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)
The thought made Mairi ashamed of her weakness, and she bit her lip harder, willing herself to get over it. Be strong. Be strong. Be strong. She had to be strong for Damen and for all the people who were silly enough to love her.
The roaring of the jet’s descent cued her to taking deep breaths.
Please God, please make me strong.
“We’re here.”
Damen’s quiet words made her look at him. His face was grim and it struck her then, and she felt even more ashamed at how she had momentarily allowed herself to wallow in her selfish self-pity. It wasn’t only her life that had been turned upside-down.
The last time Damen Leventis had been in his homeland, he had been a Greek billionaire, running his own business empire and flying in his own private jet.
Now, he only had...her.
Damen was bemused when Mairi suddenly held his hand and squeezed it hard. When their eyes met, she gave him a determined smile. “We can do this.”
His chest constricted at his wife’s battle-ready expression. A five-foot former schoolteacher was ready to fight one of the world’s richest women and a power-hungry shipping magnate for him. God, how he loved her. He knew then that he would never deserve her, but he would try his damnedest to at least get close to being worthy of Mairi’s selfless devotion.
And maybe, maybe if he tried hard enough, maybe one day she would learn to love him again.
As the jet’s door opened and slowly revealed them to the public, the media’s first shot of the newlywed couple was of Damen and Mairi Leventis holding hands.
Damen drew Mairi close to him protectively, doing his best to shield her from the blinding glare of cameras that photographers managed to shove at their faces despite the security team that Stavros and Ioniko had sent in preparation of their arrival. It was a bitter pill for Damen to swallow, asking help from other people, but for Mairi he would do anything.
Mairi did her best to keep her smile in place as Damen forged a way through the crowd to the car waiting for them. Just when she was beginning to believe they would make it, one of the paparazzi shouted, “Is it true he and Alina Kokinos lived under one roof while you were gone?”
The question threw Mairi back to that awful day she had met Alina, the same woman Damen once called a “real lady”, and the other woman had revealed to her what had been happening while Mairi had been away.
“Damen and I have been sharing a bed, too...”
Mairi stumbled.
Cameras exploded into action, every lens able to capture the heartbreaking pain flashing on Mairi’s face.
Damen caught her before she fell completely, and this time his arm went around her waist like an anchor.
Mairi’s distressed look had Damen whitening because he knew – he fucking knew the exact reason why Mairi was looking like that. He started to speak, but the words burned into nothing when Mairi shook her head.
Teeth clenching, he held nothing back this time, aggressively making his way to the car and only allowing himself to breathe when he had Mairi stowed safely inside Ioniko’s limousine. As the door closed behind them, he began, “Mairi——”
She forced a smile. “I’m okay. It’s the past.”
“Let me explain—-”
“You don’t have to.” Looking down, Mairi whispered, “It’s not as if I didn’t do the same thing.” She waited for Damen to speak after that, but he did not. When she made herself look at him, Damen was gazing outside the window, his face hard, his body tense.
Mairi’s fingers dug into her palms. She had a foolish urge to take the words back, but she didn’t. It didn’t matter if she had completely crossed the line or not. She had given Drake the right to touch her, and she would forever regret that.
Damen struggled to keep his emotions in check, a near impossibility when he felt so fucking strongly. He would always feel strongly about Mairi, but more so when he was reminded that his cruelty and idiocy had pushed her into the arms of another man.
By the time the car had reached his house – the one property Esther couldn’t touch since it wasn’t tied to his corporate assets – Damen resolved to clear the air with Mairi. He had to make her understand that he would never blame her for what had happened. Maybe this was also the time he would tell her that he would never give her up to Drake Morrison either.
The chauffeur opened their door, and Damen stepped out first to assist his wife. When they turned around, it was only then they noticed the man waiting at the front door. He was dressed in a light brown suit, which coincidentally was the perfect complement to Mairi’s own beige pantsuit.