The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract(45)

Cassia laughed.

“So you were just casually coming out of the shower in her suite and she was naked on the bed?”

“No. I went there to shower before my flight. I went there after I spoke with your grandfather. He told me several things. Basically, he told me that you didn’t want to be my wife and that you only wanted money and your freedom. He said you didn’t even want to live with me. I didn’t return to our suite because I was so angry at you so I decided to bathe in one of my friends’ suites. I saw her coming out of hers and she told me she was headed to breakfast. She granted me access to her room and I went there and bathed. I didn’t know that she came back on the bed naked. I found out the same time as you.”

“You lie,” Cassia spat.

“I have never lied to you, Cassia. You can ask Alex about it. He was the first one I asked to lend me the shower in his suite. He saw Marietta offer hers,” he answered in a sincere tone.

Cassia stilled as she processed what she just heard. Was Nikos telling her the truth? He really did not sleep with Marietta that morning?

“Why didn’t you correct me when I thought wrong? Why didn’t you throw her instead of asking her to stay? You chose her over me, Nikos!”

“I was wrong about that...I apologize...but I was so angry with you and your grandfather that day. I thought that you both lied to me and played me for a fool again. You dented my pride and I wanted to retaliate.”

“What exactly did my grandfather tell you that day?”

Nikos ran his fingers through his hair.

He tried to recall the conversation in his mind and then told her everything. He had this suspicion that it was all Costas’ fault. That old man manipulated everything. Maybe he also did it to his granddaughter’s marriage.

“He lied!” she shouted.

“I realize that after everything you told me.”

She frowned and clenched her fists.

“When I woke up, the first thing I did was to look for you. A maid told me you were in another suite so I went there to get you. I encountered my grandfather and he told me about you and your mistress. He told me I had to understand for men have needs and tend to stray...” Her voice wobbled, betraying the emotion she tried to kept bottled. “He really set out to ruin us before our marriage even began.”

She was silent for a long time and he could almost see the gears in her mind turning.

“I think he wanted you to be the cause of our marriage falling apart. I think he wanted me to find you with Marietta and file for divorce. That leaves you nothing and he gains everything through me. I was his puppet then and he was the one who pulled my strings. Besides, if the merger fell apart because of you, your grandfather would have been devastated.”

Nikos’ jaw clenched.

She was right.

He felt a pang in his chest as it was now truly clear that what happened before was all a misunderstanding. It was all caused by a bitter old man who wanted to play God and wreak havoc with their lives.

He was ready to give their marriage a chance ten years ago. If Costas hadn’t ruined everything, their lives would be totally different now. Maybe they’d be happy. Maybe his Greek island would have been filled with laughter from their children; perhaps a boy who inherited his business acumen and a girl who had Cassia’s passion for art and her beauty.

The anger fled from her eyes and instead they misted with tears. Maybe because, like him, she also felt regret for the time that was wasted?

“Nikos...”

She reached for him.

He was about to kiss her but the moment was ruined when they heard heavy, running footsteps.

Both of them immediately stood up and hid behind the larger rocks. Nikos shoved her behind him and they stayed silent as they waited for the men to pass. But the sound of their footsteps lingered.

Cassia cursed under her breath when she saw that they left one of the blankets. It was out in the open and the men would immediately see it. She was about to reach forward and grab it but a beam of light was shone across the cave and directly onto the blanket.

Then the footsteps stopped.

“They’re in here!” one of the men shouted.

They heard Kristoff’s laugh and saw him pick up the blanket.

“Mr. and Mrs. Demakis...you may come out now. Let’s do this the easy way so nobody gets hurt,” he called out in a menacing tone.

His laughter echoed across the dark cave again. Fear struck Cassia and she squeezed Nikos’ hand. She saw the promise in his eyes. His look promised that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Cassia feared so much for him. If they get caught, she knew he would suffer the beating he received two nights ago, maybe more. They’d be merciless this time. Maybe they’d even carry out their threat of raping her.

If they got caught, there’d be no chance of an escape.

The men entered the cave and their heavy footsteps nearly drove her insane with fright. Nikos pushed her against a wall and covered her body with his. When one of the men reached them, Nikos kicked him and sent him scrambling backwards. He tugged on her hand and they sprinted towards the entrance of the cave.

But it was no use for there was more men waiting outside. Hands grabbed at her and she tried to fight them off as best as she could. Cassia kicked and clawed her way out but there was just too many of them. Her heart beat faster with fear and at the same time, she was filled with a sense of hopelessness. She was terrified about being captured again for she knew what awaited them.

She saw Nikos fighting but he, too, was overpowered.

Once more, their hands were bound. She heard Nikos’ cry of pain as his broken wrist was tied behind his back.

Kristoff emerged from the mouth of the cave with a huge grin. He headed straight for Nikos and kicked his ribs. Nikos fell down sideways and the men laughed.

“Not so tough now, huh?” the leader taunted.

Another man punched him in the face. Cassia recognized it as one of the guards they knocked out. Nikos said nothing and just spat out blood on their feet.

“No! Stop it, please!” she shouted.

The leader cupped her jaw painfully and forced her to look at him.

“Tonight you are ours,” he declared in a lewd tone.

He forced her to her feet and they began the long walk back to their facility.

The sun was about to set when the woods thinned and they were able to see familiar path to the beach again.

“I’m sorry, Cassia,” Nikos whispered to her before they were forced back to enter the cold, dark place that served as their prison.

“It’s not your fault,” she told him.

Suddenly, the man beside Cassia fell. She screamed when she saw their eyes stare sightlessly ahead. She screamed again the moment she saw that there were bullet holes in their heads. But she didn’t hear any sound of gunfire so what was used could have been silenced weapons.

Two more of their kidnappers fell. Those were the ones holding Nikos. When the rest of their kidnappers saw their fallen comrades, they immediately went into alert. The men around her crouched and Kristoffstarted to shout orders in Greek. Nikos crawled towards her and forced her head down.

“Trust Alex to come in the nick of time,” he told her and there was hope in his voice.

More shots were fired and the men were all shouting. Cassia barely understood a word they said.

“When I say run, we run to the other side of the bushes. We’re not safe here. Got it?”

She nodded.

Nikos counted to three and then they stood up and ran. She took his arm and placed it around her shoulders again so that she could help him. Their kidnappers saw their escape and chased after them but the men were all immediately cut down in a hail of bullets. Cassia looked up as they ran and saw that there were several snipers perched above the thick branches of the trees.

When they reached the bushes, two men emerged from it and ushered them closer. They wore black turtleneck shirts with Kevlar vests over them. Then, they wore black cargo pants to which various weapons were strapped.

One of them pulled his mask off and Alex’s relieved face came into view.

Cassia and Nikos both sighed with relief.

Alex barked a couple of orders into his earpiece and then they were moving. Several men were left behind to cover their back. The others surrounded Nikos and Cassia and killed anyone who tried to follow them.

After another long walk, they were now in Alex’s boat. He sat beside them as the medic tended to them. When their wounds were treated the boat sped off to the mainland.



“Anyone hurt?” Alex asked

Both of the former captives shook their heads.

“Stay here. You’re safe here. Let me just see to my men and we’ll see if we can find any evidence or if there are any of your kidnappers left alive. I sure as hell hope there’s at least one of those assholes left for questioning.”

“Their leader is the tall, black-haired man. His hair is up to his shoulders and he has a scar on his left cheek,” Nikos told Alex

“I’ll do my best,” Alex replied with a malicious grin.



Some of Alex’s men followed him back to the forest while more stood guard in the boat. The medic quickly tended to their wounds. Afterwards, they made themselves comfortable as they waited for Alex and his men.

Cassia woke up and the boat was already moving. She did not know how much time has passed. She looked around and saw Nikos was sleeping peacefully beside her. Alex sat beside Nikos and he was leafing through a stack of papers.