Page 55 of The Billionaire's Seduction Revenge

And even if she was fine, that changed nothing. Vasilios had stuffed up. He’d treated her terribly—something he’d sworn he’d never do. He owed her, at the very least, an apology, an explanation. He owed her…so much.

Forcing himself to action, Vasilios began to move, striding towards Emma, stopping a short distance away, his shadow cast over her, his eyes devouring her before he spoke, just for a few moments longer, so he could soak in every tiny bit of her.

“Vasilios?” She jerked to standing and whirled around, heart racing, unable to believe this was really happening. “What the hell are you doing here?”

There was fire in her words, accusation in her voice, and terror in her eyes.

Great.

“You were called to a meeting. You didn’t come.”

“What?”

“A meeting.” His voice was hoarse, his manner demanding. “Why not?”

“I—are you kidding me?” Her nostrils flared on an indignant expulsion of breath. “I’m not yours—or anyone’s—to command.”

“This was Costa’s wish,” he responded swiftly.

Her eyes flared. “Don’t. Youknowthere’s nothing I wouldn’t have done for Costa, but a reading of his will hardly matters to me.”

“Even when he bequeathed things to you?”

She paled visibly, reached out to grab the back of the seat, so if there’d been even the smallest vestige of him that still believed she’d had an eye to Costa’s fortune, it would have been completely dispelled.

“I don’t want anything,” she whispered.

“From him, or me?”

“From either of you,” she responded quickly, the words heated. “Costa gave me everything in those last few months. He was my friend.” Her voice cracked. She swallowed, needing a moment to compose herself, then speaking with strength, “I told you, I never want to see you again.”

“Yes, you said that.” His heart pounded against his ribs. He stared at her, wishing he had more answers, wishing he saw more clearly. “Did you mean it?”

She swept her gaze away, glaring at the trunk of a large, nearby tree. “Yes.” The word was withering, infused with bitter anger. Something in his gut rolled, dropped to his feet. He swallowed. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—believe it.

“Are you sure,cara?” He challenged, and though he sounded confident, he was anything but. Inside, Vasilios was terrified. Just as he’d been after Costa had died, when he’d faced the prospect of being alone. Rather than lose Emma arbitrarily, he’d taken control and pushed her away, perhaps believing that if he could be lonely on his terms, it wouldn’t hurt so much. What a fool he’d been! Fear had made him stupid, but now, it was forcing him to be brave, because he didn’t want to live without Emma.

She whipped back to face him, eyes pulsing with her feelings.

“I meant every word,” she responded icily, wrapping her arms around her chest. Then, after the slightest pause, almost as if she didn’t want to speak, she asked, “Why are you here, Vasilios? What’s this about?”

It was a moment of truth, something he’d been grappling with for over a month, but had been forced to face head on from the moment he got to the lawyers’ offices and realised Emma wasn’t there. Then, hearing Costa speak about her in the will with such affection and love crystallised something important for Vasilios, but it really all fell into place when he’d walked towards the park and seen her on the bench. He’d known himself for the first time in his life. All of the pieces had fallen into place.

“Vasilios?”

“It was a mistake.”

“What was a mistake?”

“That day.” He frowned. “No, all those days. After he—after Costa.”

He ran a hand through his hair, frowned, the past like a strangely unfamiliar wasteland now. Those things he had once been so sure of were now ephemeral and mysterious. He moved closer to the bench, wrapped his hands around the back as she was, but took care not to get too close. He had the feeling Emma would startle—worse, might disappear—if he wasn’t very, very gentle.

And now that he’d actually come to understand himself and what he wanted, the thought of Emma disappearing all over again was anathema.

“You’re not making any sense.”

“You once said that we knew each other better than two people ever had, or words to that effect. Do you remember?”

---