A Fling with the Greek Billionaire (22 page)

Daria couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But you know that’s empty—”

Nik opened the door for her. “Go.”

She shook her head wildly. “Didn’t you hear me?” Her voice shook. “I said it’s empty! You know I was pretending!”

But Nik only looked at her with expressionless dark eyes.
 

It was over, it was really over,
she thought.

But she couldn’t make herself accept it.

“Nik, please.” And before she knew it, she was saying the words that she knew she should
never
say. “Nik, I love—”

Hatred blazed in his eyes. “If I want someone to love me,” he snarled, “I have a fucking fiancée to do that. So get it in your head – you’re just a cunt, and I don’t even want that now so will you fucking GO before I get security to toss you out?”

There was no gracious way out now. The only gracious thing she could do was
not
to cry. She walked past Nik and all she could think of was she shouldn’t cry because even now, even after all he had done and said, she still didn’t think she deserved to cry.

She heard Nik slam the door shut behind her.
Don’t cry.

She felt everyone’s eyes on her and knew that they all heard Nik’s last words.
Don’t cry.

She chose the fire exit over the elevator, and as she ran down flight after flight of stairs, all she could think about was how she deserved this. She loved to flirt, and that was bad. She fell in love too quickly, and that was bad. She lied to Nik out of fear, and that was bad.
 

She was bad, so she didn’t deserve to cry.

She reached the lobby, only realizing then that she didn’t have anything on her. She called collect to Yanna, knowing it would be useless to call Magnolia. “Yanna, it’s me.”
 

“What’s wrong?” Yanna asked immediately.
 

It was a voice of concern, a voice of someone who worried over her and didn’t care if other people thought she was stupid for having someone like Daria as a friend.

Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

“C-can you help me get back home?”

PART THREE

Chapter One

Nik was lost. It was a foolishly emotional word to describe his state, but he knew there was no other word to use. He
was
lost. He knew it, but he didn’t know how to stop being lost.

It had been three months since he had tossed Daria out. He had, without admitting to himself, scoured the news for hints about what she was doing. Even opened damn Facebook and Instagram accounts to stalk her. But still he learned nothing, Daria’s own accounts dormant in the same three months they had been apart.

This will pass. He had done the right thing,
Nik told himself. And this time, he knew there would be no one like Miranda who would force Daria back into his life.

It was over, and it was only right that it was over.

He returned to his office at midnight. He had a private suite connected to it, and it had been his home in the past few weeks. His actual home felt too vast these days. Too damn empty. They just made him fucking brood longer.

He saw he had a voice message waiting for him from a number he didn’t recognize.

“Hey, Nik. This is Alyx.”

Nik stiffened. It was Daria’s friend.

“If you think this is to let you know how Daria’s doing or where she is right now, fat luck,
dumbass.
I’m calling because I want you to know you’re a fucking idiot. And fucking clueless. You’re so fucking scared to let yourself feel the slightest thing that it’s not even funny. Daria must think she’s fucking a robot when she’s with you. A
dumbass
robot.

“I don’t give a damn what made you be the way you are – Daria tells me you’ve got your reasons. Yeah, well, you know how ignorance is no excuse for violating laws? Ignorance isn’t any excuse for BREAKING MY FRIEND’S HEART EITHER.”
 

Nik almost winced at the volume of Alyx’s furious shriek.

“Dumbass!”

He literally heard Alyx cracking her knuckles through the voice message, knew she was probably imagining punching him in the face as she spoke.

“You’re so fucking dumb. You only have to spend one day with her to know she’s real.
Dumbass.
You go to all those TWENTY-EIGHT MEN you think fucked her before you and you go make them tell the truth. Daria says you’re not a dumbass like I think you are, so prove it. Go do what you should do and make them talk. Make them tell the truth.
Dumbass.
”

A pause.

“Daria doesn’t know I called you, but if you’re the dumbass I think you are, you probably won’t believe me. I don’t give a damn. Your loss.
Dumbass.
”

****

“This is it, sir.” The Rolls Royce slid to a smooth stop, allowing Nik to study the charming two-story apartment he had come to find. A full minute passed before he made the decision to leave the car and knock on the front door.

A teenage girl opened the door for him, her eyes widening in recognition upon seeing Nik.

He had never seen her before, but he knew who she was. “You must be Iolanthe’s sister, Leah.” He took out his phone and showed it to her.

Leah smiled grudgingly when she saw the panda bumper. “You used it.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you thank you for it.”

She shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s not much, considering what you do for us.” She was tall and lanky unlike her sister, and extremely guarded, also unlike Iolanthe. “Come in. She’s…resting.”

He ignored the way her voice suddenly caught, knowing that it would only offend the girl’s pride if he asked what was wrong. A pointless question, too, since he already knew what was wrong.

Iolanthe’s face broke into a smile of surprised pleasure when he entered her bedroom. “Nik,” she breathed. “What are you doing here?”

She hadn’t aged over the years, but there was a frailness about her that made his chest hurt. She might not be dying of cancer
now,
but anyone only had to look at her to know it was just a question of when.

Leah had a fierce look in her eyes, and he knew she was ready to kick him out if he said anything about Iolanthe’s appearance the wrong way.

Taking the chair next to Io’s bed, Nik began talking. He remembered her telling him once that she liked hearing him talk. It sounded insane to him, but he figured he should give it a shot now.

He told her about his life, about Miranda – he told her everything except about Daria. She laughed and gasped at times, but every time she did, she looked more tired after.
 

He stopped an hour later, only because he had seen Iolanthe’s eyelids drift close. She was sleeping.

His eyes met Leah’s. She was seated on the opposite side of the bed, a militant look on her face.
A fighter,
he thought. She really was the opposite of Iolanthe in every way.

“She’s getting better every day,” Leah told him fiercely.

He wondered if she knew how desperate she sounded. “I’m glad to hear that,” he said quietly. “Whatever you need, just tell me.” He asked for her phone, and he input his private number in it. “I’ll be the one to answer you directly.”

The hope shining in Leah’s eyes only made Nik feel more of a bastard. He could have done this earlier – could have helped this child and not let her handle everything on her own if not for his stubborn unwillingness to become involved with anyone.

After securing his promise to join them for dinner, Leah left the room, and Nik said quietly, “You can stop pretending now.” He had noticed Iolanthe’s breathing pattern change a minute ago.

Her eyes slowly drifted open. “Why am I even surprised you know I was faking it?” Her voice was so faint Nik had to strain to hear her.

When Nik didn’t answer her, she said worriedly, “What is it?”

That she could be concerned, even in the state she was in –
how could she never fear doing this,
Nik wondered tautly. How could Io always put everyone before her even when other people constantly repaid her with pain?

“I wouldn’t blame you if you hate me right now,” he said grimly. “You
should
hate me.”
 

Io only smiled. “Leah used to. She saw me crying over you so many times, you see. But she forgave you when you paid for all this.”

He shook his head. “It’s not enough.” He met her eyes. “I’m sorry, Iolanthe.”

Her face softened even more. “Nik, there’s nothing to be sorry about.” She paused, the words visibly tiring her. “It’s not…your fault you didn’t love me. You
tried—”

Nik was incredulous. “Are you kidding me? I practically threw you out. I—”

“
You did.
” Her voice was faint but emphatic. “The whole time you didn’t fire me,
you…tried
.”

“You’re too damn nice,” was all he said.

Io lifted one hand up, her movement slow and weak. She patted his face. “You’re too hard…on yourself.” Her eyes were bright with tears. “Those were some of the…
best days
…of my life. You were my…
greatest infatuation.
I’ll never…
regret
.” She spoke with such feeling Nik was both humbled by it as well as gutted, realizing it also meant that he had hurt her so damn much when he had cut her out of his life without a single word of explanation.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

She patted his face again. “You found her…right? You wouldn’t have come here…if you hadn’t.” Sadness tinged her smile. “But…you lost her, too?”

Nik shrugged, an expressionless mask falling over his face. “You’re still as talkative as ever.”

“Get…her…back.” She bit her lip. “And…Nik?”

He frowned at the way her voice suddenly trembled. “What’s wrong? Do you want me to call—”

“
Nik.
”

He stopped speaking.

“Take care of…Leah…when I’m gone?”

He could see it in her eyes that a part of her was terrified he would say no, terrified that he was still the old Nik and unwilling to let anyone inside his heart.

His voice was as fierce as Leah’s when he answered. “You won’t be gone.”

She choked on a laugh, but it was followed by a violent bout of coughing. When she looked at him again, she had tears running down her face. “Still a bad liar,” she whispered, but she was also smiling.

“And like I said, you still talk too much.”

“Promise me, Nik. Please.”

He nodded. He didn’t want to say it, knew he might as well say he believed she’d die anytime if he did.

Her smile widened. “T-thank you. And I promise…I’ll stick around long enough to meet her.”

Chapter Two

Miranda looked completely different from the last time Nik had seen her. She was on her feet, for one thing, and gone was the desperate hope in her eyes.
 

Today, she was the Miranda he had first met – beautiful, confident, and composed. Only this time he knew she was as human as the rest of them.

“Thank you for coming to meet me at such late notice.” Miranda handed the keys of her office to him. “And I will keep my promise, no hysterics today.”

He acknowledged her quip with a brief smile, but his voice was serious as he said, “You know it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Miranda shook her head. An ironic smile curved on her lips as she said candidly, “You know, I think that’s the whole problem with you. You’re too nice without meaning to. You can’t be so nice and
not
expect a woman to fall in love with you, Nik.”

Nik didn’t answer, simply because he didn’t know what to say. He had never thought himself nice and he hadn’t ever gone out of his way to make a girl fall for him.

She sighed. “I don’t know if I envy or pity Daria, honestly.” When she saw his shuttered expression, she released a small tinkling laugh. “Relax, Nik. I told you.
No hysterics.
I know when I’m beaten, and I didn’t survive this long without knowing how to read the writing on the wall.” She raised her hand, and that was when he saw his engagement ring on her finger. She had chosen it, but he had paid for it. “Is it okay if I keep this? It’s worth a fortune.”