The Art of Forgiving a Greek Billionaire (8 page)

She deserved to be thrown out because she was not one of them.

Mairi tried to block the more painful memories from her mind, but it was impossible. Being sent to jail had been excruciating, but it had been nothing compared to hearing the man she loved – the one man she had always dreamt she’d fall in love with – speak to her like she
dirtied
his life.

 
“Please, Damen—”

“I can’t believe I chose you over a real lady like Alina.”

It was just a memory, but with the “real lady” now sitting next to her, making Mairi once again feel like a cheap slut, it was just too much. She wanted to shut the world away, wanted to go back to the past and stay there with her innocence intact, her dreams unbroken.

Alina looked at her with the same eyes as all those onlookers had gazed at her that painfully unforgettable night. Alina made her feel the same way Damen had made her feel, like she
was
a cheap slut to ever think she meant more to him than just a body to warm a Greek billionaire’s bed.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” Mairi whispered. All thoughts of being strong had disappeared, an unstoppable sea of guilt washing them away. “I just wanted to prove to myself I don’t belong to him.”

The other girl sounded like she was about to break down, but Alina told herself it couldn’t be true. How could Mairi be affected when she had managed to get in bed with another man while Damen Leventis’ whole world consisted of Mairi alone?

“You think too highly of yourself,” Alina heard herself spit out, “if you think you could belong to someone like him.” She wanted to hurt Mairi the way she had seen Damen had hurt in all the days she had lived with him.
 

Damen Leventis had put this girl on a pedestal, but she didn’t deserve to be there, and Alina would make sure to drag her down even if it was the last thing she did.

“You don’t understand—”

“Don’t bother explaining.”

Mairi stopped, the arrogant tone in Alina Kokinos’ voice making her flinch. It was déjà vu of the worst kind, the way it reminded her of how she had begged another Greek’s understanding.

“You have nothing to be guilty about either. Damen and I have been sharing a bed, too. Only, he has been racked with guilt the whole time, unable to commit to me because he feels guilty about what he has done to you.”

~ Ten ~

Damen Leventis’ face completely lost all color as he sat upright in his seat, his gaze arrested by the news on TV.
 

Mairi was here.

Mairi was here.

Mairi was here.

A man Damen did not recognize at all had been the first to step out of the car that slowed down in front of the Tanner home. He then held out a hand and a moment later, he was assisting Mairi out. She looked beautiful, dressed simply in a dark red blouse and slacks. A little pale, but she certainly looked better than Damen did, slimmer but stronger.

He could not breathe at the sheer joy and relief that hit him at seeing her again, the feelings so strong it almost brought Damen to his knees.

She was okay.

She was alive.

A second later, he was striding out of his hotel room. Damen didn’t care what he had to do. All he knew was that he would do whatever it took to see Mairi.

****

Dinner was a silent and tense affair in the Tanner home, with both Mairi’s aunts acting strange and almost nervous. They had welcomed her warmly and that was to be expected, but Mairi had also seen the slightest bit of dismay in their gazes. It was as if they wished she hadn’t come home – or at least, not right now.

When they retired to the living room to enjoy coffee, the same uncomfortable atmosphere remained, with Vilma and Norah occasionally looking and frowning at each other as if they were having a silent argument. Someone knocked on their front door, and Norah and Vilma both stiffened.

Mairi finally asked, “What’s bothering you two?”

Surprisingly, it was Drake who answered her. She had been doing her best to ignore him, but it was difficult with the way he made her feel so self-conscious. She knew it was deliberate on his part. She wasn’t stupid. Drake truly did want her, but he did
not
love her and he wouldn’t care that she didn’t love him either. What she couldn’t figure out was why he was playing the lover card to the hilt, using everything in his undoubtedly extensive sexual repertoire to make Mairi feel hyperaware of his desire for her body.
 

“They are worried about you.”

She forced herself to say lightly, “I admit I’m not back to my normal self, but I’m not suicidal.”

“That is extremely good to hear,” Drake said in his now-familiar bland voice, “because your former fiancé is the one knocking on your front door.”

Mairi paled. “Tell me that’s just a bad joke.”

“It’s not. I posted a few guards outside, and one just texted me about Damen’s impending arrival five minutes ago.”

“And you didn’t stop him?”

He said evenly, “No. I did not stop him. That’s not my call.”

She didn’t know what to think. She looked at her aunts, unconsciously seeking their help, but they were just as stoic, as if all three had come to a consensus without her and their unilateral decision was to let her sink or swim.
 

Mairi’s fingers curled into fists on her lap. She was shaking badly, and her voice shook even harder as she admitted in a whisper, “I don’t think I’m ready to see him.” This morning, Mairi had been sure she was strong enough to look into Damen Leventis’ eyes and tell him she no longer wanted him in her life. But now? Not so much. Not when his betrayal cut her so deeply she didn’t think she’d ever be whole again.

Drake had touched her. She had let another man touch her, and she wanted to die because of it.

But Damen?

Damen had been sleeping with the woman he had once been betrothed to for five years, and no matter what Alina had said, Mairi didn’t believe he could have felt as torn up about it as she felt about her own actions.
 

If he had…

If he had, then he would never have been able to take Alina to his bed.

The look on Mairi’s face gutted Drake, but he was able to keep himself indifferent. It was one of the blessings and curses of having gone to war, the ability to neutralize all emotions and view everything in black and white.

“It doesn’t matter if you are ready to see him or not. He is here, and now you must make your choice. Do you want him back?”

She didn’t answer.

Unfortunately for Mairi, he wasn’t inclined to wait forever for one. It would do no one any favors if he did. He stood up and walked towards the front door. “Do you want to do this inside or outside?”

Mairi stiffened. “Drake, I don’t…”

He made his voice colder and harder. “Inside or outside, Mairi?”

She squeezed her eyes shut.
If only
, she thought numbly.
If only she could wish the world away
. How pathetic she had become, but the pain that kept stabbing her heart made it difficult for Mairi to remember that she was better off than others.
 

Other people lost the ones they loved to death. Other people lost the ones they loved to war, to slavery, to prison.

She had not lost anything or anyone – she had only lost her heart.

Drake spoke again. “Make your decision or I’ll make it for you. Either way, you need to settle this now.”

Mairi forced herself to open her eyes. “Outside.” Her voice was thin. “I don’t want Damen Leventis taking one step inside my home.”

~ Eleven ~

All breath was knocked out of Damen when the door opened and the stranger he saw on television stepped out…and he was holding Mairi’s hand.

As the door closed behind them silently, the man escorted Mairi to the other side of the brightly lit porch. Light from all corners beamed down, allowing Damen to see her completely even as rain and the heavy darkness of a moon-less night shrouded them.

Mairi unconsciously held on more tightly to Drake as she found the guts to meet Damen Leventis’ gaze. He had changed so much. His beauty did always have a cruel feel to it, but now the thinness of his face made that cruelty blatant. There was something different about him, something subtle but important, and yet she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

Did he seem less arrogant? But how could that be? This was Damen Leventis, the Greek billionaire who had it all. The one man she had ever loved, the one man whom she had given the power to hurt her. Again and again.

“Mairi.”

Damen’s voice made her inhale hard. It was a voice that she hoped to never hear again. But she had, and that voice alone made every despicable and humiliating memory of their last time together come back.

“Get out of my fucking house, you gold-digging bitch.”

“I can’t believe I chose you over a real lady like Alina.”

“Go back to Manolis, he can have my leftovers.”

“I had you in every way.”

“I’m sorry, Mairi.” The words sounded like they were ripped out of him. And that was fine, really, since hearing those words made her feel like he was trying to rip her heart into pieces once more.
 
With those words, Mairi knew three things.

She still loved him.

She would always love Damen Leventis.

But she could never go back to him because this soon, he was already destroying her.

For a moment, the whole world failed to register in Damen’s consciousness. In that single moment all that existed was Mairi, the woman he had hurt over and over to his everlasting regret – and the woman he knew he would never stop loving.

She had changed into more casual clothes, wearing an oversized college sweater and denim shorts. Her hair was tied up, but several locks of hair had again escaped its hold, framing her delicate face. Her eyes were large and luminous as they slowly met Damen’s, with too many emotions for Damen to read. But the rest of her face was expressionless, and he could only rely on the tense posture of her body to gauge her mood.

He also noted that she was gripping the stranger’s hand rather tightly, and the sight of those entwined fingers was like a dart dipped in acid striking Damen’s heart.
 

No.

He wanted to roar his denial and protest.

Mairi could not…

Mairi would not…

He didn’t want to believe it.

But then the stranger moved again, pulling Mairi close to his side, his fingers unclasping from Mairi’s to curve around her waist. His hand rested on her hip, fingers splayed on her skin as if branding her.

Denial turned into a terrible sense of dread inside Damen as he waited for Mairi to move away, to stop another man from touching her like this, but with each second that passed, Damen’s hopes began to crumble.

The stranger pulled Mairi closer to him, and this time the side of her breasts pressed against the side of his chest.

And yet Mairi did not say a word, did not move an inch, did not give Damen anything to cling to so that he could believe he had not completely lost her.

Finally, he dragged his gaze away from where Mairi’s body was connected with another man. Finally, Damen found the strength to look into her eyes, those wondrously expressive eyes that could never lie to him.

And in those eyes, he saw the truth.
 

Mairi had given herself to another man.

No. No. No.
He wanted to deny the reality he saw in Mairi’s eyes, but he had never been one to lie to himself. He had a feeling he would never want to sleep again. If he did, he was damn sure he would have nightmares about this, and there would come a day when the pain would eat him alive and he would never wake again.

He did not think he would even dare close his eyes.
 

If he did—

If he did—

Goddammit, if he did, his sick and twisted mind would not have any difficulty picturing Mairi, his lovely Mairi, in another man’s bed. Her naked form, once a sight that was exclusively his, being feasted upon by another man’s hungry eyes. Her generous curves, once familiar only with his touch, being caressed by another man’s hands. Her silken limbs, those gorgeous long legs of hers, wrapped around another man’s hips, her tender and sensitive flesh that had only ever known his cock welcoming another man’s possession—