Bartered (The Encounter #1)(48)

I could get past this. However, if I ever found out that she had gone beyond the usual kissing and petting, this was over for good.

Betrayals didn’t bide well with me, even if the woman in question was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes upon, or that she made me feel senseless and helpless to the point of being pathetic.

Even in my pursuit of passions, that, too, had a limit.





“There’s a delivery for Miss Isobel Callas. Should I give it to Beno?t?” my secretary popped her head in the office, asking me a question that merely ignited my suspicions.

“Non. Bring it to me,” I responded before my jaw locked, before grinding my teeth together as I told myself to hold it together when the only thing I wanted to do was throw something at the wall.

Delivery for Isobel from whom? From her father? I hardly thought the bastard would have the guts to do such a thing. Could it have been from her friends in London? If so, why the hell didn’t she tell them the address to the villa instead of the hotel? There was something that didn’t match up. The moment that the delivery arrived in my office, I wondered no longer.

It was a large flower arrangement. A massive, grandiose display of pink, red, white, and green blooms was set on the coffee table. I stared at it as if I was gauging an opponent before I carried on with a plan of attack.

The hickey and now this? Even a daft man could figure out what this all meant.

I grunted out a cruel laugh before I bolted out of my seat, scowling at the white envelope that had her name all over it.

Staring at the card, it took me a second to decide whether to read it or not. My possessive streak, added with my piqued curiosity, jumbled with the hurt and betrayal that Isobel struck me with. There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation before I yanked the card off the vase and opened that damning thing.



To my Isobel,



Spending most of our time in bed, making love and talking about the future, made me realize that what we share is something special—and it’s worth fighting for. So this is me, fighting for what we have. What we’ve always had.

Your heart never lies. Not when it was beating against my own, not when you kissed me, or when you made love to me. I felt your love, Iso. Don’t be afraid, I’m not going anywhere.

I miss you, and I’ll wait for however long it takes until you’re back in my arms again.



Happy 4th year anniversary, my love.

Damen



No wonder she didn’t want anything to do with me when she got back. Though she’d moaned for a bit under my arms, there was no mistaking that she hadn’t fully been enjoying any of it.

Because she’d slept with him. For how long? My mind rankled. The entire duration of her stay in Athens? Most probably.

First came the rage, the heated curl of jealousy that seemed to have settled in my chest, before sadness weighed above it all.

There was a part of me which had kept on hoping—holding out a torch that there was something there, something more underneath the surface—but I had been wrong. Very wrong.

I had been too self-assured—too arrogant—to think that she’d change her mind when it came to me. That she’d follow the rest of the women who couldn’t stop wanting and chasing me. That, if I just made enough effort, she’d see how I was willing to try and accommodate her needs to make her happy. But I had been a fool.

She made me into a fool.

Just when I’d thought things were going somewhere, life had sent a reality check.

Last night, I should’ve confronted her with the hickey; however, I had been in denial, thinking it wasn’t that big of a deal. But it f*uking was!

I should be grateful that I had caught it early on so I didn’t have to be a much bigger fool than I already was.

For the first time, I had no clue of where to take it from here.





Chapter 26


Isobel


Languidly sitting on my dresser chair while I did my nightly beauty routine, I didn’t notice Hugo leaning against the wall, staring back at me in the mirror until he cleared his throat to get my attention.

“Hey, have you been here long?” I asked nervously, caught off guard by his odd behavior and the mercurial look he had. Was he that ticked off about last night? Most likely. The guy did hate the word no. Therefore, my reluctance at receiving him last night for his usual nightly festivities possibly hadn’t pleased His Highness at all.

He didn’t move from his spot, though his eyes shifted to whatever I was doing, applying creams one after the other before I did a quick application of lip balm.

“Not that long, I believe…” he trailed off and didn’t say anything else until I brought my eyes towards his reflection once more. “There was a delivery for you.”

“Oh.” What delivery? Frowning, I told myself to breathe in calmness before speaking again. “Who’s it from?” My tone didn’t betray how much of a nervous wreck I was inside.

“There was no sender, so I was assuming you’d know who.” His eyes didn’t leave mine as they burned holes through me. “The item is in your bedroom, in case you were wondering.”

“Oh,” I meekly said as I gradually stood up with shaky legs as I pondered and feared who the delivery had come from.

Praying it wasn’t from Damen, I emerged from the vast walk-in closet heading towards the bedroom. The second I saw the elaborate flowers in the vase, sitting on the coffee table, I didn’t have to wonder for too long. Alas, my fears were answered. One look at it confirmed who it was from. It was the very same present I got each year.