Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129687 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Like now.
The door behind her opened, and when she glanced over her shoulder, Serenity and Stavros both grimaced upon seeing each other.
“I see your baby lioness has arrived to protect you,” Stavros murmured as he strode into the room. “She’s found out about my latest affair, hasn’t she?”
Serenity gasped. “How could you?”
Willow shook her head in amusement. “Stavros, you must stop teasing her. She’ll never—-” The rest of her words was cut off as her husband gave her an open-mouthed kiss as soon as he reached her side.
When he straightened, Serenity was furiously blushing, and so was his wife. “I hate you,” Willow grumbled. “You’re supposed to be conservative, you know.” But her violet eyes were full of love and desire as they rested on Stavros’ face.
“It’s just a kiss between husband and wife,” he said with sham innocence as he lowered himself to the chair next to her. “Even when I did have an affair.”
Serenity made a face. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” But she was still reprimanding herself for once again falling for the Greek billionaire’s prank.
Stretching his legs while holding his wife’s hand in his lap, he told Serenity, “You have a male visitor waiting for you downstairs.”
Willow’s head snapped in her friend’s direction. “A classmate?”
Serenity’s heart started beating hard. Surely, it couldn’t be...surely, it wasn’t—-
After throwing the younger girl an odd look, Stavros answered his wife, saying, “It’s Willem.”
Serenity paled. It was him.
Willow was squealing for joy, crowing to Serenity, “I told you he’d come running back and beg you to return to him.” But to her surprise, her friend started vehemently shaking her head.
“It’s n-not like that at all.” She chewed on her lip, her conscience wrestling with her desire for vengeance, which had grown to life the moment she heard Stavros’ name. Her fingers clenched and unclenched as she felt Willow’s curious gaze rest on her. She said haltingly, “I d-didn’t t-tell you everything about what happened.” Swallowing hard, she continued faintly, “He and I didn’t just have a fight over S-Shane. H-he made me think we were together, but then one night I saw him...” Her memories started beating her up like a punching bag, and she took quick, shallow breaths in an effort to control herself. “I saw him, Willow, coming out from my sister’s room.”
Willow bit back a cry, and she felt Stavros’ fingers tighten around hers, her husband knowing instinctively when to lend her his strength. She had experienced something like what Serenity had described with Stavros once, and the only reason she had been able to survive it was because she had known, even when she had heard the man she loved fucking another woman in the room next to her, Stavros had only done it because he thought he had betrayed her.
But this, with Serenity and her Dutch billionaire, was different.
“Serenity, I’m sorry,” she whispered helplessly.
Serenity quickly wiped her eyes. “It’s alright. He never did tell me—-” Her voice caught. “He never did tell me he loved me.” She gulped back a sob. “But he...he made me believe I was the only one. He k-knew I thought I was s-special, when I was...not.”
WILLEM CAME TO HIS feet as soon as the door to the private living room opened. But instead of Serenity, it was the house’s owner himself who had come to meet him, and he was not entirely surprised by this.
“Willem.”
“Stavros.”
Their handshake was brief, and the Greek billionaire’s eyes were noticeably cool as they met Willem’s gaze.
“I had not thought our next meeting would be under such circumstances.” Stavros’ tone was grim.
He knew then. Willem was not sure how much Stavros knew of his situation with Serenity, but he could see that his friend knew enough to view him with distrust and disapproval. He said with quiet honesty, “I was a fool.”
Stavros didn’t answer right away. Instead, he gazed at his friend for a long time, and Willem met his gaze straight on, hiding nothing. Stavros inhaled heavily. Pain and regret were all he saw, but even so, he could not make himself forget Serenity’s admission.
“How could you have done something like that to her?” he demanded under his breath. “She’s just nineteen, for heaven’s sake.”
A muscle started ticking in Willem’s jaw. “I know that. Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I’ve never considered that it might be better to leave her alone and let her lead her life—-”
“Then why don’t you?” Stavros charged.
“Because I owe it to her to try,” Willem snapped. Even this very second, even without closing his eyes, he still saw her on the floor. He still heard her begging for him—-
Please.
Please wait.
Please.
The memories ripped his heart, but the knowledge that Serenity had to be suffering even more was what killed him and brought Willem all the way to Greece.
“She deserves to have me crawling on my knees,” he said tautly. “Even if nothing comes out of it, I owe this to her.”