Page 53 of Beauty and the Greek Billionaire

“We’re good together, Mari. Even without money we’ll be able to give your baby a wonderful life. A real life. I’ll prove it to you.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Fuck. I should have told you this sooner. But I spent years being terrified that you didn’t feel the same and that I’d ruin the friendship if I said anything.”

“Me too.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat.

“So you loved me as more than a friend?”

“I did.” She nodded numbly. But it wasn’t the case now, and while she might not have a label for how she felt about Nico, her affection for him had grown into something real. She’d seen him in a new light, learned who he was underneath the harsh exterior. It might not be love now, but in the future…? Who could say? “But not anymore. I’m staying here. With Nico.”

All Marianna knew was that she wasn’t ready to walk away from her husband. He’d shown her that a life with him could be something more than separate bedrooms and hiding around corners. They could be something more.

Chapter Fifteen

Nico stormed into his office and snatched one of the crystal glasses from his sideboard, rearing his hand back to hurl the damn thing across the room. It would have been satisfying to see it explode into a million shimmering, impossible-to-put-back-together pieces. But instead he sucked in a breath and lowered his arm.

A stiff drink would serve him better than a broken glass. After all, what else could a man do but drink after finding out his wife loved another man?

He pulled the stopper off a decanter filled with scotch and poured a generous three or four fingers into the glass. Then he brought the drink to his lips and took a long swallow. In some ways he would have preferred a shitty scotch, something cheap and nasty to give him the burn he craved.

Fuck.

He slumped into his desk chair. He’d known Julian was trouble the second he’d laid eyes on him. But Nico hadn’t suspected Marianna might be playing him. Not since before the wedding, anyway. He’d bought into her “I want us to be a real family” speech hook, line, and sinker.

Last night should have thrown up a red flag. When they’d returned from dinner, he’d been desperate to taste her. She’d worn this pink dress that made her curves look amazing, and he’d wanted nothing more than to bury his face between her legs. But she’d shut him down, saying she didn’t feel well. Of course he’d respected that. But it hadn’t occurred to him that her pulling away was nothing to do with her being tired, and everything to do with her being in love with someone else.

Did Julian know that Marianna had come to his bed the night before? That she’d screamed his name over and over while he’d pleasured her? Nico’s hands tightened around the glass, his knuckles going white.

I love you too. You know that.

She hadn’t even hesitated in responding to him. The worst thing was that it’d hurt far more than Nico could ever have imagined. He’d been under no illusions going into this marriage. But dammit, Marianna had fooled him into believing her. Into feeling something. Spending time with her at the beach, making love to her at night…it had meant something. To him, anyway.

But it appeared Nico had been played. She loved someone else. She’d married him because she couldn’t afford to raise the baby on her own.

Is it your child? You have proof of that?

Weren’t those Julian’s exact words? His blood turned to icy sludge in his veins. Did the man know something he didn’t? Was it possible that Marianna had gotten pregnant and seen Nico as a cash cow? He’d asked her to sign a prenup, and she hadn’t hesitated…so he’d assumed he was safe. But prenups didn’t stop people from stealing. From blackmail.

He downed the rest of his scotch.

He should have listened to Dion. Why had he even believed her so blindly in the first place? That wasn’t like Nico at all. He didn’t take anyone or anything at face value. He didn’t trust, period.

It wasn’t too late. They could reverse this. If the child turned out not to be his, then he could seek an annulment. Was that even legal? He had no idea.

He poured himself another scotch. A DNA test would ease his mind. Then he would know exactly how to act. If the child was his, then Marianna could continue to live here as his wife. But he would not fool himself into thinking she felt anything for him beyond seeing him as a piggy bank. And if the child wasn’t his…well, he had lawyers for a reason. He refused to acknowledge the tightness in his chest at the thought of living without her now.

Nico wasn’t sure how long he sat in his chair, drinking glass after glass. Letting the numbness calm him. He hadn’t taken to a bottle like this in a long time. Not since that night after Kosta had kicked him out and Dion had saved his life. She had brought him back to this place.

“Nico?” Marianna’s voice floated down the hall.

“In here,” he called, the edges of his words blurred.

When she appeared in the doorway, a crease between her dark brows, his instinct was to go to her. To pull her into his arms. But he would beat that feeling down until it left him entirely, even if he needed to swallow it like a pill every single day until he felt nothing again.

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