Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
And then she heard him say in English, “I love you.”
Ah.
“I love you, Pollyanna.”
So unfair, Kyr. You’re so unfair.
“Je t’aime.” And her French accent went to hell as she whispered brokenly, “Too much. I love you too much. If I didn’t, maybe I could forgive you easily. If I didn’t love you too much, maybe I wouldn’t...” She hugged Leo tightly to her. “I see you with our children, being the perfect father, and Kyr...I realize I’m no longer myself. I look at them and I almost wish the children weren’t there—-”
Kyr whitened.
Ah, God.
She was so damn weak.
Pollyanna hid her face behind Leo’s wriggling body. “I see you with them now, Kyr, and I can’t stop thinking...would you have stayed eight years with me...if not for them?”
Chapter Five
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Gazis. My name is Helen, and I’ve been asked to work as your secretary.”
And just like that, she had her first employee, Pollyanna thought, more than a little overwhelmed. But conscious of the flicker of worry in the younger woman’s eyes, she managed a smile and offered her hand, saying, “I’m glad to meet you, Helen, and please call me Polly.”
Helen’s smile was relieved. “Ms. Polly it is then,” she said cheerfully, shaking Polly’s hand. Releasing it, she gestured towards the building in front of them. “If I may start the tour, Ms. Polly?”
She nodded.
And the tour began.
Their first stop was at the penthouse of the recently renovated Gazis hotel, which was where her corner office would be located. “While your firm is not part of Gazis Inc., it is an affiliate and having an office here shall serve as an essential assurance of your firm’s ties with your husband’s business. This office is an ideal place to meet with future and existing suppliers and companies that you plan to work with.”
Heading back to the resort, Helen continued, “Your second office, Ms. Polly, is located at the resort’s lobby. It will serve as a storefront of sorts for your company, and it is ideal for meeting with walk-in clients. While you have full discretion on how to conduct your company, a supervisor will also be assigned to us, and his main task is to ensure that our work is up to the standards for any Gazis affiliate. You have also been granted full authority and access over the resort’s staff and resources, but the company shall be expected to pay a fixed amount every month for leasing the space.”
Helen paused, and her voice was uncertain when she asked, “Do you have any questions, Ms. Polly?”
She shook her head faintly. “None at all.” Maybe another woman would have questioned the conditions that Kyr had set, but for Pollyanna, they were uncannily...perfect.
For her children’s sake, she had swallowed her pride and accepted Kyr’s offer of help. But there was also such a thing as too much, and she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to bear it if her company’s success had been spoon-fed to her.
In truth, she had expected and feared that, but instead Kyr seemed to have known exactly what she needed. He had taken a step back on the aspects that she needed to figure out on her own, but he had also interceded on the aspects she knew she would need help with.
It was almost perfect.
It would have been perfect, she thought numbly, if this had happened years ago.
But now, it felt like a little too late.
When she got home, it was already nine in the evening, and all her children were out for the count. Even so, she went to each of their rooms, pressing soft kisses to their foreheads. The twins looked tired but happy, and she smiled ruefully, remembering how they had pleaded with her and Kyr to be allowed to meet with their friends after their poolside lunch.
Going back to her room, she took a quick shower and changed into her pajamas. As she stepped out of the bath, the main door of the master’s bedroom opened, and Kyr walked in.
She stilled.
Kyr slowly closed the door behind him.
Breathe, Polly. Breathe. But she had to tear her gaze away from her husband in order to do so.
“Have you been home for long?”
“No.” She forced her limbs to move, careful not to meet his eyes as she took a seat in front of the vanity. She had promised herself that while they were living under one roof, she wouldn’t let her children see their parents sleeping in separate rooms.
But could she really do that, she wondered uneasily.
Because right now, if she had to make that promise again, she didn’t think she could do it. Right now, it just felt too...soon. It felt...too wrong. And, more than anything else, being this close to him...hurt.
Her heart started to ache, and fumbling for her comb, she quickly ran it through her still-wet locks, wanting to distract herself.