Page 57 of In Love with a Cruel Billionaire

Damen hissed in pain above her, but he still didn’t let go, didn’t even move an inch to give her a fighting chance of escaping.

It felt surreal to be this close to him again, surreal and painfully nostalgic to have his hard body touch hers in this kind of position. She was tempted to cry, but she strove not to. She would rather poke her eyes out than waste her tears on a lying, cheating bastard like Damen Leventis again.

The softness of Mairi’s ripe figure made him remember X-rated versions of the past, and he gritted his teeth in an effort to clamp down on his arousal. It was not the right time to feel like this – yet.

Meeting her dark brown eyes, he said, “I just need you to listen to me – one last time. And if after this, you still want me to go, then...” It went against everything he believed in to say the next words but he forced them out.

“If you still want me to go, then I will.”

She stilled, gazing at him unblinkingly, but she did not say a thing.

He decided to take that as a yes and took a deep breath. Making a speech in front of millions of people, in front of royalty and world leaders – all of it was a piece of cake compared tothis.

Those talks had not promised anything he wanted more than life itself. But this conversation – no, thisrevelationof his – if it did not work, Damen felt like what he’d lose was worth more than his life.

Gazing at Mairi’s sweet beautiful face, seeing the way her dark brown eyes were filled with misery she was doing her best to conceal and the way her lips were trembling in an effort to control the tears—-

After so many years of only believing in himself, of thinking that he could only trust himself, Damen decided to take a leap of faith. He decided to believe that, against all odds Mairi Tanner - a girl whose company he enjoyed for only several days – was indeed in love with him.

And because she was, he owed it to her to do this much.

“Mairi.”

His voice was unsteady, so unlike the Greek billionaire she once knew and fell in love with.

“You told me where you were coming from and...I hurt you by not believing you were in love with me.” Damen waited her to correct him – to tell him with her naïve but adorable honesty that she wasstillin love with Damen.

But she did not.

His heart hammered with fear that he was too late, that Ioniko Vlahos had indeed made his move already and there was no one for him to go back to.

Forcing himself to go on even as hopelessness and despair threatened to make Damen falter, he said, “This time, I want to tell you where I’m coming from...and if you understand why I did what I did then I want you...”

She had told herself she would not let herself believe in anything he said. She had told herself she would not let herself weaken, but the moment she saw that haunted look on Damen’s face, she knew it was no use denying the truth – she still loved him.

“What, Damen?” she whispered shakily. “What do you want me to do?”

Damen closed his eyes. “I want...I’m begging you to teach me to believe that you love me.”

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