Nikos shook his head to clear it of that line of thought and scanned the room once more. This time, his gaze flitted towards the waiters who kept on roaming the room bearing platters of hors d'oeuvres, shrimp cocktails, wine, and other drinks. His gaze also went towards the side of the room which was converted into a bar.
His hands itched to get a drink.
“You know...I still do not think that is the case. Have you looked at Cassia, my friend? She seems to be a nice girl and not like the spoiled heiresses we are used to.”
“Well, some fruits look good on the outside but are rotten on the inside,” Nikos scoffed.
Antonio shook his head sadly. “I still do not think that this is the case, Nikos. And I have a really bad feeling about this. What’s your plan now?”
“I’ll let her see what kind of husband she bought. And I’ll make sure I drive her to another man so that I could file for divorce and all of Demakis International and Andrade Shipping will fall to my hands,” Nikos said in a very determined tone.
Antonio sighed.
“Revenge is not a good thing.”
Nikos raised an eyebrow and then threw back his head and laughed.
“Since when did you get so wise? Did you get a new job as my guardian angel or something?”
Antonio rolled his eyes also and laughed.
“I just can’t shake this feeling that you’re about to do something wrong.”
“And now you have become an oracle or a soothsayer,” Nikos teased.
“I see that your tongue is still as charming as ever! You best be coming back to your future bride,” Antonio said before he stood up.
Nikos also stood up and started to follow his friend but Costas stood in his way.
“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“Ah, Mr. Andrade. You have the papers?”
“Yes. Here they are. You can review them and just contact my legal team for any changes. The final contract will be signed right after the wedding.”
“All right then, I will get in touch. I will read through this and also have my grandfather and our legal team review it.”
Costas then handed Nikos a thick envelope. Nikos raised his hand and motioned for his executive secretary to approach him. The man approached and retrieved the papers from him.
“If that is everything, I have to go back to my party,” Nikos said flatly.
“That is everything,” Costas replied with a smug grin.
Nikos excused himself and went back to find Cassia who was still sitting in the spot he left her in. She stared at the crowd warily and he noticed that she was twisting her skirts yet again.
“Cassia.” Nikos called. Immediately, she raised her head and her brown eyes looked straight into his.
“I want to introduce you to my grandfather,” Nikos told her.
She stood up and he took her arm and led her across the room and towards his grandfather.
“Grandfather, this is Cassia, my future bride. Cassia, this is my grandfather, Stavros Demakis,” Nikos introduced.
Stavros looked at Cassia from head-to-toe and then leaned forward and gave her a kiss on both cheeks.
“Nice to meet you, Cassia. And welcome to the family,” Stavros said.
Cassia noticed the coldness in his tone and the way his eyes hardened like Nikos’ did earlier.
She peered up at Stavros and tried to study his expression but his face remained blank. A second later, Stavros turned his back on her and continued talking to his fellow businessmen. With that, Cassia’s spirits fell. She knew she was not welcome with Nikos’ family.
“I guess that means your grandfather doesn’t like me,” she whispered in defeat.
“Pappou doesn’t like a lot of people,” Nikos replied dryly.
“What about your parents, then? Will they like me?” she asked.
“You don’t have to worry about my parents. They are too busy travelling the world to pay me any notice. If they don’t notice me then maybe they would not notice you too,” Nikos muttered.
He realized later that he’d been rude and he quickly made amends.
“And it does not matter. It’s not them who are getting married. It’s us,” he explained and even squeezed her hand to comfort her. She lifted her head once more and smiled at him.
And something tightened inside Nikos’ chest at the sight of that smile.
“Thank you, Nikos...” she whispered dreamily.
With those words, Nikos was snapped back to reality for he realized that this girl truly had a bad case of infatuation with him.
“Well, time for the big announcement,” he said as he took her hand and guided her towards the dance floor.
The moment they were in the middle, the music stopped and the entire crowd became silent.
“Good evening everyone. I know that some of you already know why we are gathered here tonight. And I also know that some are still baffled as to why. So let me announce this right now. The lovely Cassia Andrade has agreed to marry me and this is our engagement party! So tonight, help yourselves to the food, the wine and I bid you enjoy!” Nikos announced.
To make everything look real, he pulled Cassia affectionately towards his side and placed a kiss on her temple. He also felt her stiffen in surprise at first and then further melt against him.
He turned around and faced her then put his hand on her waist. With his other hand, he signalled the orchestra to play some music. Then he took her hand and they waited for the music to start so they could dance.
Nikos saw Cassia’s eyes flare with panic.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to dance.”
“I seem to recall that we danced fine the first night we met,” Nikos pointed out.
Cassia shook her head nervously and bit her lip.
“Don’t worry. It’s fine. Just follow my lead,” he ordered.
Cassia nodded and with that, the couple took their first step which was followed by another and then another...
While they danced, Cassia finally realized that this was not a dream.
This was not a fairytale and that this was better than all the scenarios she came up with in her head.
This was real...
She was truly with Nikos Demakis.
She was now engaged, and in a month’s time, she would be married to the same guy who took the lead role in all of her fantasies.
CHAPTER 5 - WEDDING
November 15, 2003 (More than one month later)
Antoniou Winery
The Island of Santorini, Greece
“You look so beautiful, Cassia,” Anna told her.
Cassia smiled at her and squeezed her hand. It was truly a good thing that her friend was here, for her nerves were eating her alive. Here she was in her room, in all her wedding finery, waiting for the moment of her wedding to come.
“Come on, do a twirl for me, my friend. I want this to stay in my memory forever,” Anna pleaded.
“Sure. By the way, thanks for being here. I don’t know what I’ll do without you,” Cassia said, and with those words, her eyes started to fill with tears.
“No! Don’t cry. You’ll ruin your perfect make-up. And it’s nothing! You paid for all of my expenses! Of course, I won’t let the opportunity to travel pass me by. I’ll never earn the fare here in my meager job back at home. And I’m really enjoying it here so far! So stop going all sentimental on me, all right?” Anna chastised.
Cassia laughed and wiped away her tears with a tissue before they could fall and ruin her make-up. Then she stood up and did a twirl for her best friend who had been with her since her parents died. They were once fostered together and stayed friends ever since.
Cassia wore a cream-colored wedding gown envisioned by one of the top international designers. She fell in love with it the moment she first set eyes upon it. The beading and the design in the bodice, where diamonds were embedded, was very intricate. The skirt of the gown fit her hips snugly and then flared out into a skirt with a very long train.
The train was a bit heavy but she still loved it. She twirled for her friend and they both laughed when she managed not to fall.
“You really look so beautiful. I never thought I’d see you like this,” Anna said, and this time she was the one who wiped away tears that threatened to fall.
“Thank you, Anna.” Cassia smiled as she hugged her tightly.
“Wait! We might wrinkle your gown!” Anna laughed.
“This is an expensive gown. I don’t think it would get wrinkled that easily,” Cassia teased.
“True,” her friend agreed.
Cassia sat on the chaise once more and willed the time to pass away so that her wedding and her life with Nikos could start.
“So...tell me about this Nikos guy that you are marrying. What’s he like? Every time I see him, he’s polite and all. He’s also really good-looking. But...I don’t know Cass...he seems cold to me. There’s something about him I can’t quite fathom,” Anna said thoughtfully.
Cassia tilted her head to the side and thought about her friend’s observation of her fiancé. During the past month after her engagement, she went to all her social obligations with Nikos as her date. They also went together to the places and events for their wedding preparations.
Nikos was always on time. He was always perfectly polite, always immaculately dressed and always a perfect gentleman.
Just like Anna said, Nikos was a great man...he just seemed cold. And there was something else about him that was different.
Maybe it was the way his eyes looked as if they were filled with rage?