Page 47 of The Reason for His Wife's Return

“Mira, what is it? Why do you look so pale?” Leo asked, walking around the desk to her.

“You have to get rid of Kairos. Throw him out of Carides Inc. Get him away from Aristos. Immediately.”

“Sit down, Mira. That much agitation is not good for you.”

“You aren’t listening, Leo. I know you’re fond of Kairos but you cannot have him near Aristos. You’ve seen how he talks to Aristos and that’s only the surface. He... He’s so full of resentment and hatred and poison for Aristos that I’m scared he might do him harm.”

Shock dawned in the old gray eyes so much like his grandson’s. Before he could respond, someone else entered the room.

Mira didn’t have to turn to know it was her husband. On a hunt for her.

“What’s wrong? Leo?” Aristos’s voice was full of steel, threatening to cut at the smallest provocation.

Leo simply pointed a gnarly hand in Mira’s direction and said, “She wants me to remove Kairos from the company. From anywhere near you. He has scared her.”

Within the next breath, Aristos was kneeling in front of her, rage radiating from him in dark waves. One large hand descended on her thigh, and then moved up from her belly to her arm until he was caressing her cheek. “You’re trembling.”

He cursed, barked what sounded like instructions to Leo too fast for Mira to catch. His grandfather left the room and closed the door behind him.

“Did he hurt you? What did he do? Mira, are you in pain?”

Mira grabbed his hand in both of hers and shook her head. “I’m not hurt, Aristos. Come on, look at me. I’m fine. I’m just...angry and shaken.”

Some of his rage seemed to abate but his glare remained. “Maybe he did not hurt you, but he has you scared. And that’s not acceptable.”

“I am worried for you,” she said, “worried about what kind of harm he might do you. The way he talks of you... Aristos.”

“You should have more faith in me, Mira. He cannot touch a hair on my head. But clearly, he can get to you, so today we will get to the bottom of that. Did he follow you? Threaten you in some way?”

There was a reason she hadn’t gone to Aristos directly and instead approached Leo. And her brilliant husband hadn’t missed that. She’d meant to talk to Aristos tonight about everything but after her discussion with Kairos, her fear had gotten the better of her. Mira shook her head, gathering her strength. “No, I went to him.”

God, why had she been such a naive fool back then? Why such little trust in herself? Why hadn’t she asked Aristos for clarification once in fifteen years? Useless questions battered at her, twisting her nerves even tighter.

Aristos bit his lip and studied her. “Why, Mira? You’ve seen how delusional and volatile he can get. Why would you go near him?”

Still, she fought for time. She bent her forehead to his and let out a shuddering exhale. “I just... Please, Aristos, first promise me you’ll talk to Leo about this. That you’ll take some kind of action. You’re not invincible, you know.”

“Close to, anyway,” he quipped, though without real humor.

“No,” she said, leaning down toward him and biting on his lower lip, hard. Just the way he liked it. And then she swirled her tongue against the tip of his, playing, running away, teasing. Just the way that got him hard, fast.

Soon, his fingers were wrapped around the nape of her neck and he was stealing away her breath, her heart, her very soul in a tender kiss that only amplified her fear that she’d lose him. A sob burst through her and Aristos swallowed that too, his palm a warm, steadying weight on her back.

In the end, he pulled away. Gray pupils danced with lust, his breath came fast and he rubbed his face. “You’re not distracting me from this, Mira. You want Kairos thrown out of Carides Inc. But I know you. I know that you would not demand such a punishment unless he deserved it. I would like to know what his crime is.”

“He hates you so much, Aristos. Isn’t that enough? I wouldn’t sleep a wink knowing he’s near you.”

“Feelings are not enough to ruin a man’s livelihood, Mira. Because that’s what it will be. Kairos has a position in the company because he’s family. He’ll not find another job anywhere else. Not with his addictions.”

Mira closed her eyes and willed herself to let it go. The past was over. She knew the truth. She had known it even before Kairos had spilled it. She could just say she’d approached him with some misguided intention of calming him down. Or some other innocent lie. But God, she couldn’t hide anymore.

Feeling Aristos’s palm cradle her cheek, she nuzzled into it. Tears pooled and one rogue drop trailed a path down her cheek.

Opening her eyes, she gave voice to the pain that had haunted her for fifteen years. Only to discover that it was no one else’s fault but her own, that it had been her own cowardice. “That night—the night after our engagement party—I know where you went.”

His brow cleared in one flicker of a breath. In the next, his frown returned tenfold. “The night after our engagement? The night I was supposed to meet you in the greenhouse? Our special night?”

Mira nodded and wiped away the lone tear.

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