Total pages in book: 247
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 234281 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1171(@200wpm)___ 937(@250wpm)___ 781(@300wpm)
“That’s it,” Norah said grimly. “I’m calling the nurse.”
“No, Aunt Norah, I’m...” She bit her lip hard when another bolt of pain hit her head. Oh God, she was so disoriented, so dizzy. She felt like she was forgetting something important, something she had to do, but the pain was too much.
When the nurse came close, what she was holding made Mairi shake her head, which only worsened the throbbing of her temples. “Don’t need that. Please...” She needed to keep her senses about her.
But it was no use. She was so weak, and the nurse’s hold was strong and firm as she kept Mairi still before injecting her.
Mairi gasped as the needle pierced her skin.
“That will calm her down and help her sleep through the night,” she drowsily heard the nurse telling Norah.
Norah said something in return, but it was too low for Mairi to hear.
Her head tossed and turned on her pillow. There was something she had to remember, something she had to do urgently before it was too late. She tried so hard to recall it, but sleep stole over her in a matter of minutes, and all was peaceful again.
It was the fourth day of her confinement when Mairi became lucid enough to piece the memories of the past few days together.
She had gone into shock after seeing Damen beaten. And when she had gotten over it, she had become hysterical, demanding that she be allowed to see Damen. But Drake’s guards had not allowed it, causing Mairi to have a nervous breakdown that required her to be hospitalized.
But now she was better and her mind was clear. Mairi knew what she had to do.
MAIRI, COME BACK.
I am back.
Please come back.
I am here.
Please don’t leave me.
I won’t ever leave you again.
But still Damen begged, a part of him knowing it was all a dream and that when he woke up, she would still be gone from his side.
“Damen,” a voice whispered.
It couldn’t be.
He forced his swollen eyes to open.
It was her.
It was Mairi.
She was here.
Damen forced his mind to work even though he knew he was still feeling woozy, one of the expected aftereffects of his medication. He carefully took note of her appearance, and he frowned when he realized that she wore a hospital gown under her trench coat, one that was too large for her.
“You were in the hospital?” he demanded in a scratchy tone. It hurt to speak but he needed to ask, needed to make sure that nothing bad had happened to her while he had been convalescing.
She nodded, her eyes luminous with tears.
“Why?”
Her smile was as wobbly as her voice when she answered, “Nervous breakdown.”
It took him more than a moment to understand. He asked hoarsely, “Because of me?”
She lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze as she whispered, “Because of you.”
And at that moment, Mairi knew there was no point hiding from the truth.
Damen Leventis was like a sickness she couldn’t control, an obsession she didn’t want to be free from. It didn’t matter that he had betrayed her with Alina Kokinos, didn’t matter if the whole world thought she was the greatest fool for coming back to him. She would stay with him for as long as he needed her by his side.
She would love him forever, and her love would probably grow with every second she spent with him, but he didn’t have to know. He should never know because that was the only way to survive if the day ever came that he no longer had a need for her.
He whispered painfully, “Mairi, look at me.”
Slowly, she obeyed his command.
Damen sucked in his breath at the shuttered look in her eyes. They were no longer mirrors to her soul, and he wondered bleakly if it was because there was something she had to hide from him.
“I’m no longer a billionaire.”
Her lips quirked, but her voice was soft with hurt – for him – when she answered simply, “I know.”
“And yet you’re here.”
“I’m here.”
Damen looked into her eyes, wishing they would change. But they didn’t. More time passed, which he needed so he could prepare himself for what he was about to ask. He inhaled deeply, telling himself that whatever she said, it would not change a thing. He would always love her.
“Mairi.”
“Yes?”
“Are you here with me out of pity?”
There was no hesitation when she answered simply, softly, “Yes.”
Part V
The Art of Wedding a Greek Billionaire
Mairi
Chapter 1
EIGHT DAYS AGO
Mairi Tanner was escaping. She knew tonight was the only chance she would ever get. Drake was gone, and only one of his security personnel remained, posted outside the door to her room. But he wasn’t going to be a problem.
Earlier, the nurse had given Mairi sleeping pills, which she promptly pretended to swallow. In reality, though, she had only kept them under her tongue. The moment the nurse had left, she had taken them out of her mouth and crushed them in an ice cold glass of lemonade. It had been served with her dinner, but she had opted to drink straight from the tap, knowing she would need the lemonade for her plan.