by Marian Tee
“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.
