The Greek Billionaire and I

The spacious kitchen with its gleaming granite countertops and shiny silver equipment, rarely used until she had come to live with Mykolas. Now, it was one of the most used rooms in the house because Mykolas liked having her as breakfast before the actual thing.

The balcony, with its marble balustrade, was where she and Mykolas sometimes had coffee before he left for work and if she was in the mood to tease him, where she would insist on giving him a blowjob because she knew that only with her was he amenable to risking what he considered as exhibitionist sex.

And there was the library. There, he would work at night after dinner, and she would be with him reading a book. Sometimes, she would get him to talk and other times he would get her to talk. They never went all out with their confidences, but it was easy to read between the lines when you loved the other person so much.

But it was not the same for him.

She had to remember that.

Their bedroom – no, his bedroom – had the most memories, and each one of them hurt. Sure, they had fantastic sex here all the time, but it wasn’t just that. She loved the after-sex part even more, the times when he would want her close and they would just talk. When he was tired, she would try to make him smile by telling him of her outrageous plans about what she would buy once she became Mrs. Sallis. His hard body rocking with his silent laughter would be her first reward, the second of course was having Mykolas go down on her.

It was here in this bedroom that he had also given Velvet her engagement ring, the first morning she had spent on his bed. She had woken up with a beautiful ring on her finger, with Mykolas cheerfully telling her he had bought the most audacious and gaudiest ring he could find.

This way, he had told her in a mock serious voice, you can make every woman envious when you tell them you only had to flutter your lashes to get me to buy the biggest rock in town.

Velvet blinked her eyes furiously. They were good memories, but she couldn’t hope it would be like that forever. She had to leave now before she lost herself in her dreams and made herself vulnerable again.

Velvet was in the act of dragging her suitcase down the stairs when she heard the door being unlocked. Her heart jumped to her throat when it started to open. For a moment, she felt like she was about to face intruders again, and she was all alone to defend herself.

But it was only Mykolas.

She almost breathed a sigh of relief when the thought hit her.

Oh my God, it was Mykolas! What was he doing here?

Velvet was so stunned that she dropped her suitcase, and she screamed bloody murder when it fell on her foot. As usual, Mykolas moved lightning fast in such situations, and Velvet found herself being swooped up in his arms as he carried her to the sofa.

Down on one knee, he gently took off one ballet flat and lifted her foot for inspection. “This will likely take a day or two to heal.” Looking up, Mykolas was indifferent when he saw Velvet’s teeth clenched with pain. “Do you think what happened to you is fate’s way of punishing you for trying to leave me?”

She glared at him. “A*shole.”

Normally, that would have made him smile, but this time Mykolas’ face only hardened. “Why are you leaving me? And why like this?”

“None of your f*cking business.” And that was all she was going to say about it, Velvet thought, lips clamping shut and her gaze resolutely fixed on the gold-stenciled decoration of the wallpaper behind Mykolas. Whatever happened, she mustn’t look at Mykolas. If she did, it would be all over. Completely over.

“What are you doing here so early anyway?” she muttered as the silence between them grew and became heavier with tension.

He asked sarcastically, “I apologize for not asking what time I’m allowed to be in my house. Is it too terribly inconvenient for you?”

She snapped back, “Kinda!”

Losing his patience, he forced Velvet to meet his gaze. “No more games! Why are you leaving me? Have I treated you so badly in any way that you have no choice but to leave?”

Goddamn him, Velvet thought as she tried her best to stop a furious rush of tears. If he had made it seem like it was her fault then she would have known what to say, could have taken the offensive because he was being an ass. But he hadn’t. He was asking what he had done when in truth, it was all her.

Mykolas cursed when Velvet only glared at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears. “You are so f*cking stubborn. I don’t even know why I put up—”

“Then don’t,” Velvet shouted before she could stop herself. Oh my God, she was turning into a shrew right before her very eyes. If she had any ounce of pride and dignity left, she would leave right now before it got worse and she said more stuff that shouldn’t be said.

But Mykolas only shook his head at her. “You are not making any damn sense—”

“I’m leaving you, and that’s it!” The words left both of them shell-shocked.

Mykolas’ face had whitened. Hearing the words said so clearly brought the truth home. He tried imagining Velvet out of his life, but everything was dark and pointless. “Why the f*ck are you doing this to me, Velvet?”

She shook her head. “I just have to leave.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Tears started to fall down her face, and she struggled not to drown under all the emotions crashing down on her. “I just have to leave—”

“Answer me, damn you!”

“Because I have to! Before you make me weak, I have to go!” The emotional dam had burst, and now she just couldn’t stop spilling her heart out. “Tell me, Mykolas. Tell me the truth! Why do you want to marry me so quickly? Why?”

Mykolas was aghast at Velvet’s sudden outburst. Her eyes were wild, her voice choked with tears. She looked like she was about to crash any moment. “Calm down—” He tried to hold her, but she slapped his hand away. She tried pushing him off balance, too, but he was too strong and her tears had weakened her.

“You can’t answer me, can you?” she snarled. “You can’t…or you don’t!”

Again, he tried to hold her and again she struggled like a wildcat, trying to kick him away this time but ending up hurting herself as she forgot about her injury. “Shit!” She sobbed in pain, and stupidly or not she blamed Mykolas for it, too.

Mykolas finally managed to hold her down, keeping her arms to the sides so she would stop trying to beat him. “Will you please calm the f*ck down? You’re worrying me, dammit!”

“Well, you’re killing me! Why don’t you ask me the same question? Why?” She glared at him even as more tears fell from her eyes. “Don’t you want to know why I’m in such a hurry to marry you? Don’t you want to know why I just asked one hundred damn grand when I know you can afford to give me a billion? ASK ME,” she shouted.

“Why then?” he shouted back. “Why—”

“Because I love you!”

All the strength went out of her as the words spilled past her lips. She looked at Mykolas, and her chest squeezed so hard it was as if she was about to have a heart attack. But of course it wasn’t that. It was only because she loved him so much.

“I didn’t want to. You scare me, Mykolas Sallis. You scare me when I’ve worked so hard not to be scared. I’ve fought so hard to be strong, but you make me weak. You made me fall for you, and you made me lie. You made me name a price when there wasn’t any price at all for me to marry you because…I love you.” She struggled to breathe, struggled to get the last words out so her humiliation would be complete and with it, closure and perhaps a chance to move on. “I love you so much, Mykolas,” she whispered. “Love you so much that I wanted you tied to me before you realize the truth and think I’m lying—”