Forever and Ever, My Greek Billionaire(25)

This time, Stavros did close his eyes. This time, he let his mind drift back to the time Willow had first seen him with another woman.

Ah, God...

His chest tightened with pain. She hadn’t said anything, but the look in her eyes.

He remembered the time she had come knocking on his door, remembered the shock she wasn’t able to hide from him. She had really thought he was alone by then. And now, looking back, his anger no longer blinding him, Stavros saw it so clearly through his memories.

She had been hurt.

Whatever her reason was for betraying him, for selling him out, she had been hurt. She had looked at him and Ingrid, and the pain in her eyes had been crippling. Devastating.

Air eased out of him, and Stavros realized belatedly that he had been holding his breath all this time.

Slowly, Stavros reached for his paddles again.

Willow had betrayed him. Fact.

He despised her for it. Fact.

They could not live without each other. Fact.

But the last one was the most important, Stavros told himself, a truth that would never go away or fade in time. If they could not live without each other, then why should they? Stavros would simply take control for them both. He would not give her any reason to betray him. He would be the man she wanted him to be, and in time his hatred for her would cease. He might never trust her again, might never say what was in his heart, but they would be together.

Stavros slowly turned the boat in the opposite direction. He was heading back home. And now, he knew and accepted the truth.

Willow Somerset was home.





Chapter Nine





The first person Stavros saw when he was back in the palace was Serenity, the person who, next to her own employer, knew everything. And that was why she was exactly the person he needed to talk now.

“Ms. Raleigh, a moment please.” The girl tended to walk with swift grace most times he saw her, but this time, she was oddly slower, almost limping.

Halting in her tracks, Serenity turned towards the Greek billionaire, her every thought hidden by the deliberately blank expression on her face. “Yes, Mr. Manolis?” Since the connecting bridge between the east and west wing was under renovation, the sound of hammering and sawing required Serenity to raise her voice a little.

Although his first instinct was to ask about Willow, concern and good manners eventually won, and he asked, “Are you all right?”

Seeing Stavros’ gaze slide to her feet, she said stiffly, “It’s just one of those days where an old injury makes itself felt.” She changed the topic right after, asking briefly, “You wanted to talk to me, sir?”

“Ah, yes. I was wondering if you know where Ms. Somerset is? I need to talk to her.”

Now he looks for her. The nasty thought was extremely unlike her, and that was all Willow Somerset’s fault, too. She made it so easy to care for her, and Serenity hated caring for other people.

Looking at Stavros Manolis, disliking him for everything he had done to Willow, she found herself doing something rare.

She lied.

“Perhaps in Mr. de Konigh’s suite, sir?” Lying meant she cared, but for Willow’s sake, she just couldn’t stop herself. The man needed a dose of his own medicine, and who else could make him jealous other than Willem de Konigh?

Stavros’ face hardened at the answer. “His...suite.”

His voice had turned dangerously soft, making Serenity swallow. She was definitely skating on thin ice now, but she told herself she wasn’t completely lying. Willow was in her employer’s suite. But what Stavros thought about it wasn’t her fault.

Raising bland eyes to Stavros, she said calmly, “Yes, sir. She’s been there for some time.” And that technically was the truth, too. Time was relative. Willow had been in the suite for minutes, but if Stavros thought it meant she had been there for days, well, that was his fault, too.

“I see.”

Something flashed in his eyes. Guilt stung her conscience, but she told herself she was doing this for the greater good. “Shall I give you directions to the suite, sir?”

Stavros’ gaze suddenly narrowed. “And you would like that, wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you mean, sir.”

His lips twisted. “Of course you don’t. I’m not even sure why I’m surprised she has you on her side as well.”

“Ms. Somerset is a wonderful person, Mr. Manolis,” she said loyally.

“Wonderfully tactless, ill-mannered, and rude, you mean?”

She didn’t know quite what to say to that. The words were an insult, but the tone he used was...

Tender. But final. Like he had decided to cast Willow Somerset aside as a beautiful memory in his life.

She gulped. Oh, dear. She might have meddled too much. “Mr. Manolis, wait.” The Greek billionaire had already started walking away, and in her current condition, she knew she would never be able to catch up with him.