Reporters, scores and scores of them.
Mandy and Velvet and Mykolas…
Stavros and Ioniko…
Diana and the rest of her class…
Even her aunts, Norah and Vilma, were here…
And at the center of it all was Damen, his face white with pain.
Oh God, she hadn’t wanted it to be like this.
Knowing that it might have looked like she was eloping with Drake, Mairi choked out, “Damen, I—”
Damen shook his head. The pain was too much, and it took every bit of his strength to get past it. Every step he took to close the distance between him and Mairi was like trying to carry a fucking mountain, and when he was finally close enough to touch her, Damen said tonelessly, “Surprise…but I guess the surprise is on me.”
“Oh God, Damen.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say, a piece of Mairi’s heart turning brittle at the sight of Damen’s taut form before falling into oblivion. “I’m so, so sorry.” She shook her head, whispering, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“Then…” He looked at her, knowing that by doing so, he was also exposing his every weakness to the world. “Don’t leave.” He spoke the words, even knowing that every bit of it would likely be recorded and broadcasted since he had practically invited the whole damn country to today’s party.
Mairi stepped back from the words, unable to believe that Damen was asking her to stay even if he and everyone were probably thinking she was about to leave him for another man.
Damen’s control nearly broke at the effort not to reach for her, and he had to clench his fists against his sides so he wouldn’t be tempted to haul her towards him and stop Mairi from getting closer to Drake.
The stark pain etched on his face had Mairi covering her lips to keep the sobs at bay. “I’m so sorry.” No other words were safe for her to say.
“Then stay,” Damen repeated. He no longer had any fucking pride left. Whatever he had to do to keep her from leaving him for Morrison, he would do.
She shook her head. "I can't pretend anymore."
Damen turned ashen. "I'll find a way to make it easier for you to pretend until...until you forget you're pretending."
But Mairi only kept shaking her head. “I have to let you go—”
Damen rasped out, “I don’t want you to let me go—”
She cried out, “I have to!” Mairi’s gaze jerked towards him. “I’m not as weak as you think I am. I can survive without you, so you can stop feeling guilty, okay? I’m going to be fine.” She pressed a shaky hand to her tummy. “My baby and I will be fine. I’m going to be strong again—”
“But I can’t.” Damen captured Mairi’s wrist when she tried to leave. He spun her around, forcing her to look at him. “Do you understand, Mairi?” he demanded, his voice made savage by the despair gnawing at him. “I’m the one who’s weak. I’m weak without you. I’m without hope, and I’m blind, deaf, dumb without you. So goddammit, take pity on me again.” His voice broke. “Please, take fucking pity on me and stay—”
“I can’t.” Mairi wept hard at the way Damen was begging, every word causing more pieces of her heart to turn brittle. “I’m not the one you need—”
“You are. You are, Mairi. The only thing I need.” Damen pressed something in her hands. “Read this, matakia mou. If you could just read this, maybe you’d understand…” Never had it felt harder to speak, the pain in his chest becoming more agonizing with every second that passed and Mairi’s desire to leave him didn’t seem to falter at all.
“Please.” The whispered word was the best he could do, the pain and fear of losing Mairi crippling. “Please…it’s all there. Please.”
Slowly, Mairi looked down at what Damen had given to her.
A book.
Fingers trembling, she flipped it around to see the cover, and another choked sob rushed out of her throat as she saw the title.
The Art of Catching a Greek Billionaire.
Oh God, oh God, oh God.
Slowly, she opened the book.
This is dedicated to my wife, a woman I was blessed to have found me.
She caught me all right, but in truth I couldn’t slow down enough for her to catch me.
“I don’t understand,” Mairi whispered.
Damen, not saying anything about his ability to fight for custody because he knew if he did manage to take their baby away from Mairi, it would kill her.
And so he had chosen to kill himself instead.
He had chosen to risk making his child think of him as the one thing he despised the most, and that was an uncaring parent like Esther Leventis.