Chapter 12
“I HAVE EVERYTHING I need,” the photographer was saying enthusiastically. “Thanks for the time. I’ll make sure you all look great and the piece that comes with the photos will be just as great.”
Mairi only half heard the photographer’s words since most of her attention was on Damen’s buzzing phone. Inherent courtesy had Mairi forcing herself to concentrate on the photographer. “Thank you, Mister—-?”
“Guthrie, Mrs. Leventis. Eric Guthrie.” Eric found himself unexpectedly tongue-tied at the blinding smile that accompanied Mairi Tanner-Leventis’ words. So this was what had captured the ex-billionaire’s heart , he realized. Good, old-fashioned genuineness that none of the jaded supermodels and frivolous heiresses of the world could ever fake.
Her smile warm, Mairi shook hands with Eric, automatically slipping into her role as Damen’s #1 goodwill ambassador even as she couldn’t prevent her gaze from straying towards her husband. “Thank you so much, Eric. We appreciate your interest in sharing our side with the public.”
As she and Eric talked, four words kept echoing in her mind.
Please don’t answer it. Please don’t answer it.
Damen was talking to the photographer now. She watched as Damen and Eric shook hands, heart still in her throat.
Please don’t answer it. Please don’t answer—-
When the photographer left, Damen turned around to face her, the smile on his face heartbreakingly dazzling. That smile easily summed up everything she loved about him, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he was – or had once been – a Greek billionaire.
“The photographer’s infatuated with you,” Damen said in a low, half-teasing, half-exasperated voice.
Mairi managed a laugh. “I don’t think so.” His phone had stopped buzzing, and she allowed herself to start breathing again.
“Yes, he is. It’s making me rethink whether I should let you be interviewed alone—-” Damen suddenly stopped speaking.
Mairi knew why. It was that sound again.
Please don’t answer it. Please don’t answer it.
If he did, there was no point staying with him. She loved Damen too much to force him to stay with her when it was obvious he already loved someone else.
The phone vibrating in his pocket was impossible to ignore. Biting back a curse but knowing there was no help for it, Damen turned back to Mairi, saying gruffly, “Could you excuse me? I need to take this call. I won’t be long at all.”
Mairi’s heart shattered, and it kept shattering into innumerable pieces even as she made herself smile. “No problem,” she said lightly. She started walking backwards, pride not letting her turn away and give her the chance to cry without being seen. She was done crying. She was done being weak. “I’ll just entertain myself with Drake instead.” They were great last words, but there was no thrill, no satisfaction, from saying them.
Not bothering to wait for Damen to reply, she spun around and headed straight to Drake, trying not to run as she did. She had to get to Drake , Mairi thought feverishly as she made her way past the players waiting for their turn. Drake would know what to do to make her...strong. Drake would know what to tell her so she could survive the pain spreading like cancer inside her body, a gnawing, clawing hurt that served as a reminder of how Damen couldn’t bear not talking to Alina even if his conscience dictated that he stay true to his marriage and the feelings he no longer had.
Damen watched his wife go, stunned immobile by Mairi’s words.
Entertain herself with Drake? Had his wife just told him that she would be flirting with Drake while he was otherwise occupied?
Without another moment’s hesitation, Damen stalked after his wife. Everything was forgotten, everything made unimportant compared to the need to make Mairi realize one thing.
She belonged to Damen – and only Damen.
Mairi gasped when someone cupped her elbow from behind. The next thing she knew, she was being whirled around, her body slamming against Damen’s lean hard form.
When her startled gaze met his, Damen snarled down at her in a low, furious voice, “Where do you think you’re going?” But Damen didn’t give her a chance to reply, instead tightening his grip on her as he led her towards one of the unoccupied balconies.
Waiters balancing trays swerved out of his way, and a couple of guests almost tripped on their own feet in their effort to avoid Damen, who was bearing down on them like a charging knight.
“People are talking,” Mairi hissed.
“Let them talk.” Damen didn’t even bother to look around him.
Mairi tried to struggle out of his hold. “Let go of me.” She welcomed the anger rising inside her, knowing it would prevent her from succumbing to self-pity. The memory of Damen answering his phone – of choosing to talk to another woman while Mairi was right next to him – had her stomach hurting, forcing Mairi to lash out in her pain. “I want to go to Drake——”
Pain roared up inside him.
Maneuvering both of them into the balcony, Damen slammed the doors closed after them. A second later, he had Mairi imprisoned in his arms, his lips conquering hers.
Mairi tried her best to stay unresponsive, willing herself to be immune to the way his tongue moved inside her mouth. But it was impossible, and both of them knew it.
“Don’t ever say his fucking name again when you’re with me,” Damen muttered against Mairi’s lips before slowly pulling away.
Then don’t talk to Alina when you’re with me, either! That was what she wanted to say. But she didn’t. She couldn’t. For suddenly, a terribly strong urge to retch had hit her, and with a cry Mairi pushed past Damen, rushing towards the aluminum waste basket in the corner.
The sick look on Mairi’s face had Damen taking after her with a curse, his jealousy forgotten as he held her hair back while Mairi bent down and threw up. What the hell was wrong with her?
Another half-minute of retching followed before Mairi slowly straightened. Damen immediately took out his handkerchief, using it to carefully wipe her mouth. His worry intensified as he noticed Mairi’s pallor and the way her lip trembled.
“Are you ill?” The words burst out from him. Theo, please do not let her be ill.
Mairi weakly shook her head. Oh God, why this? Why? Just when she had decided to leave Damen, why this? Why now?
Damen demanded tautly, “Then what is it—-”
Cutting him off, Mairi whispered, “I’m pregnant.” The truth crashed down on her as she spoke the words out loud. Oh God, everything made sense now. Why she always felt overly emotional, needy, and insecure.
Damen’s jaw dropped. He stared at Mairi incomprehensively, his mind still trying to cope with her revelation. Mairi was pregnant?
His head jerked back to hers, Damen needing to see Mairi’s face so he could be sure he hadn’t just imagined her saying the words.
Mairi looked back at him, pale, quiet, and looking so terribly fragile that an aching sense of protectiveness surged up inside him.
“You’re pregnant.” The truth hit him as he said the words.
The tender smile that broke on Damen’s lips made Mairi whisper uncertainly, “You’re...not angry about it?”
His eyes widened. “Why the hell would I be angry about it?”
Because it might make Alina turn away from you.
The haunted look in Mairi’s gaze made him cup her face. “Look at me, sweetheart.” He sensed her reluctance to do so, and it made him even more determined to convince her of how happy he was with her news. When their gazes finally met, Damen said fiercely, “I’m ecstatic about us having a baby. If there’s something I can say or do to convince you how damn happy I am about this, tell me and I’ll do it. I’ll say it.”
Slowly, he placed a hand on her womb, and his entire body shook at the thought that right this moment, his child was resting in it, a miracle he and Mairi created. Lifting his gaze back to Mairi, he asked roughly, “Are you unhappy about this?”
She shook her head. “I’m...just as ecstatic.” Her voice wobbled at the last word.
“But something’s troubling you.” He waited for Mairi to speak, to tell him what was wrong. But she didn’t. And a moment after, the reason why came to him. He said dully, “It’s still him, isn’t it?”
Tears started to fall, leaving a wet trail on Mairi’s cheeks. Each teardrop was a bitter reminder of every instance he had hurt Mairi.
“ Theo , Mairi...” A painful laugh escaped Damen, the cynical part of him amused by the irony of how the tables had been turned. Once, he had despised all the trappings that came with love and marriage. Now, it was the other way around, Damen willing to sell his soul for a chance to make Mairi love him again.
He looked at his wife, his chest squeezing hard at the love that wanted to burst out of his heart. “Can’t you find it in yourself to give me one more chance?” His pride was in tatters, but he didn’t give a damn.
Mairi wept harder at the question. Oh God, if only he meant it. If only he had asked it without knowing they were about to have a baby.
Her silent rejection nearly drove him to his knees. “Can you at least...can you at least promise that you won’t leave me, Mairi? That you won’t take our baby away?” Damen knew he was begging, but he didn’t give a damn about it either. His entire future, his fucking life hinged on her answer, and he would do everything to ensure that Mairi never disappeared from his life again. One time of losing sight of her was more than enough. Going through it a second time would be a nightmare he would never survive.
Looking down at the large, strong hand resting on her belly, his touch possessive and tender, Mairi shakily laid her hand over his, tears falling faster as she whispered, “Yes.”
Her answer was bittersweet, and Damen said hollowly, “Because you pity me.”
More tears fell, so fast it was as if there was no way to stop them. Again, she whispered a lie to keep her heart from shattering. “Yes.”