A Fling with the Greek Billionaire (11 page)

So why the fuck did looking at her made him feel like he had run her over?

“Stop acting,” Nik heard himself grit out.

Daria’s eyes became bright at his words, and his anger intensified. He hated her, but he hated himself more.

“You’re no more a helpless victim than I am.”

Looking at him, hearing him speak, Daria realized dully that Nik hated her. For whatever reason, he hated her—

Dooooown, down, down—

She could feel her heart staggering, and it was begging her to put an end to everything. To just walk away and move on.

But she couldn’t.

“W-who are you really?” Daria knew that Nik would think her question was meant to figure out where he was coming from, figure out why he hated her so much.

If only,
Daria thought numbly. But the truth was more pathetic. She had asked simply because she wanted something to hold on to, something to convince her mind and heart that she could still feel
this
…for him.

“Do you really not know?” The way he spoke, the way his unimpressed gaze raked at her, told Daria without words just how much Nik despised her, and she wanted to weep at it.

Nik waited tensely for Daria to answer.
Tell the truth for once, damn you.
Give me a goddamn sign that you’re not beyond salvation—

But Daria only shook her head in the end, and everything in him died, hopes that he hadn’t even realized he had crumbling at Daria’s continued deception.

Goddamn. Beautiful. Liar.

“How long have you known who I was?” Daria knew she should insist on finding out the truth about him, but she no longer had the energy to. Who he was didn’t really matter. It never had from the start. She had only asked because the question was a distraction, but now she knew there was no avoiding the truth.

“I’ve known from the start.” Nik uttered the lie tonelessly. Realizing Daria would not change – would never stop lying – had made him dead inside, and only pride kept him in his seat, determined not to let Daria have the satisfaction of finding out she had indeed succeeded in fooling him, even if just for a short time.

“I knew who you were all along. I knew you lied when you had known no other man but me. I also knew that you could be anything but a virgin.” Bitterness filled him as he spoke, and his voice turned savage. “Did you really think you could lie about that?”

The urge to weep strengthened, but somehow she found the strength to ignore it. “You don’t understand,” Daria whispered. “I
didn’t lie.
” Somehow, she made herself meet Nik’s gaze, willing him to see the truth even if she herself knew it was almost impossible to believe. “I
was
a virgin when—”

“Stop it with the lies!” Nik’s hand on the table curled into a fist as he struggled to control his rage.

Nik looked at Daria like she sickened him, and even though it made her want to cry more than ever, she told herself she didn’t deserve to.

“Please,” she implored, and this time she could no longer keep her voice from trembling. “Just listen to me. I was a virgin, and I can prove—”

“
Shut up!”
Nik’s fist slammed down, and the table jumped under his blow.
How
, he wondered savagely,
how the fuck had he ended up foolish enough to want a woman seemingly incapable of speaking a single truth?

The fury in Nik’s voice terrified her, but the thought of losing him for good – of Nik
never
believing her – terrified Daria even more, and she started talking faster, feeling like she had no time to lose. “I know I was stupid to lie to you, but please, you have to believe me – whatever you’ve heard about me, it’s not—”

“I said shut up.
”

Daria fell silent, but so did everyone in the café.

Nik pushed off his chair and stood. “This conversation is going nowhere.”
 

Disbelief and despair made her feel like she was just imagining things as, in front of her, Nik pulled out his wallet and threw several hundred euros on the table.

And then he was walking away.

Let it go
, Daria’s mind begged of her, and her heart cried for the same thing. But she just couldn’t do it. She watched Nik walk away, farther and farther from her, and she just couldn’t do it.

“Nik, wait!” Ignoring the pitying stares that were sent her way, she scrambled to her feet and ran after Nik.

Nik forced himself to keep going even as he heard Daria call out his name.
This was for the better
, he told himself. His life had no room for a gold-digging slut like Daria, and the sooner she was out of the picture, the quicker things would return to normal.
 

Daria reached Nik as he stepped out of the café. “Nik—” The moment her fingers grazed his skin, Nik yanked his arm out of her hold as if her touch scalded him.
 

Nik whirled around to face her.

Here we go again,
her heart whispered as it hopped back into a rollercoaster that was doomed to crash.
 

“What the fuck did you follow me for?” Angry disgust lined Nik’s voice, and Daria almost shrank back at the sound of it.

Her heart started to stagger, and she felt herself crashing down, down, down, but still she couldn’t stop pleading. “Nik, please, let me explain.” Her voice cracked. It
physically
hurt to beg. It was like screaming to the world that they were right about her mother, and she was, in fact, following in Magnolia Everest’s footsteps. But the thought of losing Nik without trying her best to hold on to him hurt even more, and so if she had to beg, she would.
 

She raised her eyes to him, stripped completely of pride.
“Please, Nik.”
Unwept tears clogged her throat. “Just let me explain—”

Nik’s humorless laugh cut her off. “Explain?” he repeated with harsh incredulity. “Or do you mean you want to spin me one of those fairytales you like—“

Daria shook her head wildly. “No, it’s not—”

“A fairytale about how you’ve miraculously stayed a virgin—”

“It wasn’t like that, please, listen—”

“How the fuck can you stay a virgin,” Nik roared, “when all the men you’ve dated made you sound like a nymphomaniac in bed?”

A nymphomaniac.
She bled at the words, at the knowledge that Nik had said such words about her, and she fell to the sand on her knees.

Give up,
her mind begged.
Stop letting him hurt you,
her heart cried.

But she just couldn’t.

She raised her eyes back to him. “Please,” she said brokenly. “Please let me—”

“Will you stop fucking lying?” Nik said violently. From everywhere people stared, and never in his life had he been involved in this kind of scene. Never in life had he lost control this way, never in his life had he felt this betrayed.

Why did he care so much
, Nik wondered dully. He had known Beth Lewis for years. He had known Daria for over a week, and yet it was Daria who made him feel like the pain inside him wouldn’t ever go away.

“Why do you insist on lying when you know I already know the truth?” Nik’s accent thickened as his bitterness threatened to spill out of him. “Why drag this—”

“Because I love—”

“Stop lying! Do I look that fucking stupid to you?
I know who you are.
Do you hear me, Daria? I know you’re a woman who had almost as many men as there are days in a month.” Merely speaking the words made Nik want to fly into a rage because even now – even now he despised the idea of Daria being with another man, and the thought filled him with such jealous rage he heard himself lashing out, “What’s my goddamn number, Daria? Can you still remember? Am I your thirtieth? Do you need one or two more to complete a fucking page in your calendar?”

Nik’s words were no worse than a public stoning, and he wanted to take them back as soon as he said them. He waited for Daria to slap him – she deserved to.

But instead, Daria’s wide gray eyes were filled with pain.

For him.

Nik stiffened.

“I’m so sorry,” Daria whispered.

The words were like a slap to his face, forcing him to accept the truth.
 

Somehow, some fucking way, Daria knew. He could see it in her eyes, and it became impossible to deny.

He had fallen in love with her.

And she had hurt and used him in return.

Daria forced herself to stand up. “Nik, I’m sorry.” The entire time Nik had spoken, she hadn’t just heard his words. She had also heard what Nik hadn’t said, and suddenly the truth became obvious. Suddenly, everything became clear. Why he was being so cruel, why he wanted her out of his life for good.

Oh God, why have I been such a fool?

Why?

Why did I have to lie to him?

That first time they met – that first time God had given him to her – it had been just as special for Nik as it had been to her. That first time had been enough for Nik – the same way it had been enough for her – to think that she was the right one for him.

But in return, she had made him feel like a fool. She had lied to Nik because of her stupid pride and her even more stupid fears, and those lies had destroyed everything.

She looked at Nik, and the words just spilled out. “Nik, I’m so sorry.” His face turned white at her words, and her heart wept for him. “I’m sorry,” she repeated brokenly. “I’m sorry I was so stupid—”

“Shut up—”

But she made herself continue, desperate for Nik to know she regretted everything. “I’m sorry I lied, I’m sorry I hurt you.”

Nik’s skin crawled with shame as he listened to Daria’s apology. It was like the past repeating itself, and the pain drowned him as the memories surged forward. He remembered Beth, remembered how, despite knowing that she was the one person he trusted and loved, she had still
chosen
to hurt him.

And the fucking idiot that he was
, Nik thought dully,
he was letting it happen again
.

This woman in front of him – this woman knew she had the power to hurt him, this woman knew she had already hurt him, and yet here she was now, crying fake goddamn tears so she could get back to Nik, and the worst thing was, he
wanted
to take her back.

“Damn you.” He spun away from her and didn’t look back as he walked out on her for the last time.
 

“Nik, please, wait, please.”
 

He heard her footsteps behind him and knew Daria was doing her best to run after him despite her ridiculous high heels. His self-hatred deepened.

Goddamn her
. If Daria had an ounce of decency in her, she would just let him be. But here she was, running after him, and it could only mean one thing.

She not only knew she had been able to fool him. She also knew who he was. Whether she knew he was Nik Alexandropoulos from the start was immaterial. The point was, she
had
found out about him somewhere along the way and it was the only reason she was begging for him now, doing everything she could to hold on to him.

Daria only managed to catch up to Nik when he had to knock on Miranda’s cabin and wait for her to open the door.

“
Nik, please
.” Daria curled her fingers around his elbow, but again he jerked himself out of her hold. He turned to look at her, and she could see in his eyes that he still distrusted her, that she still sickened him. She couldn’t blame him for it, knew the sight of her was hurting him, but even so, she just couldn’t give up on him.

“Nik, you have to listen.” She grabbed his hand and locked her fingers with his as painfully tight as she could. He stiffened at her touch, but this time, she held on to him with all her might, not letting him pull away. “I’m sorry I lied, but you have to understand—”

The door opened behind Nik, and the sight of Miranda made her stop speaking.

The other woman looked back at her with inscrutable eyes, but Daria knew that Miranda was sizing everything up. A moment later, the other woman stepped out. There was no animosity in her face – nothing but a polite expression – as she reached for Daria’s hand.