Page 56 of In Love with a Cruel Billionaire

Everything else Diana had to say became useless at those words.

“She told me...” The words felt like a lie. The past made the words seem like a lie, but Damen refused to listen to the sly voice inside his head. This time he chose to believe.

“Diana, she told me she...loved me...and I want to believe she does.”

Tears struck her eyes when the full impact of her brother’s words sank in.Why had she ever thought she would be the only one messed up by their parents’ dysfunctional marriage?

How could she have never realized that their parents had made Damen stop believing in love and happy endings? That he only believed in happy endings he had to pay for, either with his fame, fortune, or even sex?

“Damen...”

Desperation, pure and simple, made Damen speak again, insistently, without any pride left. If Diana refused, if Ioniko Vlahos made his move before Damen did – he did not know what he would do.

“Ineedto see her, Diana, sopleasehelp me.”

Chapter 6

IDON’T KNOW WHO ELSEto turn to, Ms. Yay. I don’t want to be expelled. My mother will never forgive me.

“How could she be so stupid?” Mairi muttered to herself even as she hurriedly tied her robe together, slid her feet into her bedroom slippers, and made her way out of the school. It was completely dark outside, which in this case was a good thing since even teachers had to abide by the curfew.

Mairi was careful to avoid being seen in the light, walking in the shadows as she quickly made her way to the back gates of the school. The walls at the back were about eight feet tall – fairly easy to climb over but understandably scary to climb down from. It was the latter Diana Leventis needed help with, having snuck outside school to meet her secret boyfriend.

She shook her head at the thought. Who could that secret boyfriend be? The younger girl must love him so much to risk the wrath of her terrifying mother – or evenhim.

When she reached her designated meeting place with Diana, she sent Diana a text message.I’m here.

A few seconds later, crackling sounds broke the silence in the air and she whirled around, wondering if Diana had been able to jump down on her own after all.

But it wasn’t Diana.

She started to run, but this time Damen was prepared and in seconds he had pushed her down, trapping Mairi between his hard body and the ground. When he saw her preparing to scream, he immediately covered her mouth with his palm.

“Scream and you’ll get kicked out of this school.”

Realizing that he had a point, she bit him instead.

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