Eight months after Book 2

Routines had again come to Serenity’s rescue. As a freshman enrolled in the newly-opened Athens campus of Christopoulos University, her days began to follow a pattern that she was quick to embrace. Her classes went from morning to noon, and after lunch, she proceeded to spend the afternoons at her part-time job. Weekends, she went home to stay with her friend Willow, who was now married to a Greek billionaire of her own, Stavros Manolis.

It was a very orderly life, and she liked it exactly that way.

It would have stayed that way, too, if only Anton wasn’t making her feel horrendous for constantly turning him down.

Anton was a sophomore in her book club, and he had befriended her on the first club meeting. He was of average height, and with equally average looks. Everything was average about him, and if Serenity was honest with herself, it was that very trait which had allowed her to relax her guard with the boy. He was ordinary, and in that sense, the very opposite of the Dutch billionaire she was slowly succeeding in forgetting. She had been pleased when he had offered her friendship and had not hesitated to offer hers back. In her innocence and sheer lack of experience with members of the opposite sex, Serenity had not realized until it was too late that a boy’s offer of friendship was frequently the first step to dating.

“How about I just walk you back to the dorm?” Anton asked as soon as the club president dismissed them for the day and everyone began to leave. He braced himself for rejection, but when Serenity visibly hesitated, he realized that, for whatever reason, he had a real chance now of getting the beautiful Serenity Raleigh to say yes.

“Just a walk,” he pressed, deliberately moving to block her way to the door. He knew he was being unfair. From the very start, Serenity’s innocence had been obvious, and eventually, he had found out that she had studied in an all-girls’ school her entire life. He knew he should give her space, but he just couldn’t do it. The moment he did, Anton was pretty sure some other guy – someone much cooler than he was – would snap her right up. No way in hell would he wait for that to happen.

Serenity chewed on her lip uncertainly. “Just a walk?”

He nodded eagerly. “A walk.” He crossed his heart. “I swear it.” Like Serenity, he was a full-blooded American, and he thanked God for it, knowing that it was another reason why Serenity was more comfortable in his company.

“Okay,” she said finally.

Anton mentally pumped his fist in the air. Yes!

As they walked, Anton noticed the way the other guys gazed at him with not-so-secret envy and almost smirked. Eat your hearts out, he thought smugly. None of them knew Serenity like he did, and he would do everything to ensure it stayed that way.

Keeping his pace slow to prolong his time with her, he began to regale Serenity with funny stories about his family. The first time they had met, he had tried to impress her with how wealthy and famous his family was, and it had been a big mistake. He had noticed the way she became more polite and stiffer with him by the second and had desperately changed tacks, accidentally blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.

“When I’m nervous, I tend to fart. Only my family knows it though, and now you.”

As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, Anton had been aghast and miserable. He had waited for Serenity to tell the whole class about him and wouldn’t have blamed her for it.

But she hadn’t.

Instead, she had smiled at him while saying in her lovely, clearly voice, “Your family sounds so wonderfully nice.” But there had also been a note of wistfulness in her words, and Anton had realized then if he kept telling her stories about his family, she would stay with him forever. It was like Scheherazade and the king, only this time he was the storytelling virgin and he had a queen to entertain.

Even now, Serenity did not seem tired at all, listening to him telling her the most mundane things about his family. Throughout their walk, Anton was careful to keep his distance, knowing also from experience how Serenity hated being touched by members of his sex. He had researched about her and had eventually come to the conclusion that it was probably because she was a virgin. She was Willem, Jr. after all, and the Dutch billionaire likely had some of his guards looking after her, being his girlfriend’s younger sister.

What if the Dutch billionaire came here, he mused even as he kept a steady stream of chatter about his family. What if the Dutch billionaire disapproved of him? What would he do?

Anton mentally shook his head. Nah. Even if the Dutch billionaire did come, surely the older man would not find any fault in him. He came from extremely good Greek stock, and he had never been accused of being a playboy. In fact, if Willem de Konigh requested that he honor Serenity with an offer of marriage, Anton would be more than happy to do so.

He looked at Serenity.

She looked back at him, her tranquil expression unchanging and her eyes still an unreadable shade of blue.

One day, Anton vowed to himself, he would learn all the secrets behind that perfect mask. One day, he would have the right to kiss her. His pulse quickened at the thought. One day, he would have the right to undress her---

Her brows furrowed. “Anton?” Her tone was bemused.

Anton recovered. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat and wished to God it would be just as easy to clear his erection away. “I was just thinking of un---” He hastily caught himself in time. “I mean, I was thinking of unnecessary stuff.”

“Unnecessary stuff like what?” Serenity’s tone had turned curious.

He pulled on his collar. “Well…” Anton was not at all used to lying. He saw her frown and her gaze narrow at him in puzzlement. Her eyes began to move down, and he panicked. Not wanting Serenity to notice the rather prominent bulge under his jeans, he pointed behind her back. “Look!” He hadn’t really anywhere or anything to point at, had only wanted Serenity distracted. But as he followed the random direction his finger pointed to, Anton realized with a start that there was something worth noticing.

A black stretch limousine, parked right in front of Serenity’s dorm.

“What is it?” he heard Serenity ask as she whirled around to follow his gaze.

A chauffeur had stepped out to open the passenger door.

Serenity whitened upon seeing the limousine and the man stepping out of it with elegant grace.

Willem.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had reached for Anton’s hand and gripped it tightly, needing to remind herself that she was not alone.

Anton jumped at the unexpected touch but had enough presence of mind not to pull away. Instead, he tightened his hold on her, and his chest puffed with pride when he felt Serenity return his tight hold.

He turned to face the Dutch billionaire---

Willem de Konigh was standing right in front of him, dressed in an obviously bespoke pinstriped suit, with the way it molded perfectly to his broad shoulders and long, lean frame. He was so damn tall Anton had to crane his neck to meet the Dutch billionaire’s gaze.

The older man’s icy blue eyes raked him from head to toe.

Anton’s earliest boost of self-confidence disappeared, and he heard himself croak out, “Good afternoon, Mr. de Konigh.”

“I’m afraid I do not have the pleasure of knowing your name.” Anton felt like he was in some kind of Twilight Zone as he listened to the Dutch billionaire speak. He had a strong accent, but his perfectly modulated voice also bore an immensely strong resemblance to Serenity’s. It was like hearing twins speak, even when they weren’t really that.

“Anton Floros, sir.” And because he couldn’t very well ignore the hand the billionaire offered, he reluctantly released his hold on Serenity’s hand to shake hands with the older man. When it was over, he considered taking Serenity’s hand again. But her hands were already fisted against her sides, and despite everything, he didn’t quite have the nerve to risk rejection by taking her hand.

“I believe you were just leaving?” The billionaire’s voice was pleasant.

Anton blinked. “I’m not---” He saw the billionaire’s eyes bore through his, and he suddenly realized that even if Serenity had not noticed his erection, the older man had. And right now, Willem de Konigh was courteously and generously offering him a way out before he proceeded to embarrass himself.

“On second thought, I think I have to go.” Anton couldn’t quite meet Serenity’s gaze as he spoke. “See you, Serenity.” He turned and walked away quickly, thanking God that the Dutch billionaire was indeed the nice gentleman that he was reputed to be.

Alone, Serenity and Willem were left facing each other.

It was agony to look at him, but she forced herself to, telling herself that she would only make herself weaker if she did not. He was still heartbreakingly beautiful, maybe even more so than she remembered. But he had grown thinner, too, his new leanness causing his features to be more prominent and aristocratic.

Willem had a hard time keeping his reaction in check as he devoured every inch of Serenity’s face. He had missed her. He had missed her the second he had left her, but now that he was standing in front of her, the ache and longing he felt for her presence couldn’t be any more acute.

He had this insane urge to haul her to him, to rain kisses all over her face the same time he begged her for forgiveness. Only his rigid self-discipline kept him from doing so, the stoic look on Serenity’s face telling him that to act like a Neanderthal would only drive her further away from him.

Instead, he finally chose to be the first to break the silence, saying simply, “I would like a private moment with you.”

* * *

She led him to the café next door, which was staffed by students as well. Heads turned as they entered the establishment, with most of the girls openly staring and excitedly gushing as Serenity and the billionaire proceeded to walk past them.

“Is this okay?” she asked stiltedly, gesturing to the booth at the far end of the café.

“Anywhere will suffice.” As soon as they were seated, she realized the reason why he had said so. His bodyguards had followed them inside, and once again they formed a human wall to keep everyone away from their employer.

“You are okay?”

Why did he care? It was what she wanted to ask, but she managed to keep her bitterness at bay. It was not his fault that he did not love her, was not his fault that she could not be what he wanted in a wife.

She said finally, “I’ve started to move on.”

“I see.” His fists clenched under the table. She had started to move on. He did not know what he should make of the words. He knew now that he loved Serenity like no other man would ever love her, but he also knew it was that very same emotion which allowed him to hurt her like no man ever could either.

“I would like to tell you something.”

She thought immediately of Shane. He was going to tell her that he was going to marry Shane, and she almost reared back at the mere thought of it. Even though she had left home two months ago, her sister had not stopped taunting her. Shane regularly left messages in her voice mail, and like an incurable addict, Serenity was unable to stop herself from listening to every one of them.

Willem and I had a date at Zurich. He had the company jet fly me over and we fucked each other in his private cabin. Have you had that with the billionaire yet? I bet not. I bet you want to, but you know what? I’m going to bet you’ll never be able to experience it.

Willem and I were on the phone for hours, and the whole time I kept waiting for him to ask about you. But he didn’t. It’s like he’s forgotten you ever existed.

Willem’s flying to Greece, and I may have convinced him to see you. I told him that you’ve matured, and you’re going to be less clingy now probably. Shane’s voice had lowered, and it took a sly and cruel tone as she spoke the rest of her message. I told him I’m cool with him messing around with you again. I told him it would be so easy for him to lie his way back into your good graces, since you’re a cheap, mindless whore who thinks that giving up your virginity is a way of keeping a man chained to you.

She had thought Shane was only making the last few things up to hurt her. But obviously it wasn’t so. Because Willem was here now, and seeing him devour her with patently hungry eyes, she came to two realizations that made Serenity feel sick to her stomach.

One: he had no idea she knew about him and Shane, knew that he was only here now because Shane had told him she might be willing to play the whore for him again.

Two: the knowledge didn’t make any difference to her feelings.

She still loved Willem de Konigh, and the truth tore her apart.

“Did you hear me, Sere?”

She almost flinched at his use of her nickname. Once, it had made her feel special. But now, she wondered bitterly if it was just the billionaire’s “style,” his way of making all of his paramours feel special.

“I heard you,” she managed to say. Still unable to meet his gaze, she continued in the same stilted fashion, “And I’m listening.”

Something was wrong, Willem kept thinking. There was something in the way she spoke, something in the way she couldn’t make herself look at him. In the end, he told himself he was being foolish. Of course something was wrong. Everything was wrong, and it had been so the moment he had allowed his past to color his thoughts and beliefs about love. And if not for a certain pair of interfering strangers, he would have remained blind about his ignorance.

Drawing his breath, he said tautly, “I left you because I did think I didn’t love you.”

Ah. Serenity’s lip curled in self-hatred. “You’re not saying anything I don’t know, Mr. de Konigh.”

He flinched at the way she said his name but knew that he deserved it. “But what you saw was a setup. Shane wasn’t---”

“No.” She didn’t want to hear him lying, didn’t want him to hear him prove Shane’s every word true. “I don’t want to hear anything about that anymore.” She forced herself to meet his gaze, and she wanted to cry and scream when she saw the agony in the billionaire’s gaze.

Liar!

Liar!

Liar!

How could he pretend so easily that he was hurting just like she was?

“This is a mistake,” she said tightly.

Willem saw Serenity start to stand up, and he moved swiftly. “No!” He grabbed her hand, his fingers tightening around her wrist just before she could leave the booth.

His touch burned her. It was as if the millions of cells that made her up had flocked to the place where his fingers held her and had become the source of her very life. She breathed, lived, burned for his touch, and it was so damn pathetic.

Shane had been right.

She was pathetic.

And she couldn’t help it.

She wanted it to be over but she couldn’t help it. She had loved Willem de Konigh for five years. She had loved him since she was fourteen, and even though he had ripped her heart out with his betrayal, it still wasn’t enough to completely kill her feelings for him.

“Please.” The billionaire’s voice was just as tight as hers had been, and hearing him plead the very same way she had pleaded with him not so long ago nearly drove her insane.

She fell limply back into her seat. “Let me go,” she whispered.

Slowly, reluctantly, Willem forced his fingers to loosen, and pain ravaged his chest at the way Serenity so quickly yanked her hand out of his touch.

Once…once she had trusted him to guide her every step of the way.

But that was then, he thought dully, and it was his fault she no longer looked at him with stars in her eyes.

“I don’t ever want to talk about the past.”

Slowly, he nodded.

She swallowed hard. “And now – I want to know why you’re here.”

He said quietly, “Because I’ve realized, perhaps too late, that I have loved you from the very beginning.”

* * *

Serenity lay awake on her bed for hours.

No matter what she did, she could not forget what had happened, could not stop the same scene replaying over and over in her mind.

“You love me.” Her voice trembled.

The billionaire’s gaze didn’t waver from her face. “Yes. I love you.”

“From the very beginning.” Her voice caught.

“From the very beginning.” His tone was even, his face serious, and it had made her want to cry. It had made her want to laugh and scream. Oh God, it made her wish she were insane. Because then – maybe then it would hurt less.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” she demanded shakily. “After what you’ve done to me, after what you’ve made me do – you have the gall to come here and tell me you’ve loved me from the very beginning?”

“Yes.” His tone was unequivocal despite of the way he had grown white at her words.

“And you expect me to believe you, just like that?”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to prove it.”

She shook her head. “There’s no need because I can tell you right now. I will never believe you.” She stood up, and so did he. “Thank you for your time, Mr. de Konigh, but I hope this is the last time we see each other again.”

A look of devastation flickered in his face before disappearing, so quickly that she told herself she had imagined it. And she had, she had, Serenity told herself.

“I don’t love him,” she whispered, but even to herself the words sounded like the lie that it was. Her throat tightened, and she could barely choke the words past her tears. “I don’t love him. I don’t. I don’t.”

But still, it sounded like a lie.

She remembered the times that were oh so good between them. The time he had given Serenity her first pair of custom-designed shoes, the time he had taken her in his arms.

But right next to those memories were those that hurt, that might always hurt like wounds that had no way of healing. She remembered the way his lips had felt so cold under hers the first time she had kissed him. She remembered the way she had begged him, remembered the way her injured muscles strained to support her as she tried to run after him.

Slowly, the tears fell.

And the moment she started to cry, she could no longer stop.

He loved her, the billionaire said.

But no matter what he said, she knew it could not be true.

True love did not betray. True love did not lie. True love did not hurt.

And in her innocence and inexperience, Serenity believed this to be true. She believed it so much that soon her tears turned her emotions into a feverish desire for revenge. She would make the billionaire pay. She would make him take a dose of his own medicine.

She would make him fall for her and then humiliate him the way he had humiliated her.

* * *

“Hey there,” Willow Somerset-Manolis greeted sleepily when she saw her friend hovering awkwardly by the doorway. She was a violet-eyed brunette, petite and curvy, and – due to the doctor’s strict orders – was on enforced bed rest.

“Hello.” Serenity’s voice was grave, and she didn’t move from her position as she continued in the same tone, “I only wanted you to know I’ve arrived.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “Stop being so formal and come in here.” She pushed herself up to a sitting position and, while waiting for Serenity to reach her, she took quick but careful note of the girl’s face. What she saw didn’t please her at all.

Serenity sat gingerly at the foot of the bed, fearful of making any movement that might cause the pregnant woman pain. When their gazes met, she blurted out, “You seem to get bigger every time we meet.”

Willow grimaced. “Why do you have to be tactless just with me?”

Serenity flushed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…” She shook her head. “But you really are huge.”

Willow couldn’t help chuckling at Serenity’s worried tone. “Relax. How many times do I have to tell you? This is perfectly normal for someone who’s carrying twins, and then there’s the fact that Stavros isn’t exactly petite.”

Serenity wrinkled her nose at the mention of the Greek billionaire’s name. “I still think he’s made you pregnant too early, and it’s just his way of chaining you to him so that when you’ve regained your senses and realize he doesn’t deserve you, it will be too late, and you won’t be able to leave him.” Even now, Serenity couldn’t quite make herself forget completely all the things her friend had suffered in the name of love. In her opinion, Stavros Manolis would never deserve her friend, and it was something she had not attempted to hide from the billionaire.

Like now.

The door behind her opened, and when she glanced over her shoulder, Serenity and Stavros both grimaced upon seeing each other.

“I see your baby lioness has arrived to protect you,” Stavros murmured as he strode into the room. “She’s found out about my latest affair, hasn’t she?”

Serenity gasped. “How could you?”

Willow shook her head in amusement. “Stavros, you must stop teasing her. She’ll never---” The rest of her words was cut off as her husband gave her an open-mouthed kiss as soon as he reached her side.

When he straightened, Serenity was furiously blushing, and so was his wife. “I hate you,” Willow grumbled. “You’re supposed to be conservative, you know.” But her violet eyes were full of love and desire as they rested on Stavros’ face.

“It’s just a kiss between husband and wife,” he said with sham innocence as he lowered himself to the chair next to her. “Even when I did have an affair.”

Serenity made a face. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” But she was still reprimanding herself for once again falling for the Greek billionaire’s prank.

Stretching his legs while holding his wife’s hand in his lap, he told Serenity, “You have a male visitor waiting for you downstairs.”

Willow’s head snapped in her friend’s direction. “A classmate?”

Serenity’s heart started beating hard. Surely, it couldn’t be…surely, it wasn’t---

After throwing the younger girl an odd look, Stavros answered his wife, saying, “It’s Willem.”

Serenity paled. It was him.

Willow was squealing for joy, crowing to Serenity, “I told you he’d come running back and beg you to return to him.” But to her surprise, her friend started vehemently shaking her head.

“It’s n-not like that at all.” She chewed on her lip, her conscience wrestling with her desire for vengeance, which had grown to life the moment she heard Stavros’ name. Her fingers clenched and unclenched as she felt Willow’s curious gaze rest on her. She said haltingly, “I d-didn’t t-tell you everything about what happened.” Swallowing hard, she continued faintly, “He and I didn’t just have a fight over S-Shane. H-he made me think we were together, but then one night I saw him…” Her memories started beating her up like a punching bag, and she took quick, shallow breaths in an effort to control herself. “I saw him, Willow, coming out from my sister’s room.”

Willow bit back a cry, and she felt Stavros’ fingers tighten around hers, her husband knowing instinctively when to lend her his strength. She had experienced something like what Serenity had described with Stavros once, and the only reason she had been able to survive it was because she had known, even when she had heard the man she loved fucking another woman in the room next to her, Stavros had only done it because he thought he had betrayed her.

But this, with Serenity and her Dutch billionaire, was different.

“Serenity, I’m sorry,” she whispered helplessly.

Serenity quickly wiped her eyes. “It’s alright. He never did tell me---” Her voice caught. “He never did tell me he loved me.” She gulped back a sob. “But he…he made me believe I was the only one. He k-knew I thought I was s-special, when I was…not.”

* * *

Willem came to his feet as soon as the door to the private living room opened. But instead of Serenity, it was the house’s owner himself who had come to meet him, and he was not entirely surprised by this.

“Willem.”

“Stavros.”

Their handshake was brief, and the Greek billionaire’s eyes were noticeably cool as they met Willem’s gaze.

“I had not thought our next meeting would be under such circumstances.” Stavros’ tone was grim.

He knew then. Willem was not sure how much Stavros knew of his situation with Serenity, but he could see that his friend knew enough to view him with distrust and disapproval. He said with quiet honesty, “I was a fool.”

Stavros didn’t answer right away. Instead, he gazed at his friend for a long time, and Willem met his gaze straight on, hiding nothing. Stavros inhaled heavily. Pain and regret were all he saw, but even so, he could not make himself forget Serenity’s admission.

“How could you have done something like that to her?” he demanded under his breath. “She’s just nineteen, for heaven’s sake.”

A muscle started ticking in Willem’s jaw. “I know that. Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I’ve never considered that it might be better to leave her alone and let her lead her life---”

“Then why don’t you?” Stavros charged.

“Because I owe it to her to try,” Willem snapped. Even this very second, even without closing his eyes, he still saw her on the floor. He still heard her begging for him---

Please.

Please wait.

Please.

The memories ripped his heart, but the knowledge that Serenity had to be suffering even more was what killed him and brought Willem all the way to Greece.

“She deserves to have me crawling on my knees,” he said tautly. “Even if nothing comes out of it, I owe this to her.”

Stavros slowly shook his head. He had never seen his friend this humbled, but he had never seen Serenity Raleigh so broken either. He said finally, “She’s coming down to meet you, but I have been asked to be your chaperone.”

Willem’s lips twisted. “Your wife’s orders, no doubt?”

“She’s as protective of your ex-intern as Serenity was of her in the past.”

Willem inclined his head. “Understandable. They share a remarkably poor taste in men, I’ve noticed.”

Stavros had to smile at that. “I have to agree.” He and Willow might be happily married now, but he would never allow himself to forget the pain and suffering he had put his own wife through because of his stubborn blindness.

Before either of them could speak again, they heard the door open, and Stavros said tensely under his breath, “Don’t hurt her again, or I’ll have to come after you personally.” Then he was walking away to meet Serenity halfway across the room.

He saw immediately that her eyes were faintly swollen, her nose red, her face pale, and knew that she had not been able to completely control her tears when she had gone to her room to change.

“I will be right outside the door,” he told her gently.

She fidgeted in her feet. “You don’t really have to---”

He tried to make light of the situation, saying easily, “Unfortunately, my wife’s condition requires that I do. Whatever she asks right now, I give her, and you know she asked that I do not leave either of you alone.” He nodded towards the hallway. “I understand your need for privacy so I’ll be right outside, making calls---” His tone became faintly apologetic.

“Willow told you to leave the door open?” she guessed.

“I’m afraid so.” Turning towards Willem, Stavros said, “I’ll be leaving the two of you then.”

She stared at Stavros as he walked away, a part of her wanting to follow him out. She should just leave, pretend Willem hadn’t ever come, and it would be all over. That was what she should do, but she just…couldn’t.

“Serenity?”

Willem’s tone was quiet, almost hesitant, and her heart skipped a beat at hearing the Dutch billionaire sound so. It was all an act, she told herself fiercely. He had made love to two sisters in one night. No man who could do that could ever be capable of love.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around to meet Willem’s gaze---

He held flowers in one hand.

Flowers.

He had never personally given her flowers before.

He had sent her a lot of gifts over the years, for every occasion in her life, but none of them had been flowers that he had personally given to her.

Until now.

An act, it’s just an act, just an act, she told herself feverishly even as she wanted to cry at the way her heart kept racing faster and faster the longer she stared at him.

He was walking towards her now, slowly. It was as if he was giving her all the time in the world to escape him, and it was at that moment she really did cry. The tears fell, fast and furiously, and she could no longer stop crying.

By the time he reached her, Serenity’s shoulders were rocking hard at the strength of her sobs, and she was too weak to struggle away as his arms closed around her.

In his embrace, she cried harder.

She cried at the way her heart continued to beat for him, cried at the way her heart couldn’t seem to understand that all this was an act.

It was just an act.

But then Willem said in a raw whisper, “I’m so damn sorry, engel.”

She shuddered.

The endearment used to make her feel special, but now it made her feel like the cheap, stupid whore Shane told her she was.

Engel.

It was supposed to be a secret they shared, but he had told Shane about it.

How could she ever believe him again after the way he had betrayed her?

“Please give me a chance to make it up to you.”

She took a deep breath.

One word, and she could put an end to all of the heartbreak. One word, and she could forget him and move on. One word that would decide everything else---

“Yes,” she heard himself whisper.

One word, and there was no turning back.

Her youth, inexperience, and the devastating pain that had afflicted Serenity since he had left made the decision for her.

She would make him fall, and she would ruin him, just like he had stolen and broken her heart.

* * *

He came to meet her the next day at work. He had texted her, asking what she was doing at the corporate headquarters of Acheron Simonides instead of school, but she had chosen not to reply.

At one in the afternoon, reception told her she had a visitor at the lobby, and she asked the staff to relay the message for her visitor to be shown to waiting area. A part of her wondered if the Dutch billionaire would indeed go to such a place. After all, people like Willem de Konigh were not at all used to waiting.

But less than a minute had passed when her phone buzzed with Willem’s text message---

Take your time. I will not impose on your schedule.

Serenity promptly deleted the message. It’s all an act, she told herself harshly. It was just an act. She was still scowling down at her iPhone when her boss strode out of his office. A tall, dark-haired, lethally built man with smoldering good looks, Acheron Simonides was a legend among his peers, having clawed his way to the top with a mixture of hard work, genius, and ruthlessness.

Scandals had always dogged his name, with rumors abounding about his connections to Greece’s criminal underworld. Although he was rich and powerful in his own right, Greek society had always avoided him. It was only when he was declared the rightful heir to the Kokinos’ empire did Acheron become fully accepted into their fold, but it was a privilege he had neither sought nor cared for.

Acheron halted in front of Serenity’s desk, curious at the battle-like expression on his normally serene intern’s face. She was an exquisitely beautiful blonde girl, and it had been one of the reasons he had hired her. His previous life had created a hunger in him for the most beautiful baubles, and originally, that was all Serenity was supposed to be.

But in the months that she had worked for him, Acheron had been pleasantly surprised to find out that there was an equally beautiful mind behind the lovely face. Just as amusing was Serenity’s mixture of shyness and aloofness, her streak of perfectionism versus her innocent, child-like reactions to the most mundane of things.

An angel and a temptress in one delectable package, Acheron had come to realize. It was the best way to describe his intern, and if he played his cards right, he just might have her as his mistress before the year ended.

All he had to do was to be patient and methodical, like he always was in his life.

Clearing his throat, he asked, “Is something wrong, Ms. Raleigh?” A lesser man would have his ego dented by Serenity’s lack of awareness, but Acheron only saw it as a challenge to surmount.

Startled at the sound of her Greek boss’ drawl, Serenity hastily schooled her expression back into its professional mask as she came to her feet. “Nothing at all, sir.”

He watched her gather her things as she spoke, stuffing her notes and wallet back into he bag, one at a time, organized even in her haste, which amused him.

When she was done, he asked politely, “Shall we go then?”

“After you, sir.” Serenity followed Acheron to the lift. She was to attend a meeting with him this afternoon, Acheron wanting her to get used to how Greeks did business.

As the doors of the lift closed, he asked casually, “Your ex-boyfriend is waiting for you below, I believe?” She colored at the question, and Acheron wondered idly if her body blushed in the same shade of pink as her cheeks did.

“Someone came to visit, yes.” His intern’s voice was stilted. “But he’s not my ex-boyfriend. He’s been dating my older sister on and off for years.”

“Ah. A model, I believe?”

“Yes.” She looked up at him suspiciously. “You seem to know too much about me, sir.”

“Yes, I do,” he answered easily. “Stavros told me all about you actually.”

Serenity grimaced. “It figures.”

Acheron pretended not to hear the words his intern muttered under her breath even as he wondered how much she really understood. When Stavros had forwarded him her résumé, it had come with a friendly warning.

This girl is off limits. She’s nursing a broken heart, and she’s the good sort. I could have her working for me, but we would probably drive each other crazy in a week’s time. I think she’ll be better off with you.

And when Acheron had seen Serenity’s attached photo, he thought the same, too.

This girl would be better off with him.

He might not love her, but he would cherish her for as long as she pleased him, and he would never break her heart with false promises of love.

When the doors to the lift opened, Serenity was stunned to find Acheron’s arm suddenly go around her waist. Her head snapped up, but she felt more bemused than violated. “Sir?”

“Play with me,” he whispered in her ear. “Manolis told me about this Dutch billionaire breaking your heart, and I think he deserves to think he has a little competition, ne?”

He raised a brow, his arm still around her waist.

One word, she thought, and this could be over.

One word, and she could be a step closer to having her revenge.

She whispered, “Yes.”

Approval gleamed in Acheron Simonides’ dark eyes. “That’s my girl.”

She shivered at the possessive note in his voice, but she could not make herself tell him not to call her that. This, too, was an act, she told herself. It was just an act.

They began to walk, Acheron with his arm still around her waist while he spoke in a low, almost intimate voice, his head bent towards her. In the corner of her eye, she saw the Dutch billionaire rise to his feet at the sight of her, but she did not turn his way.

She could feel the billionaire’s gaze narrowing towards her, could feel his eyes follow her every moment. And as they started to walk past him, she could feel everyone turning towards them, knew the exact moment tongues started to wag.

Wasn’t that the Dutch billionaire, Willem de Konigh?

Wasn’t that the Queen of Contini’s nephew?

Wasn’t he supposed to be dating the Dutch model?

Wasn’t the girl with Acheron Simonides the model’s younger sister, the one called Willem Jr.?

Had the Dutch billionaire come to see her?

They were standing right in front of the Dutch billionaire now. She only had to turn her head towards him. She had only to look at him, and she knew he would think she was just doing her job and not allowing her personal life to intrude with her work.

But Acheron chose that same moment to whisper to her ear, “It’s your choice, koukla mou.”

Serenity closed her eyes.

Her choice.

Like it was his choice to walk away from her.

She opened her eyes and gave Acheron a tiny nod.

He pulled her closer towards him.

And they walked past Willem de Konigh, without Serenity ever glancing back.

Her choice, she thought fiercely.

This was her choice, and it was the right choice, the only choice she could make.

* * *

At five in the afternoon, Acheron’s chauffeur drove her back to the office, alone. The Greek billionaire told her she had no need to clock out of work since she had been with him, but Serenity had been adamant. She had been trained to be utterly professional in her work, and accepting any special treatment didn’t sit well with her. The fact that she had received such training from the Dutch billionaire, Serenity childishly decided to ignore.

From the basement, she took the lift and went straight to the penthouse floor. The receptionist appeared startled to see her, and when she was done signing out, the other girl asked Serenity about her visitor.

“He’s still waiting, you know.”

Serenity wetted her suddenly dry lips at the receptionist’s words. “W-who’s waiting?”

The receptionist looked at her oddly. “Mr. de Konigh. I told you he was waiting, didn’t I?”

“I s-see. Thank you,” she heard herself say before slowly turning back towards the lifts.

Moving like she was on automatic pilot, Serenity pulled her phone out and searched the Internet for the latest news on Willem.

Dozens of results came up, all of them originating from Athens, all of them insinuating that there was something going on between Willem de Konigh and his on-off girlfriend’s younger sister, Serenity Raleigh.

Could it be an incestuous ménage a trois, a rather sleazy tabloid boldly suggested in its homepage.

Perhaps the Dutch billionaire wanted fresh young blood and thought the older woman too old and dried up for him?

Either way, all the news reports agreed that Serenity was smart for her age, with numerous eyewitnesses telling them that the nineteen year old had chosen to snub him.

And so it had started, she thought numbly.

Vengeance was supposed to be sweet, but her first slice of it did not taste good at all.

Swiping on the screen to write a message, she found herself texting Willem.

Serenity: Are you still at the lobby?

Willem: Yes. Are you free to meet with me now?

Serenity: Yes. I will meet you outside the office.

When she stepped out of the building, she rushed down the stairs only to halt at the very last step when she saw that it wasn’t just Willem’s black limousine waiting for her.

Instead of the chauffeur waiting to open the door for her, it was the Dutch billionaire himself standing next to his car, his handsome face expressionless even when people around them were already talking about him.

And they were laughing at him, she realized painfully. This was Athens’ business district, and everyone obviously recognized him – and knew that he had just been snubbed. He had to know this, too, Serenity thought feverishly. So why hadn’t he just chosen to wait for her inside his car?

Her legs trembled as she made her way to him.

“Good afternoon, Serenity.” His voice was beautiful, exactly the way she remembered it. But there was no trace of anger in it at all, no trace of accusation, and she had a sudden urge to weep.

Willem de Konigh was no idiot. He had to know she was taking her revenge. He had to. So why wasn’t he saying anything about it?

Swallowing, she said tremulously, “Good afternoon, Mr. de Konigh.” Her voice caught.

The billionaire heard it, and he sucked his breath in audibly.

“God, Sere.” Suddenly, he was taking hold of her hand, and she could only let him take command as he ushered her inside the car. The moment the door closed, the billionaire reached for her. She struggled then, but he was too strong, and she was…

She was weak.

She was always weak against this man, this Dutch billionaire she still loved even as she sought to destroy him.

The billionaire succeeded in pulling her to his lap, and his arms closed around her like a cage. It should have made her feel trapped, but it only made her feel like she was home, and the realization made her want to weep even more.

She felt the billionaire’s lips graze her forehead. “Sere.”

She shuddered at the sound of her pet name on his lips.

“It’s all right, Sere.” His arms tightened around her. “It’s completely all right.”

And she began to cry because she knew what he was saying, what he tried not to say directly, knowing that the actual words would hurt her more.

It was okay for her to take her revenge.

He tipped her chin up, telling her hoarsely, “We’ll take it one day at a time.”

She couldn’t answer, could only cry as both pain and guilt threatened to engulf her.

Just an act, she told herself even as she allowed the billionaire to pull her closer.

She curled up in his lap, and her eyes closed.

It’s all just an act.

Just an act.

* * *

And so it started all over again, vengeance taking yet another form. Serenity and Willem began to meet in secret, and they were the most unbearably beautiful moments of her life.

The first day, Willem took her out for a rooftop picnic at a de Konigh hotel, something she had not seen coming at all.

“B-but you don’t do picnics,” she had stammered in wide-eyed disbelief.

But the Dutch billionaire had only laughed softly at her protests. Drawing her down to the blanket he had laid out, with a hamper filled with wine, bread, and cheese, he told her that everything was worth doing, as long as it was with her.

The second day, they had just gone driving, taking in Athens’ beauty at night since both of them were still neophytes where Greece’s capital was concerned. They made it to Lycabettus Hill at midnight. It meant ‘the hills walked by wolves,’ a legendary haven where wolves were said to seek refuge. It offered 360-degree views of the city, with the Acropolis’ majestic beauty spread before their eyes while in the distance, the peak of Mt. Parnes rose proudly in the north.

He took her straight back to the university after, even walking her to the front door of her dorm. She knew she should say goodbye but she had been unable to, a part of her shamefully realizing she had wanted him to kiss her.

In front of her, the Dutch billionaire was gazing at Serenity quizzically.

She gazed back at him mutely.

“Sere?” Willem was careful not to call her ‘engel’ anymore. For some reason, doing so caused her pain, and that was the last thing he wanted her to feel.

Her teeth sunk into her lip.

His eyes widened.

Her heart began to beat harder and faster, and her eyes clung to him, Serenity unconsciously pleading for the Dutch billionaire to take over. She wetted her lips, and he sucked in his breath.

“God, Sere. I’m doing my best to control myself.” She didn’t answer, and he was old and experienced enough to understand then it was more because Serenity couldn’t let herself answer.

To ask him to kiss her would have destroyed what little pride she had left, but it was what she wanted. It was there in her eyes, there in the way she was wetting her dry lips, and it was there in the way her nipples had started to prick the thin cotton of her navy blue dress.

Goddammit, but it was what he wanted, too.

His fists clenched against his sides. “I wanted to take things slowly.”

Still, she didn’t answer. Still, she only looked at him.

And then her pink tongue darted outwards---

Ah, fuck it.

He hauled her to him, and her lips immediately parted under his ravenous kiss. He ground his mouth down on her, the same time he ground his erection against her tender belly. He was half afraid the strength of his passion would terrify her, but instead he heard his sweet Serenity moaning softly. Instead, he felt her slim arms wrap around his neck, felt her actually grinding her pussy back against his erection.

His control snapped.

Tearing his mouth off, he rapped out a command to his security before dragging her to the side of the dorm. Serenity went with the billionaire willingly, her whole world dominated by the sound of her racing heartbeat and the throbbing pulse of her pussy.

The alleyway between dorm buildings was empty and silent, wrapped completely in darkness, but Willem took her all the way to the edge until they reached a dead end. He looked at her with burning blue eyes, and she could only stare back at him.

“Fair warning, Sere.” His voice was thickly accented, his tone hard. “I won’t let you push me away after this.”

Serenity didn’t answer.

Slowly, he drew her in front of him and, inching forward, he forced her to move backwards until her back hit the wall. She gasped in shock, only to gasp yet again as the billionaire suddenly swept her up.

Her arms immediately wrapped around his neck, the same time her legs tightened around his waist.

Then there was no thinking for both of them.

Willem kissed her hard, tongue driving inside her mouth, and her senses spun. Dimly, she felt his hands getting busy, pushing her dress up and ripping her panties from her body. She could only writhe under his kiss, her entire body swelling in wanton need for his touch. She heard him unbuckle his belt and unzip himself, and the sound alone made her bite back a cry.

Oh God, it had been so long---

Suddenly, she felt it, the head of his cock sliding teasingly against the folds of her sex, and this time she couldn’t stop herself from crying out---

“Quiet,” the billionaire hissed at her, his hand clamping over her mouth. She shook her head jerkily at him, and the look of dazed need in her eyes made him shudder. “Dammit, Sere.” He had wanted to prolong this at least, but he knew now he wouldn’t last if he did. Releasing her mouth, he said thickly, “Bite my shoulder if you have to. Just don’t make a sound so we can fuck as long as we can.”

She nodded, wide-eyed.

Holding her tightly and pushing her back against the wall, he slowly drove his cock into her sex.

Her eyes rolled back.

Fuck.

He couldn’t stop himself then. His hips began to move furiously, his cock pumping in and out of her. Serenity was clinging to him, biting into his shoulder, sobbing her pleasure against his skin. The painful pleasure of her bite drove him wild, and his thrusts became even more frenzied.

Their orgasm came in seconds, both of them shuddering in each other’s arms, but he was not finished. Even before the little shudders faded from her body, he was already letting her slide to her feet, turning her around and placing her hands on the wall.

Without warning, he slid his still-throbbing cock back into her moist entrance, which was still dripping with his cum. She started to scream, but he managed to cover it with his hand over her mouth. He fucked her hard, and she screamed against his hand, straining against his hold as she sought to meet every thrust, her hips pushing back against him.

The sound of his balls slapping against the back of her thighs made her eyes roll back, and when he pushed her back lower to deepen his thrust, her orgasm took her completely by surprise. She cried his name out silently as she came, and behind her, the billionaire’s thrusts almost became animalistic in its force just before he, too, came.

When Willem managed to catch his breath, he slowly pulled out, and with his handkerchief he cleaned her up and righted her dress before drying his cock and zipping his pants back up. When he was done buckling his belt, he saw Serenity watching him, her face pale.

His heart clenched, and he said harshly, “I won’t let you regret this.”

She whispered brokenly, “I don’t.” But there was still something wrong.

They looked at each other.

And he felt it again, the love that Mykolas and Velvet Sallis had opened his eyes to. Love that was steady and constant, love that was deep and pure – love that was born out of friendship between kindred souls.

That was the kind of love he and Serenity had, only Willem had to lose it before he could realize what it was.

He looked at her, and he knew exactly what she was thinking and what she didn’t want to say.

Because he loved her.

Because he had always loved her.

“Sere.” He took a small step towards her, and his chest constricted at the way she stiffened almost in fear, almost like his mere proximity wounded her. He forced himself to a stop even though there was nothing more he wanted in the world than to pull her into his arms and love and treasure her the way she deserved.

Breathing hard, he said quietly, “You have to let me tell you about Shane the first time.” She flinched at hearing him speak her sister’s name, and the look of desolation in her eyes nearly drove him to his knees.

“Never.” Serenity’s voice was thin and cold.

He wanted to argue, knew that there was no going forward until they brought everything out. But God, she looked so damn frail, so damn close to breaking that he couldn’t make himself argue with her. He forced himself to nod. “If that’s what you want.”

Her lips twisted. “It will always be what I want.” Jerking her gaze away from him, she whispered, “I’ve had enough of listening about the two of you from her.”

Willem stilled. “Engel---”

Her head snapped back to him, and the stricken look of betrayal in her eyes almost made him rear back.

He whitened. “Serenity---”

“You told her about that.” Her voice was filled with so much pain. “How could you?”

“No.” His voice was fierce and urgent. “I didn’t tell her.” In a flash, he realized where all this hatred was coming from, where this destructive need for vengeance was rooted. Goddamn you, Shane. He would make that bitch pay if it was the last thing he did on earth.

Stalking forward, he held her tightly by the shoulders. “Look at me,” he commanded.

She knew she shouldn’t obey him, but she couldn’t stop herself, loving and hating him in the same breath.

“That night we made love…” He breathed harshly. “I looked into your eyes and I saw that what you kept telling me was true. You loved me.”

Serenity turned white at his words. “Stop it.”

But the billionaire didn’t seem to hear her. “It terrified the fuck out of me, and I knew then that I wanted to leave.”

“I said stop it,” she hissed even as tears started to streak down her face. She couldn’t understand why he wanted to do this, couldn’t see what he would get from making her relive the agony of that night he had crushed her heart into pieces by walking away even as she begged for him.

Please.

Please wait.

Please---

A hoarse sob escaped her, and tearing out of his hold, she began beating his chest. “I hate you!” Over and over, she beat his chest as the pain poured out of her like poison she had to spew out. “I hate you, I hate you. She told me everything. Everything.”

“Serenity, stop.” His face was hard and tight, his heart splintering anew at the look of betrayal on his beloved’s face.

“She told me that y-you paid her to send me off.”

He froze.

“She t-told me you were g-grossed out at the p-possibility that I’d b-bump into you and s-start begging---”

He didn’t let her finish anymore. “No more, Sere.” Her pain was too much to bear. He kissed her hard, and as her tears seeped into their kiss, he kissed her harder, wishing there was a goddamn way he could will all of her hurt into him.

“Let me explain just once, Sere,” he whispered rawly against her lips.

“I’ll never believe you,” she said dully.

He swallowed. “I’ll still tell you the truth anyway.” He tightened his arms around her. “You know how my parents were, how they had almost destroyed us because they loved each other so much. It was the only kind of love I knew, and it was the last thing I wanted in my life. When you first told me you loved me, I didn’t believe you. But then that night…” He breathed hard. “I knew. It was true. I also knew I had to leave because I thought I didn’t love you---”

She tried struggling away, telling him brokenly, “But you don’t. If you had really loved me, you wouldn’t have been able to walk away---”

“Because I didn’t know then,” he gritted out. He pulled away, wanting her to see the truth in his eyes. “I thought that there was only one kind of love, one that developed instantaneously and struck you like a bolt of lightning, made you irrational and selfish like it did my parents. I realized too late that love took different forms and the one we had---” He cupped her face. “It was there, the first day we met, growing gradually from friendship into what’s inside my heart now.” He brought her hand to his chest. “It’s there, steady, constant, making my heart beat for you, making my heart race when you’re near, making my heart sing like a goddamn canary when you’re happy. I never thought this kind of love existed until I had lost you.”

His hand over hers tightened. “That night, I knew none of this. That night, all I knew was that you loved me, and I didn’t love you back. And I thought that if I stayed in your life, you would eventually realize the truth. You would know that I wasn’t I was incapable of love, but that I was incapable of loving you.”

He fell quiet, waiting for her to speak, but she didn’t, and finally he had to ask, “Do you believe me, Sere?”

Slowly, she pulled away from him, and this time he let her. Their eyes met, and it was as if he was looking at another Serenity, someone who was older and wiser, but also someone who only knew of sadness and hurt.

The rest of what he had to say died in his throat. He had thought of telling her a thousand things more. He had wanted to let her know what he had really said to Shane and what her sister obviously lied to her about. But now, looking at her, he knew nothing else mattered except one thing.

“I love you, Sere.” His voice was fierce, and he kept his gaze on her as he spoke, willing her to see that he wasn’t lying. “I love you. I have always loved you, and I will always you.”

But all she said was, “I’ll see you again tomorrow, Willem.”

And they did, but it was not the same.

* * *

“You have heard of the rumors, too, haven’t you?” It was Stavros who brought the sensitive subject up, and he only did so because his conscience bade him to. The Dutch billionaire had been in Athens for over two months, and Willem and Serenity had been dating in secret for almost the same length of time. But as far as Greek society was concerned, it was Acheron Simonides, Stavros’ other friend, who Serenity was seeing.

Willem took his time answering, taking a sip from his coffee while struggling not to give way to the rage festering inside him every time rumors of his angel dating the man she was working for were brought to his attention.

Placing his cup down, he asked finally, “Is this why you’ve invited me over for breakfast?” He had been surprised by the invitation, knowing how Stavros’ pregnant and moody wife still held a grudge against him for what he had done to Serenity.

Seeing no point in lying, Stavros said simply, “Yes.” It was also the reason why he had chosen to meet with his friend in the privacy of his home. At least here, there would be no way the media would get wind of their talk.

“You have nothing to say about it?” Stavros pressed.

Willem’s broad shoulders moved into a shrug. “I don’t see any reason for me to say anything. They are just rumors, and if there was something to it, Serenity would tell me about it.”

Stavros’ brows shot up incredulously. “You really believe that?”

Willem only looked at him.

Slowly, the Greek billionaire shook his head. “You are in love with her, aren’t you?”

His friend said quietly, “Yes.”

“And this – whatever it is you’re doing – it is your way of atoning for your mistakes?”

Willem’s lips twisted. “It is not ideal, I grant you that, but if it is what it takes to make her realize I am serious about her, then so be it.”

He told Willem abruptly, “I was the one to refer her to Acheron Simonides.”

“I see.” Willem’s voice was polite. “I suppose it was payback for the minor deception I played in the past between you and your wife?”

“More or less.” Stavros had the grace to flush. “I didn’t think she’d actually---” Fuck.

“I told you,” Willem said evenly. “They are only rumors.” But a muscle had started ticking in his jaw again. “She works for Simonides, and that is the only goddamn connection between them. It’s my bed she sleeps in, or it’s me who’s beside Serenity in hers.” He breathed hard, knowing he had just allowed his jealousy to get the better of him.

“Of course.” Stavros was swift to appear conciliatory. Cursing himself for his verbal lapse, he changed the subject and steered clear from talking about Serenity after that. After half an hour, Willem stood up to leave, and as Stavros walked his guest to the front door, he said quietly, “If it means anything, my wife and I are rooting for you.”

“Willow, too?” the Dutch billionaire asked skeptically.

Stavros smiled. “My wife won’t admit it anytime soon, but she’s already forgiven you.” The butler opened the doors for them, just in time for the two billionaires to see a sports car coming up the driveway.

“You should have told me you were expecting someone,” Willem told him.

Stavros was frowning. “Actually, I’m not.”

Both of them watched the sports car slow down, and one of the two security guards stationed outside Stavros’ home rushed to open the passenger door.

Slowly, a pale-faced Serenity stepped out of the car.

She was supposed to be in school, Willem thought with a frown.

The driver of the sports car also stepped out, and it was, of course, Acheron Simonides.

Ah.

He watched Acheron walk around his car, placing an arm around his Serenity’s waist. He waited for Serenity to shrug the other man’s hold off or at least show any sign of shock or reluctance. But she did none of those. Instead, she allowed her Greek boss to draw her forward with him.

Ever the perfect host, Stavros greeted the newcomers pleasantly even though he also gazed at Serenity in quiet disapproval. It made her flush, but still she remained in the circle of Acheron’s arms, unable to make herself pull away.

Just an act, she reminded herself doggedly. It was all just an act, no matter what Willem had said.

Acheron was turning towards Willem now, forcing her to look the Dutch billionaire’s way as well.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you officially,” she heard Acheron say as he offered his free hand to Willem, “even though I’ve already heard so much about you from my intern.”

“Then I’m afraid I am at a disadvantage,” Willem answered with a brief smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “since Ms. Raleigh, on the other hand, has told me nothing about you at all.” The entire time the Dutch billionaire spoke, he did not look at Serenity’s way at all.

“She’s probably too shy,” Acheron dismissed easily. “Ne, koukla mou?” And as her Greek boss smiled down at her, that was when she saw Willem slowly, finally, look at her.

It was only there for a second, gone in the blink of an eye, disappearing so fast that she wished she could convince herself she had only imagined it.

But she knew that wasn’t true.

Heartbreaking bleakness in Willem de Konigh’s blue gaze, making Serenity feel even worse than the cheap, stupid whore Shane thought she was.

Just a lie, she told herself. Just a lie, just a lie, she chanted in her mind as she reluctantly raised her gaze to meet his.

“Ms. Raleigh.”

“Mr. de Konigh.”

He nodded. “It was nice seeing you.”

She watched him leave, her heart in her throat, hating the way he had made her feel. He had done worse, she reminded herself. So much worse, dammit. So why did she feel so damn bad?

Acheron left soon after, politely refusing Stavros’ invitation to come inside. When she was alone with the Greek billionaire, she could feel his disapproving eyes still on her, and she said stiffly, “You don’t understand.”

“Don’t I?” Stavros asked levelly. “I have only to look at my friend’s face to know that you lied---”

“You don’t know anything,” she cried out, whirling around to face him. “You weren’t there when he made me---” She choked back a sob. “He hurt me first!”

“For which you wanted to exact revenge?” Stavros was quiet for a moment. “I think you’ve had it today, Serenity. I think after this, he might have gotten the message perfectly, and he won’t ever see you again.”

* * *

He was not surprised at all when reception called him about a female visitor, and he told them to allow his visitor up, knowing it was Serenity without even asking. Perhaps it was a combination of the years he had spent with her and this all-too-new, all-too-powerful love he felt for her, but more and more Willem was beginning to realize that he was able to predict the way her mind worked.

It had been obvious by the way she looked at him earlier that she had never thought she would bump into him, and especially not while she was still with Acheron Simonides. Also equally obvious to the Dutch billionaire was that she would come after him as soon as she was able to. Serenity had a very strong sense of justice after all, even when she was a child, and it would have only gotten stronger over the years.

But it didn’t mean she couldn’t surprise him, he thought grimly. Today was proof of that, with the sight of Serenity in Acheron Simonides’ arms like a punch to his guts. It was a Monday, a school day, and like a goddamn fool, he had never thought to question her when she told him she was too busy to meet with him.

She came knocking on his door a minute later, and when he opened the door, he found her frail and trembling, her blue eyes showing fear and guilt. She had changed, wisely so, and it showed that she, too, knew him well enough to guess he would not appreciate seeing her come to him in the same clothes she had worn while she was with her Greek boss.

“Come in,” he said politely. It was all Willem could actually think of saying because at that moment, he realized that it was actually possible to hate and love one person in equal measure. It was irrational, more so for someone like him, but it was the truth.

He did not follow her with his gaze as she walked inside, taking his time instead in closing and locking the door even though he had security posted outside. He needed a few extra moments to calm himself, and he thought he had himself under control – until he turned to look at her and immediately thought, it didn’t work.

He was still angry with her, after all.

“W-Willem?” The Dutch billionaire was staring at her coldly, colder than he had ever looked at her, and she couldn’t stand it. She knew she shouldn’t care. This was the point of the entire pretense, wasn’t it? To hurt him like he was now? Because that was what Willem de Konigh was feeling. Behind the shuttered mask that had fallen over his handsome face, underneath the veneer of icy rage – he was hurting, and it was all because of her.

Wasn’t this what she wanted?

Trembling violently, she waited for him to speak. She begged him with her eyes, begged for him to give her a sign that he had not…

He had not what, she wondered hysterically.

She no longer knew what she wanted.

Suddenly, he started to speak. “Serenity---”

The tone was not right, and she shook her head. She didn’t want to hear him speaking after all, not when he was saying her name like it was the last time he was going to say it. Gulping, she said haltingly, “I didn’t think I’d see you today.”

His jaw clamped at her words, and his tone was cuttingly derisive as he said, “Obviously.”

Her fingers dug into her palms. He was so, so angry. And she couldn’t blame him. “It’s a special holiday in uni. All of us didn’t have any classes.” She was stumbling all over her explanation, and the sound of her own voice made her wince. She couldn’t have made herself sound any more like a liar than she already was. “A-Acheron---”

“That’s what you call him?”

She nearly jumped at his viciously sharp tone. “H-he asked me to,” she whispered and nearly reared back at the murderous way the Dutch billionaire looked at her.

“He asked you to,” the billionaire echoed her words mockingly. “And just because he asked you to, you said yes?”

She realized too late, and it was foolish of her, what he was getting at, and paled. “It’s n-not like that---”

“Is it not?” the billionaire drawled.

She hugged herself in an effort to keep her body from trembling. “Willem, please---” She flinched as he cursed.

“Do you think it would please me now,” he asked savagely, “to have you call me Willem when you obviously have no problems calling him by his first name?” His fist slammed against the wall on his side, and he saw Serenity flinch again.

Goddammit.

Goddammit to hell.

“I think you should go,” he heard himself say.

She had to, before he ended up hurting her more.

But Serenity didn’t leave, didn’t even move.

“I’m not giving you a choice.”

The billionaire’s voice was ominously soft, and she knew what it meant. It was a sign of his rage boiling so closely to the surface, but it was also a sign that he was hurting…because of her.

This was what she wanted, wasn’t it?

Wasn’t it?

Her lips parted.

“I want to stay.”

And as soon as the words were out, she realized that she did mean it.

She wanted to stay.

For better or for worse.

Because…because she would always love him.

And she was so, so, so tired of pretending she did not.

Willem was suddenly walking towards her, and she stiffened. When he reached her, Serenity’s body stiffened even more at the rage that glittered in his eyes. His fingers snapped around her wrist, and she knew any moment now he would start dragging her out of his place.

“Please.” She choked the word out.

His head jerked up, and in her gaze, he saw terror. She knew what he was about to do. She goddamn knew – so why the hell wouldn’t she leave instead of forcing him to toss her out?

“You---” The minute he spoke, he saw the way she swallowed and stiffened, knew that she was preparing herself for the worst. But there was no resistance in her body, nothing that indicated fight.

She would take whatever he dished out.

She would not leave him.

His eyes closed.

Goddammit to hell.

He had hurt her, and she had hurt him back.

So what now?

Slowly, he opened his eyes. “You have to trust me one day, engel---”

A sob racked her body.

His heart aching, he raised a hand to her face, and as he carefully smoothed the strands of hair away, he said rawly, “You either trust and forgive me…or you complete what you came here to do. You finish what you’ve started the day you allowed me back into your life. Avenge yourself---”

Tears streamed down her face, and Serenity’s lips parted in a silent cry.

He pressed a kiss on her forehead, whispering, “Or let me love you again.”

With a heaving sob, she threw her arms around his neck, and he swept her up in his arms. He carried her to the bedroom, Serenity still crying in his embrace even as she frantically sought his mouth with hers.

She kissed him as she cried, and the billionaire tasted all the tumultuous emotions that tried to tear her apart into different directions. Pain, misery, confusion, vengeance, and underneath it all, love.

Laying her on his bed, he undressed her slowly, running his mouth over every inch of skin he exposed. Her hands rushed over his back, almost demandingly, but he didn’t let her hurry him, taking his time as he removed her clothing.

When she was completely naked, he cupped one breast and sucked on her nipple. Serenity moaned, her body arching from the bed and pushing her nipple deeper into his mouth. Her nipples dug into his back as he sucked her nipples, one after another, and she writhed restlessly under the heat of his gaze when he pulled away to undress himself.

“I love you,” he rasped as he sank back into the bed, positioning himself between her legs.

More tears fell down her face as Serenity looked at him, her eyes – still filled with terror and despair – did the talking for her.

Looking at her was like having his heart ripped out again and again from his chest. He kissed her hard, saying fiercely, “I love you, Serenity Raleigh. I love you, my Sere, my engel.” And even as she buckled against him and sobs began to wrack her body, he didn’t stop telling her the words, knowing that if he had to tell her a thousand times each day to convince Serenity, he would do so.

As he kissed his way down her body, he said the words over and over. He used his lips, his hands, his body to let her know what was in his heart from the very start.

His hands spanned her rib cage as he pressed a kiss on her womb. I love you.

He buried his head between her legs. I love you.

He thrust his tongue into her sweet, moist folds, again and again. I love you.

He threw her legs up over his shoulders as he fucked her with both his fingers and tongue. I love you.

He sucked on her clitoris. I love you.

And when she came, he drank everything in, every last drop of her release. I love you.

When he rose up, she immediately wrapped her limbs around his body, so tightly that the fears in her heart reached his, and he whispered hoarsely into her ear, “I’m not going anywhere, engel.”

One hand pushing under her body to cup her bottom, the billionaire positioned himself before sinking his cock into her sex. He fucked her, leisurely at first, to drive her wild. And when her hips started to rise and fall in an effort to meet his thrusts, his own hips began to pump furiously.

He fucked her hard and fast, fucked her into coming in minutes. But he didn’t let her up, turning her around without a word before his cock slid back into her, and he fucked her anew. Pulling her up on all fours, he cupped her jiggling breasts as his cock slammed into her, again and again, and he only relented when her breathless pants filled his room, using his fingers to trigger her release.

He made love to her the entire night, and every second of it he only had one thing in his mind. He wanted her to feel loved.

* * *

She woke up at the break of dawn, her body pleasantly aching and snuggled up against the billionaire’s side. Gingerly, she inched away from him, and picking his shirt up from the floor, she pulled it over her head before padding into the shower.

When she was done, she was about to go back when she caught sight of a silver box under the wooden bench in his walk-in closet. Curious, she crouched down and opened it---

The lid of the box fell from her suddenly limp fingers as she saw what was inside.

A pair of pink heels, studded with gems, and with a bow at the back.

They were custom-designed.

But it was not the only thing that made tears prick her eyes.

Lying in the bed of gauze, under the pair of pink heels, was a smaller silver package. It was easily the shape of a ring box.

The billionaire was stirring when she climbed back into bed. When the bed dipped because of her weight, he immediately reached for her, and she went to him willingly. Their mouths met in a sleepy, sweet kiss that nevertheless made her heart race.

When he lifted his head, the billionaire said quietly, “Mykolas and Velvet Sallis have invited me to their fundraiser tonight. Will you come?”

She thought about the boxes that waited in the closet.

She thought about vengeance.

She thought about love.

Serenity whispered shakily, “Yes.”

* * *

On the night of the ball, the billionaire dressed himself with the utmost care, determined to impress the nineteen-year-old girl who had promised to meet him.

When it was time to leave, he had two boxes with him. He came to the party, tall, powerful, and dazzlingly handsome in his white tux, his blond locks wavy and shiny, falling rakishly down his forehead, a complete contrast to his usually immaculate perfection.

Everyone looked at him and thought, the Dutch billionaire was in love.

On the other side of town, the girl who owned the billionaire’s heart was as giddy as he had been determined, dressing herself in a magnificent gown of azure silk. Her heart thudded with each second. She was nervous and terrified, excited and hopeful.

When she appeared at the head of the grand staircase that swept down to the ballroom, everyone turned to look up at her and thought, this girl was in love.

It was true.

Or at least it was until the moment she saw another beautiful girl at the foot of the staircase, her tall, slim body sheathed in alluring black lace.

It was Shane.

The billionaire had known the moment the girl he loved entered the room, and like all the other single men, had watched her come forward with bated breath. He was filled with pride and love at the sight of her, and his fingers tightened involuntarily around the handles of the package he held in one hand.

She was so damn beautiful, and even now he could not completely believe that she had taken him back. No words had been exchanged, but it was unnecessary. He loved her, and for that reason he had known. The moment she had wrapped her arms around him, he had known.

And it should have been perfect from then. It should have been a happily ever after from that moment until he saw the stricken look on her face and his blood ran cold. He followed her gaze, and he whitened.

Shane.

He had no fucking idea why she was here and how she knew about his schedule, but at this point it didn’t matter.

What mattered was getting Serenity to listen to him.

The billionaire tried to make his way to her as fast as he could, but when he saw Serenity pick up her skirt and whirl away, he swore under his breath and simply shoved away the people who insisted on blocking his path.

Reaching the stairs, he took the steps several at a time, uncaring of the looks he attracted, which were both scandalized and snooping. She had gone past the main doors and was running down the hallway when he reached the top of the stairs, and he called out her name desperately.

“Serenity!”

Everyone looked at him but the girl who owned his heart.

“Serenity!”

He ran after her, and it was as if she knew he was close because she, too, seemed to have picked up speed.

“Serenity---”

She disappeared around a corner.

He followed her, just in time to see her bump into Acheron Simonides.

Goddamn it to hell, Willem thought numbly as he slowed down. It had to be him. It just had to be. He watched the Greek billionaire place a hand at the small of her back and had the monstrous urge to launch himself at the other man and beat him into a bloody pulp.

The Greek billionaire bent his head, murmuring in a low voice to Serenity, before slowly curving an arm around her waist. As Willem neared them, the two faced him, presenting a united front even though it was only Serenity’s Greek boss who met his gaze head on.

Fuck you, Acheron Simonides, Willem thought even as jealousy threatened to cripple his heart.

He came to a stop in front of them, and he said quietly, “Sere.”

He watched her shudder at the sound of his pet name for her, but she didn’t look up.

“Look at me, Sere.” This time, he spoke in a command.

And just when he thought she would no longer obey him, Serenity slowly raised her head. The sight of her glassy gaze kicked him in the guts, and swallowing, he said hoarsely, “I’m sorry.” He had to apologize, even if he had no fucking idea what her sister was doing at the same ball. He had to apologize because no matter how much he wanted to turn back time and date only one Raleigh sister – date the only one who was meant to own his heart – he could not.

He could only love her, for as long as he existed, and hope that it was enough.

Serenity saw the pain etched so deeply in the billionaire’s face and wondered if it was true. She was left dazed and reeling by the wrenching agony that struck her at the sight of her sister, and now she no longer knew what to believe.

What if it was just the same thing all over again?

What if it was all an elaborate prank?

The first time she had given the billionaire her heart, he had accepted her resignation and allowed her to walk out of his life.

The first time she had given the billionaire her body, he had gone to her sister and walked away even when she had begged him to stay.

How did one know what was true?

“Sere.”

She wanted to weep at how her heart strained at the sound of his voice. Even now, when he might still be acting, her body sang at his presence, and her whole world continued to revolve around him.

She whispered brokenly, “I’m so tired.”

Willem sucked his breath in at the sound of defeat clinging to her voice. For one terrifying moment, panic ate at him as he considered a life without Serenity by his side. What if she never believed him? What if too much had happened for Serenity to ever trust and love him---

No.

Shoving all thoughts of doubts and self-pity away, the billionaire focused his attention on the girl he loved. “Listen to me, my love.” He didn’t give a damn about the crowd growing around them, guests who had foregone registering and proceeding to the fundraising ball in order to enjoy the spectacle of having two European billionaires possibly fight over a nineteen-year-old girl.

“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not true. I love you, you see, and you love me, and that’s why I only have to take one look at you to know what’s wrong.” Something flickered in her gaze, and he told himself that was a good sign. “I have no idea why your sister is here. My best bet is she knows my schedule well enough to know the right people to ask, and because most people assume she’s still part of my life, they were rather free in giving her information.” He paused, a muscle ticking in his jaw at the way the Greek billionaire’s arm remained around his woman’s waist. Swallowing past his rage, he continued evenly, “The point is, I never invited her, and I do not ever plan to make her a part of my life. She’s the past, Sere. You are my present and my future.”

But Serenity only looked at him, and when she actually started to lean towards her Greek boss, Willem gritted out, “Don’t.”

She jerked at the snap in his voice, but he didn’t apologize for it. He knew she felt tired and weak, but goddammit, how long did she think he could last, seeing her in another man’s arms?

“You have to choose to trust me sometime, engel---”

“Don’t call me that!” Her tone was violent.

“Why not?” he charged back just as violently. “Because your bitch of a sister fed you lies about the two of us?” He shook his head in impotent frustration and rage. “She lied, Serenity. By now, you should know and understand as well as I do that your sister’s a pathological liar. I can prove it to you, but before I can do that, you need to trust me. You need to choose to love me again or there’s not---”

“Don’t let him pressure you,” Acheron interrupted coldly. This time, he had no ulterior motive, no intention to seduce his intern into falling into his bed. This time, he only had to look at Serenity to know that only someone so in love could be this hurt. Even so, he would not simply stand back and do nothing. He wanted Serenity to know that she had a choice, and that she could leave this place with him and with her pride intact.

Willem’s blue eyes glittered as he gazed at the Greek billionaire. “Fuck off.”

“Not when I see you think you can actually get away with fucking two sisters by using pretty words.”

The two billionaires would have been at each other’s throats if Serenity had not cried out for them to stop.

They froze, their heads snapping towards her, but she forced herself to keep her gaze on Acheron, only on Acheron. “Thank you for your help,” she whispered.

Willem heard himself ask, “What are you saying, Sere?” He had to ask, even though the way she spoke, the way she couldn’t even goddamn look at him, already told him the answer.

Still not looking at him, Serenity said shakily, “That I choose him.”

She was about to take a step towards Acheron when Willem was suddenly blocking her way, and she gasped when she found herself staring straight into eyes filled with as much pain as hers was.

She tried looking away, but the billionaire didn’t let her, his hands capturing her face as he demanded hoarsely, “Think about what you’re saying, dammit.”

“I am thinking about it,” she whispered. “I’m thinking I’m so tired of competing, of worrying---”

“But there’s no need for any of those!”

She trembled at the way Willem actually shouted the words out. This was not like him. This was not him at all, and she didn’t want him to be like this because of her. “Willem---”

“No!”

She furiously blinked back tears at the way the billionaire was looking at her. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say that, dammit. Don’t say it like---”

“I don’t think I have to,” she said brokenly. “Because you already know what I want to say, don’t you?”

He whitened. “Don’t do this, Serenity.” His voice turned desperate. “I told you I love you, didn’t I? That I’ve changed? You just have to---”

She looked at him.

And the words died in his throat.

“You’ll never trust me, will you?” the billionaire said dully.

“No.” It was a lie. “I won’t e-ever trust you a-again.” But in truth, it was herself she couldn’t ever trust again.

She thought it was over.

She thought he would leave.

But he did not.

Instead, he shattered her heart anew when she saw him take a deep breath and then dig into the package he held in his hand.

A small, silver box---

Her breath caught. “No, Willem, please.” Her voice came out a strangled sob.

But the billionaire still opened the box.

The people around them gasped, and the sound made her jump in shock, reminding her that they were far from alone. So many people around them, and Willem had to know about them, too. He had to know they would see him propose, had to know she would have to turn him down.

“Please, Willem.” She begged him with her words, with her gaze. Because even if she could no longer trust herself to be with him, it did not mean she had stopped loving him. “Please don’t do this.”

“Then say yes,” he said rawly. He took the ring out of the box, and she bit back a sob as he sank down on one knee. “I love you, Serenity Raleigh. I didn’t know this until it was too late, but I have loved you since you were fourteen years old, and I will love you for the rest of my life.”

She clapped a hand over her mouth to keep the sobs back.

“Will you marry me?”

She whispered, “No.”

Willem drew his breath in. “Change your mind.”

She bit her lip hard. “No.”

“I love you, Serenity. Marry me.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “No.”

When she opened her eyes, he was walking away, and it was like seeing the rest of her life fade into oblivion.

She began to cry, her tears ravaging her body in silence.

Do you see, Serenity?

It was all an act.

That’s how much you mean to him.

But even to Serenity’s own ears, the words sounded empty and unconvincing.

She watched the Dutch billionaire continue walking away, and it was as if her life, beginning at fourteen, replayed itself in her mind.

“It was nice meeting you, sir,” her fourteen-year-old self had told him gravely.

“The pleasure was mine,” a 28-year-old Willem de Konigh had told her with equal graveness.

“Sir,” she had told the billionaire upon meeting him at the library.

“Willem,” the billionaire had countered, and it was just one of the countless arguments they would have over the years on how she should address him.

“Keep in touch, engel.” It was the billionaire, promising her without so many words that he would be there for her.

“I will. Willem.” And at fifteen years old, she had entrusted herself to him, like she had never trusted anyone again since her father had killed himself.

“Will you promise me something,” the billionaire had asked her. “If you ever choose to leave me, don’t just…go away. Let me know. I won’t ever stop you, but just…tell me.”

Her head jerked up at the last memory.

And suddenly, it was clear to her.

She had refused his proposal and he had asked her again and again, but he would not ask her forever because he loved her. He loved her just as he had said he did, loved her since she was fourteen and would love her forever.

He loved her so much it was just like he had promised when she was sixteen.

If she chose to leave, he would not stop her.

Because he loved her, enough to let her choose where she was happy.

She began to run after him, as fast as she could even though she knew she was straining her muscles. She wanted to cry out to him, but she bit her lip hard, telling her that she would not use pity to force him to come back for her.

The crowd parted as she hurried forward, silent and watching, none of them seemingly willing to intrude. It was as if everyone understood that this was a battle she alone had to fight.

She was halfway to reaching him when her injured leg finally gave out, and she fell to the floor in a loud thud. Suddenly, what seemed like a short distance stretched endlessly before her, but she forced herself to get up.

The billionaire had turned into a corner, and this time the crowd was denser, civilians jostling for a chance to catch a glimpse of their favorite local celebrities. They did not seem to recognize the billionaire, which allowed him to move swiftly. They were just as indifferent to Serenity’s plight, forcing her to suffer people pushing her in all directions and stepping heavily on her toes.

But still she forced herself to move, ignoring the pain that raped her body, from her leg and all the way up to her spine. She went after him, crying and begging God in her mind to let her reach him.

Please God, please…

Oh, how she would beg for him to stay with her forever!

She just needed this one last chance for Willem to come back so she could tell him she understood everything now.

Please God…

Please…

Please…

But it was as if she had been too cruel in her desire for vengeance.

No matter what she did, he was only getting further away and away.

In the distance, she saw the billionaire waylaid by an acquaintance, and hope flared anew. She was going to catch him now, Serenity thought feverishly. She forced her leg to work double time, and ill-used muscles and tendons began to strain, stretch---

She was just about to reach him, her fingers almost grazing the billionaire’s back---

Someone shoved her from behind, and she fell.

For the last time.

This time, her leg had completely given out, the strength of her pain telling her she could permanently cripple herself if she tried moving too fast again.

This time, she sobbed, quietly, desolately, knowing that she had gambled and…lost.

He had hurt her, and she had hurt him back.

It should not have been that way, but the billionaire had allowed it to happen.

It should have been enough, but she had wanted more.

And now he was lost to her---

“Sere?”

Her head shot up.

It was Willem.

He was crouched down in front of her, his face ashen as he stared at her. His bodyguards, including her favorites Mr. Smit and Mr. Molen, circled them to ensure their privacy.

“W-Willem?” For one second, she wondered deliriously if she was still dreaming. She reached for his face, and when he caught her hand to bring it to his lips, she began to sob. “Willem.” She sobbed his name over and over, and even when he pulled her into his arms, she could not stop.

“I’m sorry, Willem. I’m sorry. I was so scared of being hurt again.” She was babbling, unable to stem the panic inside her, which told her he would disappear if she didn’t explain. “I wanted revenge even when I shouldn’t. I wanted to hurt you the way you hurt me. I wanted you---”

The billionaire kissed her.

“It’s okay, engel,” he whispered against her lips.

When he pulled away, his eyes were suspiciously bright.

Her heart shattered one last time, and her voice cracked as she whispered, “I love you, Willem.”

He answered by offering her a ring, and at her nod, he slipped it on her finger. He took out the shoes, and she nodded even as she cried. He took off her shoes and replaced it with his. And before she knew what he was doing, he had already bent down to place a kiss on each of her feet.

I love you, my beautiful ice princess.

My Sere.

My engel.