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Chapter 348
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MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 349
Seven years later, The Ritz Hotel, ParisCalix Petrakis was bored. It was like a heavy mantle around his shoulders. a black cloud that spread outwards from his very depths, pervading everything. He was oblivious to the fact that he was surrounded by opulence. The opulence that came with being one of the wealthiest men in the world, in one of the world’s most exclusive hotels Hushed whispers encircled him. He tuned them out, the superlatives bouncing off him. They’d surrounded him for years, but he’d never courted them or needed any assurance.So young and so handsome!The most successful shipping magnate since Onassis... Even more money... Most eligible bachelors...Now the constant murmurs that followed him wherever he went only added to the ennui he felt. He’d achieved a pinnacle of success attained by just a very few and only imagined by most. And it had been hard won, which should make it all the more sweet. But was this it? How could he be feeling like this when everything he’d ev
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 350
He tore his gaze away with more of an effort than he liked to admit and looked down at Isadora again. As he remembered wanting to leave, he smiled smoothly, her harsh beauty even more jarring now.He murmured, "Forgive me... I have an important early meeting tomorrow. Would you mind if we left?"Not at all, darling." I’ll get my coat from the cloakroom.She squeezed his arm and smiled, clearly anticipating, somewhat misguidedly, that he wanted them to be alone, and walked away.As he watched her walk away, Calix felt no compunction or guilt at what he was about to do. A woman like Isadora was well versed in the way he worked, as were men like him. He had no doubt she’d be put out, but as no emotions were invested, he knew it’d be for the loss of his money, his largesse, and the social standing that came with being seen on his arm. It was the state of affairs he was used to. He enjoyed the thrill of the chase. But lately, if he were honest, every conquest had become stale, even flat. A
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 351
Her uncle was getting more agitated, looking slightly shifty. ‘The thing is, Cassia… I didn’t tell you before now as I knew it might upset you, but I’ve started doing business with him again. Since your parents died, that is. Obviously your father wouldn’t have approved, but, you see, I had to, Cassia. I had no one else to turn to, and when he gave me an appointment... He laughed a sudden, brief laugh, sounding like a little boy. ‘Me! An appointment. It would appear he’s willing to let bygones be bygones, at least with me. Now, if it had been your father, that would have been a different story— He seemed to catch himself, realizing he was starting to babble, and gripped Cassia’s hands tighter. "However, if he sees you..."The familiar clench of grief at the mention of her parents went unnoticed for once. Her uncle was referring, of course, to the scandal that had gripped Greece for weeks. The press had devoured the story of how Calix Petrakis had taken advantage of his family friend’s
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 352
Two spots of color burned in her cheeks, and her eyes flashed. Calix had to suck in a breath against his will.She was magnificent…and how had she transported him back to a time he had believed he’d forgotten for good, so easily and so quickly?He reeled. Reeled with the shock of coming face to face with the very woman who’d captivated him across the room. Reeled with the force of her beauty up close. And now reeled with the knowledge that it was Cassia Baros. The girl who had taken petty spite and used it to almost ruin him. He looked down at her. Except now she wasn’t a girl. She was a woman. A very sexy woman. A woman who was making the blood hum in his veins and an arrow of desire shoot straight to his groin. An instant chemical reaction.Cassia had opened her mouth again to speak, but before she could, a blonde vision appeared beside Calix, a scarlet-tipped hand on his arm. a blatant indication of ownership. And who could blame her? Cassia thought fuzzily, closing her mouth, her
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 353
Cassia took the phone away from her ear for a second and looked at it. Calix was up to something. That was one thing she was sure of. She existed somewhere on his list of people to call for dinner, alongside Attila the Hun. He whizzed around the world on his private jet, doing billion-dollar deals, meeting heads of state, and dating what seemed to be an endless stream of models and actresses, like Isadora. It was only afterwards, when she’d gotten away from him, that she’d realized who the other woman had been: a famous actress. He certainly didn’t call people he despised to ask them out for dinner. People who had ruined his chance for marital happiness and even, by some accounts, a huge merger with his fiancée’s family shipping company, but she wasn’t sure about that. She’d avoided listening to anyone talk about it at the time, and in England, at least, it hadn’t hit the news with the same force."Somehow I don’t think you do, Calix.""But I do, Cassia." "I'd like us to catch up," he
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 354
His mind went to the plans he’d set in motion since seeing her again. It was true that he’d never been one with a lust for revenge, seeing it only as a device that could betray a weakness to the opposition. That could betray emotion. When all around him had descended to that visceral level in business, he never had. And it was part of the secret of his success. Part of what had helped him claw back control, get to the top. Go further than even his father had done.He thought of how, when Rastus Baros had come to him for help, he’d debated for a long time whether or not to entertain the man. He smiled grimly. He’d made the right decision. Fate had just told him so.Now he was willing to rethink his views on revenge…especially when it was laid out for him so enticingly, so temptingly, when his loins ached with a hunger that was all too rare. It was time for him to lay the ghost to rest and indulge a little.****** Cassia took in the passing streets of Paris. She’d never normally take a
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 355
‘All in good time, Cassia.’ He bent forward and Cassia fought against arching back into the chair. She felt very keenly as though she were involved in something huge, but something she had no clue about. Like a fly caught in a web. And she didn’t like it. Not when Calix smiled at her like the hungry spider."Tell me," he asked equably when her water arrived, "how have you ended up here in Paris?" Didn’t you go to college in the UK?She nodded slowly, determined not to show her fear or her sense of being intimidated. But despite her wariness, she found it surprisingly easy to talk."After my mother and father died, I wanted to get away from London." I’ve always loved Paris. I had spent a year here during my business degree, taking French... She shrugged, awkward under his intense gaze. "It seemed like an obvious choice." I took the money from my inheritance and set up our small firm. We got busy quickly as we seemed to corner the niche in doing PR for English companies setting up here
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 356
She flushed a dull red. It had killed her when she’d found out just how her own trust had been abused so abominably. But by then it had been too late. And would he understand what it was like to be a teenage girl in the throes of young passion? How she’d merely confided in someone she’d thought she could trust? Of course he wouldn’t. The Calix she’d known a long time ago might have…but this man wouldn’t.She gave thanks for having held her tongue about Lyra…for not having blurted out the truth. Lyra’s situation meant that Cassia couldn’t use her as an easy excuse for vindication. She had to find out just what he wanted. Because that was as clear as the nose on her face. He wanted something.Cassia hardened her heart. She had to. Those conversations he mentioned had belonged to another time, a more innocent time when she’d believed he’d had different sensibilities, like her own. But, she had to remind herself, once his father had died and he’d taken over running Petrakis Shipping, he’d
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MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 440
He moved suddenly, turned to her, and gripped her arms; she glimpsed the desperation in his eyes as he dragged her against his chest. "I will do whatever it takes to win you back, Kalila." "You are my wife, the love of my life, and I won’t let you go." His warm breath fanning the curls that framed her face, he pressed his lips to her temple, his eyes briefly closing as if in pain."I have told my father to name his brother Sulim as the interim ruler of Qubbah in the event of his dying before Hazem comes of age." Kate stared at him, shocked beyond words. "But... but why?" she finally stumbled.I thought that you were to rule until Hazem was older. "You are the King’s only son, and it is your duty." Ahsan shook his head. "My first duty is to my wife, and my father agrees." Even if he did not, I would still be here for you."Don't you understand, Kalila?" he asked urgently. "You are more important to me than Qubbah, my father, everything." You, me, and Hazem are a family, and the only thin
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 439
The still silence in the garden that followed his astounding statement was broken by the piercingly sweet song of a blackbird. Kate licked her suddenly dry lips, her heart beating so fast she was sure it would explode. "I don’t understand.""It’s quite simple." He sounded impatient and stared at her haughtily. But to her amazement, streaks of dull color highlighted his cheekbones, and his eyes veered from hers as if he were afraid to meet her gaze. "I love you, Kate."Her rebuttal was fierce and immediate. "No, you don’t.""I should have known you would want to argue about it, Kalila." A little of his tension left him, and his smile stole her breath."You don’t love me," she said again. It was probably some cruel trick, and she had more sense than to be fooled. "You married me for Hazem." You love Farrah. Malika said so.Malika said a lot of things, most of them untrue. Ahsan’s voice was suddenly harsh."But not the things she said about me," Kate said thickly. "My mother was a prosti
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 438
The blue sky was dotted with cotton wool clouds, and the warm breeze carried a scent of lavender and old-fashioned roses. There was no place on earth more beautiful than Ingledean on a spring day, Kate mused—except an oasis in the middle of the desert, where palm trees provided shade from the scorching sun and an azure pool glinted beneath a cloudless sky.She had been home for a month—although Ingledean no longer felt like home without Hazem. The image of his huge brown eyes and impish smile caused the familiar agonizing pain in her chest, and she bit down hard on her lip, tasted blood, and cursed the tears that slid unchecked down her face. She couldn’t cry forever. Somehow she was going to have to find the strength to move on, pick up the threads of her life, or maybe make a new one, far away from Ingledean and all its memories. But since she had left Qubbah, a terrible lassitude had settled on her, and she could not plan anything when the only two people she loved were far away on
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 437
In less than an hour, she was expected to attend the lavish dinner organized in honor of King Kabir’s recovery and his return as supreme ruler of Qubbah. And somehow she was going to have to do so without revealing that she was breaking up inside, which Kate acknowledged despairingly as she stared in the mirror at her paper-white face and red-rimmed eyes.When she first returned to the palace after her explosive confrontation with Malika, she locked herself in her dressing room and recalled, in stunned disbelief, everything the young Arab woman had told her. Could it be true? Had Ahsan always intended to divorce her once he’d gained custody of Hazem and marry his beautiful advisor?She did not know how long she’d sat there, but eventually her maid had knocked on the door and reminded her that it was time to prepare for the banquet. She should have made the excuse that she was ill—no one who saw her pallor would fail to believe her. But the steely backbone of pride that had seen her th
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Despite the warmth of the early-evening sunshine, Kate shivered. "You’re talking nonsense," she said firmly, striving to sound confident despite the sudden lurch of her heart. She was perfectly aware of why Ahsan had married her, but he had given no hint that he wanted a divorce. Ahsan told me he was never engaged to you. She lifted her chin and glared at Malika, trying to ignore the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach."He wasn’t," Malika agreed, looking surprised. "I was engaged to Farhan; Ahsan was engaged to Farrah."The world seemed to tilt alarmingly for a few seconds, and Kate actually gripped the edge of the wall for support. Ahsan and Farrah! It couldn’t possibly be true, could it? "Jamila told me that Ahsan was in love with his fiancée," she said faintly. "She doesn’t know why the marriage didn’t take place."Malika gave a careless shrug. ‘Jamila knows. Everyone at the palace knows that Ahsan adored Farrah and that she eloped with his brother on the eve of their wedding.
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 435
He was suddenly aware that the children had finished their dance and everyone was waiting for his response. Kate had turned her head to him, frowning at his inattention, and he quickly clapped his hands in applause. Once the dancers had filed out of the marquee, his personal assistant Zaid appeared at his side and informed him that a group of local potters had brought their best work for his gracious inspection. Stifling a sigh, he led the royal party out into the blazing sunshine.The garden party continued all afternoon, and Ahsan was not in the best of moods when he strode back to the palace. He suddenly realized that he was too far ahead and slowed his pace, waiting for Kate to catch up with him. He frowned when he noted how pale she looked beneath her wide-brimmed hat. She made no attempt to speed up, and the dejected droop of her shoulders fueled his impatience."I appreciate that an afternoon spent admiring traditional crafts and customs is not likely to top your list of exciti
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 434
Her feet briefly touched the floor, and he spun her around, tugged her zip down her spine, and removed her dress before she had time to catch her breath. Her bra went the same way before he lifted her again and threw her onto the bed as if she were a rag doll, his eyes glittering with a mixture of anger and sexual hunger that made Kate’s stomach dip."At night, I’m happy to give you all the attention you could possibly want," he growled, his shoes, trousers, and shirt hitting the floor with barely controlled savagery until he stood in his silk boxers. "This is the only bed you’ll ever sleep in." The boxers joined the rest of his clothes, revealing his powerful, unashamedly aroused body in all its glory. "But I wouldn’t bank on sleeping for many hours yet."Kate stared up at him, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she struggled to control the wild excitement that was pounding through her veins. She was conscious that she was wearing nothing but a pair of tiny lace pants and the pric
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 433
Clearly embarrassed, Aaliyah determinedly changed the subject to Hazem and how fast he was growing. But although Kate smiled and made token conversation, her mind was whirling. If Malika’s family had expected her to marry Ahsan, was she the woman he had been engaged to years ago—the woman Jamila had said he had loved? But, if so, why had they not married? It didn’t make sense, and she brooded miserably as she stared at Ahsan. He was smiling at Malika and clearly enjoying her company. Perhaps they had argued and broken off their engagement. Was he now regretting his lost chance to marry a beautiful, clever Arab girl who would have made him the perfect wife?From that moment on, the party became a blur of faces and stilted conversation with people she had never met before. She was sure they viewed her as an oddity, with her pale skin and vivid hair—and her glaring lack of sophistication. But until his father had recovered, Ahsan was king, and one of her wifely duties outside of the bedr
MARRYING MY BEST FRIEND'S FIANCEE Chapter 432
As Ahsan had predicted, his team of advisors was waiting for him when they arrived back at the palace. Even on the journey across the desert, he’d had his mobile phone clamped to his ear, and Kate had sat silently beside him, lost in her thoughts. The honeymoon was over, and he had made it abundantly clear that he now saw her role as his wife as a walk-on part—or perhaps a lie-down part, she thought bitterly. But what had she expected? She had married him for Hazem, and he had married her for sex, and they had each gotten what they wanted.At least she had Hazem, she told herself later that evening, when she tucked the toddler into bed. She had missed him desperately, and his evident delight that she was back was a comforting balm to her raw emotions. She was Ahsan’s wife, a member of the Royal Family of Qubbah, and no one could ever take him away from her now.But as she prepared for the state banquet, her insecurities returned, and she felt sick with nerves. She had been horrified w
