“I have no right to any of this, and I made a promise which I intend to keep. Unlike you Alexander my word is my bond, and I promised Nikos that I would sign over all my rights to his company once the vote was taken, and that is what I am doing”.
Alexander had blanched visibly, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly, watching as she had signed the document, before passing it over to the lawyer to witness. Rising to leave, Joe had regarded Mina with respect, taking her hand and shaking it softly.
“What are your plans now?” he had asked gently, seeing as she had looked so sad.
“I am flying out today…time to go home”.
The lawyer had frowned slightly.
“Perhaps you should stay” he had said softly, his eyes looking deeply into hers.
“I am sure that Nikos…” Mina shaking her head adamantly as she had fixed him with eyes full of such hurt.
“Thank you Joe…I appreciate the thought, but there is nothing here for me now” more pain filling her beautiful features.
“I achieved what I came here for…my mother had a peaceful end…and now it is time that I got back to my own life…and this is not it Joe”.
The final part said in almost a whisper, as her voice had wavered slightly. Taking her hand Joe had dropped a small kiss on it, his smile warm and genuine.
“Take care Mina Lane, and if you ever need help…please feel free to call me” he had said gently, as she had given him a small sad smile, nodding her head before silently leaving the room, satisfaction giving her a small glow of warmth as Alexander had still stood his face full of disbelief and panic.
Outside the taxi still waited for Mina, her small case already stowed in its trunk.
“The airport” she had said softly, as the car had moved off, Mina feeling some peace at having put the vote behind her, having kept her word to the two people she loved most, her mother and Nikos.
She had just made the plane, taking her seat and breathing a small sigh, so happy to be returning to her own life she had told herself, her insides still so cold.
A week later Mina sat in her class. While due time off to get over her grief at her mother’s death, she had returned to work needing to have something to do, something to keep her mind from constantly filling with images of the man she loved.
Her students had watched as she had demonstrated a brush technique, her soft voice the only sound in the room as the children had concentrated on her words, their young faces attentive. The small tap on the door had seen her smile broadly at them, placing the brush back down onto the easel as she had stood to answer the knock.
Pulling the door open, she had felt her legs buckle, her hands grasping the wood for support, as pain, shock and hurt had slammed into her.
“Nikos”
She had whispered her eyes staring wildly at the man before her, her shock evident as her already pale face had blanched.
“Hello Mina”
He had said softly, his tone warm and wary, his eyes taking in her shock. With extreme difficulty she had pulled herself together, raising her small chin bravely at the man who was once more just by his presence there tearing her apart.
“I…I didn’t expect to ever see you again” she had mumbled, her arms nervously crossing around her body in a protective gesture not lost on the man before her
“What is you want Nikos?”
He had paused for a second watching the woman before him, seeing how tired she looked, how much thinner she appeared, yet how beautiful she still was to him, his voice hoarser than he had intended.
“I was over on business” he had begun delving into his pocket and drawing from it a sliver of paper.
“And I wanted to make sure that you got this”.
Handing it to her, Mina had looked at the cheque. Blinking in confusion, she had looked back at him, her brow furrowed. She had felt the tears rising once more to her eyes, her nails digging deeply into the soft flesh of her palms to hold them down.
“What is this for?” she had asked, barely glancing at the figure on the paper, not caring that he was handing her a million pounds.
Clearing his throat, he had held her eyes, those lovely glorious eyes, so lacklustre not their usual shining self.
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“We had a deal, and this was part of it”.
The memory of the day he had blackmailed her into going public with her relationship to Alexander had flashed through her mind, as she had nodded gently before hesitantly taking the cheque from his fingers. Looking behind her at the door she had felt the need to escape from him, to not let him see the hurt filling every part of her as she had looked down at the ground, not wanting to look into his dark eyes, those eyes that had the power to raise her so high and throw her so low.