside her. Ms. Thorn had the crowd applauding her now, and she knew she had to move. And she would, just as soon as she remembered how to do it.
“You don’t have to do this,” Velvet muttered under her breath, her heart breaking at the blank look on Mairi’s face. It was as if she had just realized that fairy tales were just...fairy tales, and they were never meant to happen in real life.
“I’m okay,” Mairi whispered to them, not wanting her friends to worry about her. She didn’t want to look at them after that, knowing that seeing their concern might cause her to break down.
****
D AMEN SCHOOLED HIS face into an expressionless mask as he observed Mairi’s ascent to the stage. She looked too pale , he thought, his chest tightening at the sight of her makeup-less face.
It made him want to reach out to her—-
At the other end of the row of seats, Damen heard Ioniko greet Mairi warmly and he turned sharply to look at them, quickly enough to catch sight of Mairi giving Ioniko a grateful smile in return.
The gratitude hit him like a ton of bricks, jealous rage creating an inferno of bitter feelings inside Damen. It hurt, it fucking did not make him feel good to see that smile on her face.
She was supposed to smile like that at him only.
As she walked past Ioniko and towards his direction, Damen waited for Mairi to look at him. But when it was clear she would not, he heard himself saying to Alina, “Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”
Mairi stumbled on her way to the podium, having heard Damen’s words.
Damen paled. Shit . He had meant to hurt her for being too close to Vlahos, for wanting him – Damen – to be more like Vlahos, like he was not enough for her, the way he had never been enough for his parents to love.
But the way she scrambled to right herself, her body posture tense and defensive, told Damen that she would rather stumble again than have him help her now.
He shoved his hands deep inside his trouser pockets, the only way he could stop himself from reaching out to Mairi. He watched her from behind, feeling so goddamn proud at the way she was able to keep moving even after what he had stupidly done.
I’m sorry, Damen thought achingly.
He had promised never to hurt her again, but what they had – what he had made her agree to – it just wasn’t going to work. Had he really been such an idiot to think it would be different for them?
He had to make a choice.
He had to choose now, before Mairi chose someone else over him.
****
M AIRI DID HER BEST as she read her speech, and if her voice shook once or twice for no reason at all, well – there wasn’t anything she could do about that. She just hoped the crowd thought she was nervous and not...heartbroken.
The speech was short and simple, and she worked on keeping her voice clear and inflectionless as she began thanking the people who had to be thanked.
“And lastly, our school’s Teachers' Day presentation would not be the special occasion that it is this year if not for the generosity of our guests of honor, who have gifted us with financial sponsorship and their precious time.”
Conscious of Ms. Thorn’s strict rules about etiquette, Mairi took a deep breath, unaware that the microphone had picked it up again and created a sound like a tornado throughout the auditorium.
The crowd laughed.
She...wished she could laugh with them.
Mairi forced herself to look at Ioniko first. “And so on behalf of the faculty, administration, and students making up the Grecian Academy for Young Ladies, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to our guests of honor, Mr. Ioniko Vlahos—-”
Ioniko raised his hand in a small wave, a simple act that had the entire student body giggling.
She turned to the only couple on the stage, her gaze blinded with tears. “—-and the soon-to-be-wedded couple, Mr. Damen Leventis a-and Ms. Alina Kokinos.”
Her fingers curled around her speech, crushing it in her hand the same way Damen crushed her heart as he helped his fiancée out of her chair like she was a precious jewel so they could acknowledge the crowd with smiles and a brief wave.
Mairi mumbled the rest of her speech. She didn’t care if the crowd thought she was speaking Cantonese now. All she knew was that she had to get as far away from Damen as possible.
As she walked back to her seat, the ugly hateful truth that she had tried to be blind to finally made itself undeniably clear.
The problem had never been her love or making Damen believe in it.
The problem had always been whether Damen could believe in love. Because if he could believe in love, then he would never have made her go through this. If he understood how love could hurt and kill, he would never have forced her to see him and his fiancée together.
The rest of the presentation proceeded in an efficiently speedy manner, as was typical of any event organized by GAYL’s terrifying principal. The highest award went to an old history professor about to retire, and Mrs. Bettany became teary-eyed when Ms. Thorn presented her not only with a framed certificate but also a prize check amounting to $50,000, sponsored by this year’s guests of honor.
Mairi thought her ordeal was about to end, but it was not. It was only about to get worse, she realized as she dimly heard Ms. Thorn invite the guests of honor to make a brief speech themselves.
“Mr. Leventis? Ms. Kokinos? Would you like to go first?” Ms. Thorn sent them an encouraging smile.
Cold sweat bathed Damen's body under his suit. He had an awful feeling that something bad was about to happen.
“Would you like me to take care of this on my own?” he asked, hoping she would indeed say yes. But she did not.
Alina shook her head. “It’s fine.”
Left with no choice, Damen tried not to look visibly reluctant as he offered Alina his hand and guided her to the podium, his hand on the small of her back. He knew that such a simple gesture would hurt Mairi even more, and his gaze searched hers, needing to let her know that it did not and should not mean anything because he did not care about Alina in any way.
It took less than a second for Damen to spot Mairi in the crowd, and he sucked his breath in at the glassy look on her face.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.
She looked like he was killing her again and again, and the most painful thing about it was that it might just be true. If the roles had been reversed, Damen knew he would not be as stoic. If he ever saw another man holding Mairi in any way, he knew would very well lose it and start a fistfight.
As he and Alina reached the podium, Ms. Thorn moved close to the microphone and asked charmingly, “How about a kiss between the lovely couple? I am certain I speak for many students in saying we think you had the loveliest engagement party. The two of you make such a beautiful couple and we’d love to celebrate your engagement with you two today.”