Page 55 of Beauty and the Greek Billionaire

He forced himself to remain still.

“Apparently she’s been trying to talk to you about it but you refuse to see her. She asked for my help.”

Nico slammed his hand down on the desk, and Marianna jumped. “Was this so you could get leverage on me, huh? You were snooping around in my business.”

Marianna rolled her eyes. “You’re drunk, Nico. And you’re not making any bloody sense. I’m walking away now because this is getting ugly, and I refuse to talk to you like this.”

She turned and walked out of the room, letting the door shut softly behind her. It would have been less painful if she’d slammed the damn thing. Because that soft click was like a gun being cocked, and Nico feared he was the one about to fire a bullet through their relationship.

…

Four days passed before Marianna was able to have the DNA test. Since there wasn’t a lot of demand for such services in Corfu, there was only one pathology clinic that offered the testing and it’d taken a call from Nico—and god only knew what else—for them to open up a spot for Marianna on short notice.

When Helena had called Marianna to confirm her appointment, she’d wanted to throw something. What the hell was Nico doing telling his assistant about their troubles? Although Helena didn’t appear to pass any judgement, Marianna still felt the sting of shame knowing other people were aware of the doubt over her honesty. To make matters worse, Marianna hadn’t even seen Nico since Monday when she’d walked out of his office.

She got a reminder of his absence every day when she opened the refrigerator to get herself a glass of water and found the porcelain cat still sitting on the top shelf with the note she’d written. It was like the damn thing mocked her every time.

No amount of subtle questioning of the staff in the house had turned up any answers, and she didn’t have anyone else to ask. Dion would always side with Nico. She’d even thought about calling his office and pretending to be a client to see if he was there, but her Greek wasn’t good enough yet.

One thought had been swirling around in her head. Something she didn’t want to consider as an option, but it most certainly could explain why he hadn’t returned. What if he’d gone to Alethea? The idea of it made her want to throw up.

It’s the morning sickness.

But she knew it wasn’t. The fact was, this argument with Nico and him withdrawing his trust—and presence—had hit her harder than she could ever have expected. After all, it wasn’t like he’d even been a part of her life a few months ago. But every night she lay in bed, straining to hear if the front door would open. Straining to hear footsteps. Wishing so hard her imagination would materialize him. Marianna didn’t care if he came to their bed or not, she only wanted to know that he was home and that he was safe.

Throughout this, Jules had been a big support. They’d had a long chat about the fact that she needed to try and make it work with Nico for the sake of the baby, though Jules didn’t agree. But he said he supported her anyway, because that’s what friends were for.

“Mrs. Gallinas?”

Marianna snapped her head up and looked at the nurse who’d finished drawing blood. “Yes?”

“Are you feeling okay? You drifted away for a minute.” The nurse frowned. “It’s common to feel a little dizzy after a blood test, so I can make a space for you to lie down if you need it.”

“I’m fine.” All she wanted was to go home and bury her face in a pillow.

“Are you sure? If you start to feel dizzy, make sure you sit down. Do you have someone to accompany you home?”

She nodded.

“Excellent. Drink plenty of water. It’s hot out today, and you might be a little dehydrated.” The nurse smiled. “Your husband has paid extra for us to put a rush on these results and, since he already provided his sample earlier today, we’ll have the report for you in two to three days. Our procedure is to send a letter to your home address, so keep an eye out for that. If you need anything explained to you based on the results, you can make an appointment to speak with the resident doctor.”

“I already know what the results are going to say.”

What had Julian said to her that morning? Trust isn’t usually fixed by a piece of paper. Tears pricked at the backs of Marianna’s eyes. Nico had wanted this, so here she was.

And what about her? Was this what she wanted? No. Because what she wanted was a fantasy. A fairy tale. It didn’t exist.

She squared her shoulders. “I’ll keep a lookout for the results.”

The nurse nodded and packed away her instruments. The little vial of dark red blood bore a neat label with her name. How could the contents of a plastic container hold more weight than her words? Than her character?

She pushed up from the chair and pressed her thumb to the small cotton ball taped against the crook of her elbow. She pushed harder, watching the red seep through the fluffy white cotton until her skin gave a stinging sensation from the pressure. Still real. This wasn’t a nightmare.

Marianna found her way into the waiting room, where Jules sat. He jumped out of his chair as she signed the papers at the front desk, and they left together.

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