The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract(51)
Alex just continued grinning.
“Please don’t do anything stupid,” Nikos pleaded.
Alex turned around and winked then he disappeared amongst the crowd. Antonio and Elise also made their way towards the dance floor and started dancing.
Nikos was left alone so he went in search of his wife. He found her with her friends, and excused them so they could also spend some time dancing.
“Enjoying your night?” Nikos asked her.
“Hmm...let’s see. During the brief time I was away from you, I’ve already been cornered by about three of your exes. It’s the usual thing, nothing serious,” Cassia told Nikos as they swayed to the slow melody.
“How did you handle yourself, agapimeni?”
“I handled myself well, I suppose. The days when they can put me down are so over.”
Nikos threw back his head and laughed.
“You’re priceless.”
“I am, so you better be sure that you understand my worth before I slip through your fingers.”
“Ahh...that already happened once, glikiamou. I won’t let it happen again,” Nikos vowed as he pulled her closer to his chest.
He knew the truth now and he would never let her go. A man was only given one shot at happiness when it came to a woman. He believed she was that shot for him.
Cassia laughed and the sound slid through him like silk.
“You better not be thinking about any of them. Because if you are, I’ll cut your balls out and feed them to you.”
Nikos raised an eyebrow. “My wife is pure evil,” he laughed.
“Nikos,” a familiar voice rasped.
Nikos turned around and saw his grandfather, Stavros Demakis.
“Pappou!” he greeted as he embraced his grandfather, “I didn’t know you would be here.”
“I really did not want to go, son. It’s just that I heard you were going here with your wife. I just had to see you for you haven’t visited me for a long time,” his grandfather said in a sad tone.
“I’m so sorry, Pappou. I’ve been very busy and a lot of things have happened.”
“We have to catch up about a lot of things. Shall we?” Stavros pointed to the bar.
Cassia noticed that Stavros Demakis was pointedly ignoring her.
“Go Nikos.” She smiled at them both.
Nikos reluctantly left her and went to the bar with his grandfather.
“So, how are you, son?”
“I’m fine. Excellent. And you?”
“Never better. Nikos, I’ll get straight to the point. I am here for a reason. I heard that you are spending time with your wife. Are you back together?”
“Yes. We are giving this marriage a try,” he replied dryly.
Why was his grandfather interested in his marriage all of a sudden?
“Nikos...it’s been ten years. You have worked very hard and the company is flourishing. Costas Andrade is now weak. He won’t be able to manage anything. That’s why he depends on you. You can now repay him every cent we owe. Here’s your chance to gain your life back.”
Nikos’ entire body stiffened after hearing his grandfather’s words.
“Pay Costas Andrade and divorce his granddaughter! I know how hard this was on you ten years ago. I am sorry that marriage to her was the only way. But you’ve suffered enough, Nikos. Now, you can reap the rewards of your hard work. You can divorce her and marry someone of your choosing.”
“Pappou—“
“Listen, Nikos. That girl isn’t for you. I know she’s like her grandfather. Now, you don’t have to stay with her. You don’t have to let your life be dictated by that piece of paper that’s your marriage contract. You can now be free.”
Nikos sighed and gulped down his drink.“Pappou, I know you want what’s best for me. Cassia is the best thing in my life. She wasn’t who I first thought her to be. All Costas Andrade told me when I married her were lies. He made me believe the worst of her, made me think that she was greedy and wanted to divorce me so they’d get everything. Now that I’ve spent time with her, I’ve fallen in love.”
“Nikos—“
“Pappou...love is exactly as you told me it was. I remembered all your stories about yiayia.”
When Nikos was young, Stavros told him a lot about his grandmother, whom he loved so much. He taught Nikos a lot of things about love too.
“I can’t let her go now. She’s different. This is real,Pappou. I’m not dictated by that contract we signed anymore.”
“Do not make hasty decisions, son!”
“This is not a hasty decision. Believe me, I’ve thought about this a lot. This is our chance to be together and set everything right like we should have ten years ago.”
Stavros Demakis was silent for a long time.
“I cannot believe I am hearing these words from you, Nikos. Since what happened two years ago, you’ve changed a lot.”
“Well, kidnapping takes a lot out of you,” Nikos teased in an attempt to make the mood lighter. “Besides, she makes the nightmares go away, Pappou. When I’m with her, I dream of a future together. A family.”
Stavros’ eyes softened and he leaned back and whistled. “You’re a grown man and everything is up to you, son. I am proud that you are the kind of man that’s standing before me today. I only hope you are making the right decisions in life for I would hate to see you be hurt.”
“She won’t hurt me, Pappou. It was I who hurt her so much.”
“Well, make amends then. Get started on that family you’ve been dreaming about! I am an old man, Nikos. I can’t wait forever for you to produce a great-grandson that I could bounce on my knee,” the old man told him with an excited smile.
Nikos threw back his head and laughed. “I will, Pappou. I will.”
Nikos returned to his wife who was dancing with Antonio as Elise danced with Alex. He also noticed that while Elise and Alex were dancing, Alex’s eyes darted towards Isobel who was dancing with one of the youngest Senators of the United States. He looked at both of them as if he wanted to wring their necks.
When the song ended, he approached them and reclaimed his wife. They danced while she laughed and told him all of Antonio’s stories about their antics when they were still in college. Nikos found himself laughing and shaking his head at all the embarrassing things he did in his youth.
Throughout the rest of the night, guests of the anniversary party watched with mixed amazement and curiosity how the previously estranged husband and wife laughed and danced close to each other. Surely, tomorrow this would be the headline in the society pages and not the ball itself.
Or maybe the headline will be about how a Mr. Alex Smith punched one of the Senators of the United States and dunked his head in a bowl of fruit punch...
CHAPTER 21 - SURPRISE
January 18, 2013
Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic
Athens, Greece
Cassia stared at the pink walls as she waited for the result of the blood test that was done.
For the past week, she’d had nausea and she feared she was coming down with something. But she thought it was also something else. She prayed it was the latter.
Today, she finally had the courage to go to the local pharmacy after Nikos left for work. She bought five sets of pregnancy test kits. All five came back positive.
She felt like she’d won the lottery!
She wanted to jump up and down with joy but she feared it would jar her baby. So she just ran to her bed and screamed her glee against the pillows. Her joy lasted all through the morning.
But then she thought about the implications.
She was pregnant with Nikos’ baby!
Would he be happy about it? Was she ready for them to be a family? Would this affect their relationship?
Having a baby felt very final to her. She was confused about everything else but she was sure about one thing: she was going to keep her baby and raise it well. She did not care about the rest of the world. If Nikos didn’t want their child, then to hell with him. He was not needed in their lives.
Now, it was not a memory that she’d bring with her but a piece of him.
An hour later, she dragged herself out of bed and headed to the nearest clinic for her check-up. Her blood was drawn and so was a urine sample.
“Mrs. Demakis?” She was ushered inside the clinic and the doctor smiled. “The results came back. Congratulations! You are pregnant. We’ll have to do an ultrasound to check how far along you are. Would that be all right?”
Cassia’s grin was wide and she nodded. She was asked to lie down a narrow examination table and cold gel was placed against her abdomen. The probe was placed against her belly and she began to see blurred images.
“There’s your baby. I would say you’re about six to eight weeks along. Everything looks fine but I will be giving you prenatal vitamins you’ll have to take every day. I’ll also give you a list of what to avoid and food you can eat during your pregnancy so your baby will be absolutely healthy.”
Cassia beamed. She felt as though she was floating on cloud nine. This was absolutely the happiest day in her life! Nothing could mar this perfect day!
The doctor gave her paper towels for her to clean off the gel and then went back to her desk and wrote down her prescriptions. She also printed out several copies of the ultrasound and handed it to her. Tears misted her eyes. It was her baby’s first picture!