The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract (28 page)

She mustered a fake smile and glanced at Cassia apologetically when the Senator asked her to dance.

Cassia instantly pitied her friend. There couldn’t be any girl who hated the male species more than her friend Isobel. She hated men and sworn herself off dating but her father, the President of the United States, was forcing her to.

“She’s here,” Alex told his friends.

Both Antonio and Nikos straightened and they quickly scanned the room. Their eyes locked on one specific woman. Cassia and Isobel were totally oblivious about the conversation between the three men and how three pairs of eyes were on them.

“It seems like Cassia knows your old flame,” Antonio told Alex as they watched Cassia and Isobel on the bar. He nodded quietly and continued to sip his drink.

“She’s grown more beautiful with the years. I still remember the two of you back in college,” Nikos commented. He was glad at being granted a reprieve from all the people who wanted to speak to him. Now he could kick back and enjoy the party with his friends.

Alex sighed and took another glass of champagne from a passing waiter.

“Too bad for me then that she thinks I’ve been the villain all along.”

“Then maybe it’s time you tell her the truth of what happened. It’s clear to me that you still want her even after all these years. You’ve not maintained a serious relationship since the two of you broke up.”

“Whoa there. Maybe it’s because of the fact that I’ve been in the military and then the mercenary business that’s why there’s no time for me to
chase
a relationship?” Alex snorted.

“Keep telling yourself that, buddy. It’s clear that you’re still smitten with her just like you were in college,” Nikos teased and Antonio nodded his agreement.

“Why don’t you just tell her the truth? Maybe she’d give you another chance.”

“It isn’t that easy. Besides, she hates my guts. But I promise you...I’ll get her back. I’ve just seen an offer for a job as her head of security. I think I’ll take it.” Alex’s grin was filled with so much mischief.

“I do not think I like that smile,” Nikos groaned.

“Of course. It’s clear that he’s plotting something,” Antonio agreed.

Alex just continued grinning.

“Please don’t do anything stupid,” Nikos pleaded.

Alex turned around and winked then he disappeared amongst the crowd. Antonio and Elise also made their way towards the dance floor and started dancing.

Nikos was left alone so he went in search of his wife. He found her with her friends, and excused them so they could also spend some time dancing.

“Enjoying your night?” Nikos asked her.

“Hmm...let’s see. During the brief time I was away from you, I’ve already been cornered by about three of your exes. It’s the usual thing, nothing serious,” Cassia told Nikos as they swayed to the slow melody.

“How did you handle yourself
, agapimeni
?”

“I handled myself well, I suppose. The days when they can put me down are so over.”

Nikos threw back his head and laughed.

“You’re priceless.”

“I am, so you better be sure that you understand my worth before I slip through your fingers.”

“Ahh...that already happened once,
glikiamou
. I won’t let it happen again,” Nikos vowed as he pulled her closer to his chest.

He knew the truth now and he would never let her go. A man was only given one shot at happiness when it came to a woman. He believed she was that shot for him.

Cassia laughed and the sound slid through him like silk.

“You better not be thinking about any of them. Because if you are, I’ll cut your balls out and feed them to you.”

Nikos raised an eyebrow. “My wife is pure evil,” he laughed.

“Nikos,” a familiar voice rasped.

Nikos turned around and saw his grandfather, Stavros Demakis.

“
Pappou
!” he greeted as he embraced his grandfather, “I didn’t know you would be here.”

“I really did not want to go, son. It’s just that I heard you were going here with your wife. I just had to see you for you haven’t visited me for a long time,” his grandfather said in a sad tone.

“I’m so sorry,
Pappou.
I’ve been very busy and a lot of things have happened.”

“We have to catch up about a lot of things. Shall we?” Stavros pointed to the bar.

Cassia noticed that Stavros Demakis was pointedly ignoring her.

“Go Nikos.” She smiled at them both.

Nikos reluctantly left her and went to the bar with his grandfather.

“So, how are you, son?”

“I’m fine. Excellent. And you?”

“Never better. Nikos, I’ll get straight to the point. I am here for a reason. I heard that you are spending time with your wife. Are you back together?”

“Yes. We are giving this marriage a try,” he replied dryly.

Why was his grandfather interested in his marriage all of a sudden?

“Nikos...it’s been ten years. You have worked very hard and the company is flourishing. Costas Andrade is now weak. He won’t be able to manage anything. That’s why he depends on you. You can now repay him every cent we owe. Here’s your chance to gain your life back.”

Nikos’ entire body stiffened after hearing his grandfather’s words.

“Pay Costas Andrade and divorce his granddaughter! I know how hard this was on you ten years ago. I am sorry that marriage to her was the only way. But you’ve suffered enough, Nikos. Now, you can reap the rewards of your hard work. You can divorce her and marry someone of your choosing.”

“Pappou—“

“Listen, Nikos. That girl isn’t for you. I know she’s like her grandfather. Now, you don’t have to stay with her. You don’t have to let your life be dictated by that piece of paper that’s your marriage contract. You can now be free.”

Nikos sighed and gulped down his drink.“
Pappou,
I know you want what’s best for me. Cassia is the best thing in my life. She wasn’t who I first thought her to be. All Costas Andrade told me when I married her were lies.  He made me believe the worst of her, made me think that she was greedy and wanted to divorce me so they’d get everything. Now that I’ve spent time with her, I’ve fallen in love.”

“Nikos—“

“
Pappou
...love is exactly as you told me it was. I remembered all your stories about
yiayia
.”

When Nikos was young, Stavros told him a lot about his
grandmother
, whom he loved so much. He taught Nikos a lot of things about love too.

“I can’t let her go now. She’s different. This is real,
Pappou
. I’m not dictated by that contract we signed anymore.”

“Do not make hasty decisions, son!”

“This is not a hasty decision. Believe me, I’ve thought about this a lot. This is our chance to be together and set everything right like we should have ten years ago.”

Stavros Demakis was silent for a long time.

“I cannot believe I am hearing these words from you, Nikos. Since what happened two years ago, you’ve changed a lot.”

“Well, kidnapping takes a lot out of you,” Nikos teased in an attempt to make the mood lighter. “Besides, she makes the nightmares go away,
Pappou.
When I’m with her, I dream of a future together. A
family
.”

Stavros’ eyes softened and he leaned back and whistled. “You’re a grown man and everything is up to you, son. I am proud that you are the kind of man that’s standing before me today. I only hope you are making the right decisions in life for I would hate to see you be hurt.”

“She won’t hurt me,
Pappou.
It was I who hurt her so much.”

“Well, make amends then. Get started on that family you’ve been dreaming about!  I am an old man, Nikos. I can’t wait forever for you to produce a great-grandson that I could bounce on my knee,” the old man told him with an excited smile.

Nikos threw back his head and laughed. “I will,
Pappou.
I will.”

Nikos returned to his wife who was dancing with Antonio as Elise danced with Alex. He also noticed that while Elise and Alex were dancing, Alex’s eyes darted towards Isobel who was dancing with one of the youngest Senators of the United States. He looked at both of them as if he wanted to wring their necks.

When the song ended, he approached them and reclaimed his wife. They danced while she laughed and told him all of Antonio’s stories about their antics when they were still in college. Nikos found himself laughing and shaking his head at all the embarrassing things he did in his youth.

Throughout the rest of the night, guests of the anniversary party watched with mixed amazement and curiosity how the previously estranged husband and wife laughed and danced close to each other. Surely, tomorrow this would be the headline in the society pages and not the ball itself.

Or maybe the headline will be about how a Mr. Alex Smith punched one of the Senators of the United States and dunked his head in a bowl of fruit punch...

January 18, 2013
Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic
Athens, Greece

Cassia stared at the pink walls as she waited for the result of the blood test that was done.

For the past week, she’d had nausea and she feared she was coming down with something. But she thought it was also something else. She prayed it was the latter.

Today, she finally had the courage to go to the local pharmacy after Nikos left for work. She bought five sets of pregnancy test kits. All five came back
positive
.

She felt like she’d won the lottery!

She wanted to jump up and down with joy but she feared it would jar her baby. So she just ran to her bed and screamed her glee against the pillows. Her joy lasted all through the morning.

But then she thought about the implications.

She was pregnant with Nikos’ baby!

Would he be happy about it? Was she ready for them to be a family? Would this affect their relationship?

Having a baby felt very final to her. She was confused about everything else but she was sure about one thing: she was going to keep her baby and raise it well. She did not care about the rest of the world. If Nikos didn’t want their child, then to hell with him. He was not needed in their lives.

Now, it was not a memory that she’d bring with her but a piece of him.

An hour later, she dragged herself out of bed and headed to the nearest clinic for her check-up. Her blood was drawn and so was a urine sample.

“Mrs. Demakis?” She was ushered inside the clinic and the doctor smiled.  “The results came back. Congratulations! You are pregnant. We’ll have to do an ultrasound to check how far along you are. Would that be all right?”

Cassia’s grin was wide and she nodded. She was asked to lie down a narrow examination table and cold gel was placed against her abdomen. The probe was placed against her belly and she began to see blurred images.

“There’s your baby. I would say you’re about six to eight weeks along. Everything looks fine but I will be giving you prenatal vitamins you’ll have to take every day. I’ll also give you a list of what to avoid and food you can eat during your pregnancy so your baby will be absolutely healthy.”

Cassia beamed. She felt as though she was floating on cloud nine. This was absolutely the happiest day in her life! Nothing could mar this perfect day!

The doctor gave her paper towels for her to clean off the gel and then went back to her desk and wrote down her prescriptions. She also printed out several copies of the ultrasound and handed it to her. Tears misted her eyes. It was her baby’s first picture!

She sat down and the doctor continued explaining several things regarding her pregnancy. After her prescription was filled out, she returned home with a smile on her face.

She just couldn’t wait to tell Nikos! She hoped that he would be happy about it. If not, then she definitely found her reason to leave him.

Her phone rang and she assumed it was Nikos.

“Hey! Guess what?” she blurted out.

“Cassia?”

It was not Nikos’ voice but Hector’s. In a snap, all her joy faded away.

“Hector? Where are you? Why haven’t you called? I haven’t heard anything in over a month!”

“I’m sorry, Cassia. We do not have time for this. I’ll tell you everything once we’re together. Meet me in Santorini. From there on, we’ll go to Germany. I have a friend there who can hide us. We’ll be safe. But we have to go now.”

“What? Hector, I can’t just leave like that! You don’t call me for a whole month and then you expect me to drop my life and run away with you?”

“Cassia. We do not have time for this,” he spoke slowly and emphasized every word.

“Make time, Hector. I am through being in the dark. I am done acting like your faithful lapdog and I am done with waiting for you.”

“Cassia, what brought this on?” he sighed heavily.

“The fact that I’ve been blinded for a long time, Hector. I thought you were perfect because you stayed with me for the longest time, but that wasn’t the case. Yes, you stayed physically but you were never there for me in any other aspect.”

“I am sorry for my shortcomings.  But I will make time for you now, Cassia. Run away with me and I’ll give you everything you want.”

She sighed as pain pierced her heart.

“Too late, Hector.”

There was silence for a long time wherein she only heard his heavy breathing.

“This is about him, isn’t it? You stupidly fell for Nikos Demakis again. He’s using you, Cassia! He’s using your kidnapping as an excuse to protect you, be with you then use you!”

“No. He cares about me, Hector. He’s changed. After I was kidnapped,
he
bothered calling me, sending flowers and letters to make sure I was okay. I haven’t heard anything from you! You do not care at all!”

Hector laughed.

“You’re as naive as ever, Cassia. You did not learn from your mistakes ten years ago.”

Something changed in Hector’s tone and he sounded so menacing that a shiver of dread slid down her spine.

“Stop this, please, Hector. We’ve been friends for ten years...we can still be friends.”

“No!” he growled. “What is it about Nikos Demakis that the world just seems to bow down to him? Why does he always get what he wants? I thought you were different, Cassia. It turns out you are like them after all...”

“Them? Who’s ‘them’, Hector? What are you saying?” she cried frantically.

“All the others. It’s not
fucking
fair!” he roared.

Hector Petrides flew into rage.

He remembered everything he ever experienced growing up as a bastard in the slums of Greece. He remembered how his mother died, begging for attention from his father. He remembered the tortures he had gone through trying to survive. He remembered how he vowed to make them all pay.

“You were the only one I’ve ever loved. I really thought you were different...At least tell me why, Cassia. Tell me why you choose him over me.”

“He’s there for me. He protects me. He makes me feel things I’ve never felt with you...he makes me happy! I’m really sorry, Hector.”

“That’s not enough reason for me. I know you’re hiding something. Tell me!” he bellowed.

Cassia sighed and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to lie to Hector especially when she hurt him so much already. But this was just it for them. She couldn’t run away with him now because of her baby. If she did, she’d just endanger both of them.

So she opted to tell him the truth directly.

“I think I love him and I am pregnant with his child!”

Hector felt like the world came crashing down on him.

He closed his eyes as pain washed over his body. It was followed swiftly by anger. Once more, Nikos Demakis took what was his, and his rival won. He always
fucking
won.

“This is the ultimate betrayal, Cassia.”

“I’m so sorry—“

“I’ve protected you from everything when I should’ve killed you from the start. It was because I thought you were different. Now, you and your bastard will die.”

“Hector, what?!” Cassia shouted but Hector already ended the call.

Fear spiked within her and she walked as fast as she could back towards her bodyguards. She also took several deep breaths to calm herself. Hector just said those things because he was mad. It was nothing to worry about.

But his tone was not one of mere anger. It was one of fury. It was so extreme that it was not something that was just born today. It felt like he’d harbored it for a long time and she could not control the feeling of dread and sense of impending doom that slid down her spine.

January 18, 2013
Unknown Island
Greece

“Boss, we have something interesting to report.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow and lifted himself from the marble countertop of the bar to look at his men. He dragged the bottle of vodka closer and drank. He was drunk and he was causing a scene but he did not care.

“And what would that be?”

“The men trailing Demakis’ wife reported that she bought pregnancy tests from the pharmacy this morning and then visited a doctor just this afternoon. We think she’s pregnant with Demakis’ child.”

Sebastian threw back his head and laughed. He kept on laughing until people were looking at him as though he’d gone crazy. He already knew that particular piece of information. But for their sakes, he pretended that it was the most wonderful news he’s ever heard.

“Excellent then. Get her and Demakis will pay us anything. Once we have the money, we kill her and let him watch the light fade from her eyes. Then we watch as he loses everything.”

Sebastian grinned after he smashed the now-empty bottle.

A week from now, he’d get revenge.

And everything would be over...

January 25, 2013
Antoniou Winery
Santorini, Greece

She was finally going to tell him.

Hell, it’d been a week but she was really going to do it. She was not going to back out now. Nikos truly had the right to know. Besides, seeing him with little Anton confirmed that he was great with kids and she had a feeling he would be a great father as well.

Besides, the time she spent with him had been nothing but bliss. It’d been an adventure and she was glad that she took that leap of faith and gave him a chance.

She finally had everything she wished for in life!

She wanted to be a designer and have a great career. She had that. Cassiopeia was as successful as ever.

She wanted friends who would never ridicule her because she was different or judge her by her social standing. There were Anna, Jenna, Arlene and Isobel.

Lastly, she wanted a family. Nikos was hers and now they had a child on the way.

Surely, nothing could be better than this!

Now, she was back in Santorini where everything began. This was where their wedding was held and in this particular room was where they first shared each other’s passion. For a week, Cassia planned everything down to the last detail. She wanted her announcement to be really special.

She went behind Nikos’ back to make everything perfect. His friends were all in on it but they were sworn to secrecy. Cassia planned on telling him over a romantic private dinner then there’d be a baby shower with all of their friends after.

Nikos was due to arrive here any moment now and her nerves were eating at her. She was even more nervous now than on her wedding day!

Suddenly the door opened and it made her heart stop.

Nikos strode into the room wearing a huge grin. He quickly went for her and kissed her until she was breathless.

“Is this a second honeymoon,
agape mou
? I love it. It’s brilliant!”

His eyes danced with mischief as he pulled her closer and began to kiss his way down her neck. Her knees almost buckled but she tried to be immune to his touch for once. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away gently.

“I was thinking we’d have dinner first.”

She glanced behind him and pointed at the table laden with food and candles at the balcony.

Nikos raised an eyebrow.

“I really like this day,” he whispered tenderly before he let her go.

Once they were seated, Cassia’s courage ran away and left her behind again. As she stared into Nikos’ green eyes, her mouth ran dry and her well-rehearsed speech vanished.

“Do you want to say something,
agapimeni
?” He looked at her with a puzzled but amused expression as he ate the salad appetizer.

Cassia, on the other hand, just pushed the food around her plate as she tried to find the words. She sighed.

“You can tell me anything, Cassia. Is this about your decision to stay?”

Shocked, she looked up, “Err...w-well...a bit about that.”

Nikos groaned, “Please don’t tell me you arranged all this just to tell me you’ll be leaving me.” His voice shook, giving away his fear. He reached for her hand and squeezed.

“No! It’s not about that!” she hurriedly comforted him.

“Then what is it?”

She took a deep breath.

“I’m pregnant.”

She handed him their baby’s first ultrasound picture.

His jaw dropped. His knife and fork fell to his plate with a clatter.

He appeared as though he was in a trance as he stood up, crossed the table and went to her. His eyes were fierce with emotion yet his face stayed the same. He just looked at her for a long time.

“Nikos? Say something please...say you don’t want this and I’ll go—“