Chapter Six #2
“I think so. He probably also guessed that she’d come to your rescue.” Mira rolled her eyes. “If he hadn’t taken such a bad turn, I think he’d have had it stipulated in writing. Sort of purchased you for his precious princess.”
He raised a brow, knowing that Mira was trying to get her own shots in. “And here I thought you were the sweetest Reddy sister, Mira.”
She shrugged. “You know better now.”
“I didn’t know what conditions you agreed on for this...fake marriage, but I hope you remember Nush gives of herself unconditionally. Doesn’t mean we all deserve it.”
“Is that a warning, Mira?”
“I’m trying to appeal to the better part of you.
Or maybe I know that I’m talking to a kindred soul.
You and I don’t know the weight of such.
..open trust and affection. Nor do we know how not to shatter it, Caio.
” Shadows swirled in her eyes. “If you care about her, at all, get this thing annulled as soon as possible.”
“That’s,” he said with a smile trying to take the bite out of his words, every instinct and rational thought revolting against the idea of annulment, “between Nush and me. No one else.”
Mira blinked. “She’s the best of us all, Caio. Don’t hurt her.”
“Where did she go, Mira?”
“Yana mentioned something about a new nightclub.”
And Caio knew who the nightclub belonged to.
He bit back a curse as fierce jealousy stormed through him.
Even as he knew Nush wouldn’t do anything to break their.
..what was it between them? An arrangement?
A deal? A bargain? And what did she get out of it?
All the benefits in this marriage were his.
And he didn’t like the imbalance of that. Didn’t like being in her debt one bit.
“How long are you planning for this fake marriage to last?” Mira asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“When are you going back to that husband of yours?” he taunted. “I hear he’s been like a wounded beast ever since you left him. And Aristos’s veneer of civility was thin enough to begin with.”
“Touché,” Mira said, as something like panic touched her eyes. “I... I’m going back tomorrow. To Athens. Wish me luck, won’t you?”
On a sudden impulse, Caio gathered Mira to himself and hugged her petite frame. She was stiff in his arms for a few seconds before she sank into his embrace. “You’ll be glad to know your estranged husband and you are on the same wavelength.”
“What?” she asked, eyes wide and bright at the mere mention of Aristos.
The stubborn Greek, who was as close a friend as Caio had had in the last decade, had won a point in his eyes when he’d arrived as soon as he’d heard of Rao’s death and supported Mira through the grief.
Granted, he’d only stayed for two days, but after nine months of his wife leaving him with no reason or note, as Aristos had shared after a couple of drinks, Caio had thought it showed what the man was made of.
“Apparently, he vehemently warned Nush against this marriage too.”
She laughed then, and Caio thought there was both joy and grief in the sound.
He squeezed her slender shoulders, realizing only in that moment how she and Yana had carved themselves a place in his cold, cold heart.
They’d fought with him, challenged him, forced him to earn a place in their family and then steadied him with the kind of trust and affection that he’d been parched for, ever since Papa had passed away and his loss had changed Mama into a shadow of herself.
But they’d never resented him for earning such a prominent place by Rao’s side in OneTech and that was generosity Rao and his wife had taught all three of their granddaughters.
Caio sent another heartfelt thanks to the man who’d saved him all those years ago.
Maybe Rao had succeeded at his mission to chip away at his bitterness to a small extent, he thought. Or stopped the poison from spreading further and turning Caio into a toxic man in the very shape and shadow of the man he loathed.
Maybe there was a future ahead of him outside of the revenge he’d planned for so long.
Or maybe he was buying into the romantic nonsense of today’s ceremony.
There was no way he could build ridiculous, far-fetched dreams around a woman who deserved better than him.
All he knew, all he planned for his future was destroying someone else.
“Will you tell Nush I said goodbye?” Mira said into the comfortable silence. “I’m leaving first thing in the morning. I don’t want her to think I abandoned her.”
Caio nodded. “I hope you know that you’re not alone, Mira, even if Rao’s gone. If you need anything—”
“Ahh...but you and I both know that in some aspects of life, we are alone, Caio. It’s written into our DNA.”
“What’s the point then?” he asked, feeling an intense vulnerability he hadn’t known still lingered.
“The point is that there’s always choices, Caio. I’m making a choice to return to Aristos, even though...” She sighed. With a familiarity that made him smile, she tapped his cheek with her fingers and smiled. “Let’s hope we don’t mess this up.”
Caio pressed a kiss to her head and left to find Nush.