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CHAPTER 17
His mother nodded slowly, then she took a deep breath.
“Niko, are you positive this child is yours?”
Nikolas’s mouth tightened.
“Yes,” he said tersely.
Calista’s eyebrows rose skeptically.
“The pregnancy is very recent, and Cheryl has been with me… for some time,” Nikolas replied.
His mother’s eyes shifted to the French windows. Far out on the water, the sail of Demetrios’s yacht was still visible. She gazed blindly a moment, then turned back to her son.
“Wow!” she said heavily. “Isn’t this ironic? The same fate that destroyed me is now destroying you. God, this is such a cruel destiny!”
Her eyes shut, then flashed open again.
“All your life,
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Those words hit him harder than he’d ever thought. For a moment, still under shock, Nikolas said nothing. Just tried to maintain his composure. Then he spoke, his tone measured.“The doctor said you need to continue with your bed rest,” Nikolas answered. His voice was inexpressive, with the neutrality of distance.“However, if you wish to leave so badly, as soon as… as it is possible, we can return to London. In the meantime…” He stopped, put the half-drunk coffee down on the table, and got to his feet. At this point, Cheryl knew his behavior quite well. That was a sign he was impatient to get away.“In the meantime, please follow the doctor’s advice and rest. There is nothing else to be done. For the moment, we can only continue a
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Rejection, instant and powerful, speared through Nikolas. Memory sifted in him from long, long ago. He could scarcely remember Demetrios’s mother from when she had been his babysitter, but he could remember a softness about her, a gentleness. When he had fallen, she’d picked him up and hugged him. She’d sat him on her lap and sung funny English nursery rhymes to him, songs that had clapping games in them, and she had laughed and smiled. He had missed her when she’d gone… Cheryl will be like her, warm and loving, gentle and caring. What else does a child need? And as for himself… Well, as a mother to his child, he would have no complaints about Cheryl. As a woman for his bed… again, he could hardly complain. And as a wife by his side, through the long years to com
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He tried to say something, but Cheryl stopped him. “No… It’s my turn to talk now and you’re going to hear me out right until the end,” she added starting to feel a little tired, physically and mentally. “I know I’m not very good at talking about the stock market and brokers, and funds and charities, and whatever you, rich people, consider important subjects in a conversation. That I’m out of my league here. Still, I think, even for a reclusive, a bookworm like me, I never was so bad. I never embarrassed you. But I never actually thought… that you of all people, saw me in this light… as a brainless whore.” Another ragged intake of breath scissored through her lungs. “That a man like you, someone I thought so highly of, would be the one kicking me down to the ground again. Now I’m done.” Nik
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That voice came out of nowhere, from the pool of darkness at the far end of the terrace. A familiar voice, one he didn’t want to hear ever again. Demetrios strolled out of the darkness, like a snake slithering towards a possible prey. His voice was taunting, grating.“Are you already missing her, big brother?” Demetrios continued with a grin on his lips.“What the hell are you doing here?” Nikolas asked and his voice was terse, demanding. A new emotion was taking over, fueled by a rush of adrenaline that had come the moment he’d heard his brother’s taunting voice. An emotion that tensed and coiled in every muscle of his body.“Oh, come on, Niko! Don’t tell me I’m trespassing?” Demetrios responded drawlingly. “Are you going to call your security guys and ask them to throw me ou
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His mother’s expression changed. He couldn’t tell what she thought, but he couldn’t care less.“Oh, Niko… I’m so very sorry,” she whispered. Mixed emotion speared in Nikolas. His mother would be happy now… Happy to think she’d saved herself five million euros! Happier to think her precious son had been saved from the hideous fate of having to marry a woman he’d got pregnant and who would be the worst wife for him.“Celebrate, mother,” Nikolas said. His tone was harsh and cruel. His eyes lasered into hers, and her face paled.“Celebrate?” Calista said the word as if it had no meaning. But of course, it had meaning for her! It meant her precious son was safe. Blin
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