A Deal with Demakis(81)

                He had a heart, and it hurt, and it bled, and most of all, it loved.

                And he had pushed the woman who had shown him that out of his life without second thought.

                Even with her heart breaking, even with the fear that she had lived with for most of her life rioting through her, she had still fought for him, for them. She had tried to show him what they had and what he was so intent on destroying. Because the love she felt for him, it had given her that strength, that courage.

                I will always love you.

                Now he understood how easily, how perfectly those words had come to her, and why she had been so furious about what he had chosen.

                Picking up the papers of his appointment as the CEO with shaking hands, Nikos brought them over to Savas. He dropped them on the table and met his grandfather’s gaze. “Whatever you did, I realize you did it out of a twisted sense of guilt and love. You sought to make me stronger than him.” He swallowed the thick lump in his throat. “And I am a stronger man than he ever was. I have never shirked my duty toward my sister. I will never betray your trust in me. But Lexi...she’s a part of me, Savas.

                “She makes me stronger. She fills my life with laughter and joy.” He took a look around the office and sucked in a deep breath.

                “I have proved my worth a hundred times over to you. I deserve to be the CEO of Demakis International. But I will not pay the price you ask of me anymore. I will not lose the woman I love any more than I will shoot myself mourning her loss. You want me to run this company...you want me to be your legacy? Then I will do it with her by my side. That’s the only way I can do it. I’m through living my life based on you or him. I have to be my own man now.”

                Without waiting for Savas’s answer, Nikos closed the door behind him. Fear-fueled anticipation flew hot in his veins. He couldn’t wait to see her, couldn’t wait to hold her in his arms.

                Because this time, he didn’t feel resentment at the thought of the woman who had been through so much and yet had such a capacity to love. This time, he wanted that love. This time, he wanted to love her as she deserved to be loved.

                * * *

                Lexi was opening a can of mushroom soup when a knock sounded on the door. She knew it wasn’t Faith, because Faith was playing the adult, much-less-fun version of hide-and-seek with her. Tired of putting up an elaborate pretense when she was already feeling fragile, Lexi had given it to her straight—everything she had learned about her and Tyler, all the lies that Faith had told her.

                And then burst into tears like a raving lunatic the moment Faith had asked about Nikos. To give her credit, Faith had stayed back a full day, looking after Lexi before splitting.

                Lexi knew she wasn’t gone forever, and with Tyler staying back in Greece for the time being, Faith was the only friend Lexi had. But she had told Faith in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t put up with any kind of nonsense.

                But rattling around in the apartment that she had shared with both Tyler and Faith all by herself wasn’t helping her already-vulnerable state. More than once, Lexi had indulged the thought of calling Nikos, had wondered how he was. But the next moment her thoughts turned to his engagement, and the vicious cycle circled back to fury at him.

                That fury, it was the one thing that was holding her together. She couldn’t bear to think about what would be left when it was gone, too.

                The knock sounded again.

                With a sigh, she took a peek through the peephole and jerked back as though bitten.