Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68810 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
She had, unconsciously, wanted to make him pay by cheating on him, but she hadn’t been able to do it. Her lips twisted at the thought. More specifically, she hadn’t been able to do what he had done to her.
And wasn’t that the most pathetic thing in the world?
Her phone buzzed.
Kyr: There is nothing to be thankful for.
Kyr: I love you, psaraki.
Pollyanna: Stop saying that, PLEASE. It won’t change the fact that our marriage was a lie.
Kyr: I did think it was a lie, but I was wrong. I know that now.
Kyr: Because I love you.
Kyr: And I will never tire of saying that.
Pollyanna deleted all his messages.
Why couldn’t she forget him?
Why couldn’t she stop loving him?
Why?
Chapter Nine
Now that she had gotten over the need to play around and have revenge, Pollyanna decided to simply drown herself in work, which seemed to be the only thing that could drive Kyrillos Gazis out of her mind.
When Christmas came and Pollyanna and the children joined Kyr on his yacht, her husband took one look at her and frowned.
“What?” she asked, trying not to bristle.
He slowly shook his head. “Nothing.” But throughout the day, she would catch him looking at her, and the frown would reappear on his face. When the kids were asleep, she confronted him immediately, going straight to his study and asking him what the problem was.
She expected him to roar back at her because in the past, he had been like that. But instead, Kyr only left his desk and walked past Pollyanna to close the door behind her. His actions made her flush because she knew that was her fault, and if the twins had ended up hearing them arguing, she would never have forgiven herself.
Even so, her voice was decidedly ungracious as she muttered, “Sorry.”
Kyr only looked at her, his narrowed gaze studying her from head to toe. Finally, he said, “You’ve lost too much weight.”
Her lips tightened, but she couldn’t allow herself to answer. What was there to say? I’m losing weight because of you? She had to have more pride than that.
But then she heard her husband say, “You don’t look fine.”
And that was when she lost it.
“Not like her, do you mean?”
Kyr was visibly startled, and his eyes widened imperceptibly when he noticed the way her fists were clenched against her sides.
“Is that what you really wanted to ask? Why can’t the mother of your kids be as perfect as she is?” The shrillness of her voice hurt her own ears, but she just couldn’t stop. It was as if something inside her had burst, and now there was no stopping all her hatred and bitterness and despair from spilling out.
She advanced towards him, and he backed away, and oh God, it would have been so damn laughable if she didn’t feel more like crying right that moment. There he was, Kyrillos Gazis, one of the world’s hottest Greek billionaires, looking nothing but perfect in his three-piece suit. And here she was, Pollyanna, an American nobody who just happened to be at the right place and time when Kyr had needed someone to distract him from his loneliness.
“Say something!” But he only looked at her, and she screamed, “Why are you still here? Why don’t you just go to—-”
“Because I love you!” He hauled her close, and she struggled wildly, but she was powerless in his hold. She expected him to shout at her, but instead his voice was hoarse and achingly gentle when he said, “I know you, Polly. I know you enough to understand that a part of you has always been waiting for the three of us—-” His lips pressed together in a tight, white line. “You, me, and her – you think we’ll have this big confrontation and you expect yourself to be the victim—-”
She managed to wrench one of her hands away and slapped him full in the face.
But it didn’t stop him from speaking, and in fact his voice only became gentler as he said, “It’s not going to happen.”
“SHUT UP!” She tried slapping him again.
“Because that night I hurt you, whatever I felt for Ana disappeared—-”
“I said, shut up!” And this time, she was howling, crying, and she hated him and herself for breaking down.
“The sight of your pain killed everything I felt for her. And now, it’s just between you and me—-”
“Liar!” She began beating his chest, but somehow, everything she did, everything she heard, just made her hurt more.
Kyr forcibly brought her fists down, capturing both wrists in one hold, and then he hauled her close so she would stop hurting himself. She started sobbing, and he held her more tightly, wishing dully there was a way he could just sell his soul in exchange for all her pain to be taken away.
“Listen, my love.” His voice shook with emotions. “We can go to her now, if that’s what you want. She can threaten to jump off the cliff just so I’d talk to her and I wouldn’t even blink, wouldn’t even answer because I never want to hurt you again.” He looked down and forced his wife to look up at him. “I love you.”