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CHAPTER 21
He gave Cheryl two days to herself, leaving her entirely to the nurse and to the doctor, requesting them to check her as often as possible, despite being told it wasn’t necessary. The doctor was blunt.
“The trauma was hit her pretty hard, but she mustn’t be allowed to sink into depression. I can prescribe pills, but it best would be to give her a change of scene. Somewhere where she can recover fully. She may not want to, may want only to go on lying in that darkened room of hers, wishing for something that can never now be. But it’s not good for her. Though it will take time, she really must move on.”
Nikolas nodded, glad to have the doctor back up his thoughts and plans.
“When will she be up to traveling?”
“Cheryl’s young and strong. If the journey is in Europe, I would say at any time.”
&nbs
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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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Cheryl stirred, content to leave behind another sleepless night. Lately, it was so hard to catch a few hours of good sleep. Usually, the street noises were easy to bear, but since Paxos, she wasn’t used to it anymore. Nor was she used to sleeping, living, and eating in a single room, where the ugly-patterned wallpaper was peeling off in the corners, the carpet needed to go on a rubbish tip, and the electricity ran on a meter.“I lived like a spoiled brat for too long. Luxury ruined me forever…” she whispered and left the bed. The thought shamed her. Added itself to the mountain of shame she already felt. To the shame of what she had done, what she had been, that had burst from her like an infected wound that last hideous morning. It felt as though it had been lanced from the
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That question was burning inside him, frustrating and nerve-racking. His team of investigators was worse than useless, it seemed. There were, so they had informed him, a very large number of people with her surname, and with no indication of even what part of the country she might be in, the search would inevitably be extremely long and maybe fruitless. Frustratingly, Nikolas had realized he knew nothing about her… not even her date of birth. Did she have other forenames? Nikolas had been asked, politely but pressingly, by the investigators. He had no information to give them. Did he know where she came from? Where she grew up? Where she went to school? Anything like that? Did he know people who knew her, like friends, relatives, former employers… anyone at all? No, no, and no. &
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His voice was low, urgent. Insistent. Somehow, though her mouth was suddenly as dry as a bone, Cheryl forced herself to speak.“There is nothing more to be said. You should get into your fancy car and go as far away from me as possible.” Cheryl’s voice grated out through a throat that had closed completely. His hand slashed negation.“Absolutely not. Not even by a long shot. There is still so much more to be said between you and me! That’s the reason I’ve been searching for you. That’s why I’m here, in front of you. It wasn’t all said, Cheryl. The most important part got left out. I was so devastated with what you threw at me, I let you go. I let you leave me. I should never have done that. Never! I should have told you then! But I didn’t realize… I didn’t realize that…&rdquo
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She wasn’t sure what she said to the sales assistant, didn’t register that the woman had nodded and gone through to the storeroom. Registered only that a hand like steel had gripped around her wrist.“What did that woman just call you?” Cheryl rested her eyes on Nikolas’s face, where all she could see was blank stupefaction and disbelief.“Um… She called me ‘Dr. Richards’,” she replied in an expressionless voice. “Because that’s who I am, Nikolas. I got my Ph.D. last year… the year my father died. He was a senior research fellow at the university, and I’ve just taken up a research post in his former department, guided now by my old colleague, Dr. Maria Shell.” His eyes were on her, quite blank.
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