Relief, gratitude, joy, love---
“I thought,” she choked out, “my whole world ended when I didn’t see you as just another Greek jerk.”
“I see.”
She choked back a laugh at Nik’s polite murmur, and lifting her head, she told him feelingly, “I’m just so glad…so damn glad I look at you now, and all I see is this chauvinistic, obnoxious, power-tripping---”
“I get the picture,” Nik said dryly.
But he was smiling, and a tremulous smile formed on her lips in response.
“I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad it’s over.”
She nodded jerkily. “Me, too.”
“And because things usually work this way, I’m supposing you’ve met someone?” The Greek billionaire paused before asking slyly, “By the name of Nathan Callis perhaps?”
Alyx scowled. “So you’re not only a jerk now, but you’ve added gossiping to your long list of vices?’
Nik smirked. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
She jumped to her feet, muttering, “I think I need a drink.” She stalked to the billionaire’s mini-bar, but changed her mind last minute and reached for a can of soda instead of the wine she had her eye on. Things happened the one time she had drunk an entire glass of wine, and she definitely didn’t need a repeat of it now.
As she pulled the tab from the can, she heard herself ask, “Can you tell me…” Alyx swallowed. “Can you tell me how do I know if he’s the one?” She took a gulp of soda, but the silence only stretched between them.
And then she heard Nik say, “If your feelings for him scare you so much it’s making you ask me that – I think you already have your answer.”
Oh God, she really hated it when Nik Alexandropoulos sounded so much wiser than her.
As she stalked out of his office, Nik called out, “Anytime you need love advice about keeping a man, just give me or Daria a call.”
Aaaargh!
She slammed the door shut as hard as she could, but it was too late. Everyone outside his office had heard him, and she could feel his executive staff gawking at her as she hurried to the elevator. Knowing how fast news traveled, she knew she had no choice but to tell Nathan about this visit.
Just as Alyx reached to press the down button, she heard a familiar voice call her name out, and she stiffened.
When she turned around, it was just in time to see Daria flying towards her.
Daria caughther in a bear hug, saying tearfully, “I missed you so much, Alyx.”
She could only stand stiffly in her best friend’s arms, not knowing what she deserved to say or do.
“And for all your bitchy words,” Daria whispered, “I always knew we had the same taste in jerks.”
Oh.
And she realized then that Nik had lied. Daria had always known about her. He hadn’t kept anything from her – as he shouldn’t have. When Daria pulled away, she pulled her back, not wanting her friend to see her fighting back tears.
“I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I’m so damn sorry, Daria. I never wanted it to happen.”
“You don’t have to be,” Daria said softly just as she pulled away. “You needed to meet your fair share of frogs, too, and it just so happened that my prince was your frog.”
The words were more than she deserved, but that was the way Daria had always been. She loved selflessly, even those who didn’t deserve her love.
By the time she stepped into the elevator and the doors started to close, the last glimpse she caught was of Nik walking towards Daria, and the smile she sent his way.
Victoria Harbour sparkled like a jewel in the night, its still waters reflecting the brilliant cityscape of the two islands that bordered it – Kowloon on one side, and Hong Kong on the other. Unfortunately, the breathtaking view, made even more stunning by the light-and-music show that took place every evening, was wasted on a certain pair of occupants inside a luxurious hotel suite.
One of them was Rima Callis, who at thirty-three looked a decade younger than her age, with her silky blonde hair and a figure that remained as svelte as it had been when she left her modeling days for good to marry her prominent doctor husband.
That man was Aetes Callis, twenty years Rima’s senior, who also happened to be Nathan’s father.
As she let the curtains fall from her fingers, Rima turned away from the prized balcony view of her suite, its beauty leaving her cold. It was hard to appreciate such things when the man she loved was too busy to keep her company. Such was the story of her life ever since she had married less than a decade ago.
In one corner of the room, her stepson Nathan was busy packing his things, something he could have assigned one of the staff to do but didn’t. He had always been that way, self-reliant almost to a fault, and she remembered how when she had first moved in with Aetes as his fiancée, a solitary and studious 18-year-old Nathan had sought to ignore her, thinking she was a gold-digger. But then he had seen her clumsy but dedicated efforts at housekeeping, had seen the way she loved to fuss over his darling father every time he came home late from work---