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“Umm...application malfunction?” She pretended she didn’t notice her friends throwing her suspicious looks after that.
Finally, Velvet cleared her throat. “Okay. Yay you for all the mishaps then.”
Even Mairi had to crack a smile at that.
Mandy gave her a quick hug. “Break a leg, okay? And chin up. I have no idea what you’re going through again to say all those silly lies, but I’m certain it has to do with your Greek billionaire. Whatever it is, remember we’re here for you.”
She did her best to remember that, especially since the award ceremony had started and the usual red carpet had been rolled out for the VIP guests.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a warm round of applause for the first of our guests of honor, Mr. Ioniko Vlahos.”
Ioniko walked down the red carpet in a swift pace, looking absolutely gorgeous and sexy in a black three-piece suit and a crimson necktie. He looked at her only for the briefest moment, his eyes warm. And then he was walking past her and ascending the stage to take his place on the VIP row.
“Thank you, dear students and teachers. And now, another round of applause for our next guests of honor, Mr. Damen Leventis and his lovely fiancée, Ms. Alina Kokinos.”
Hearing the words spoken in her presence hurt a lot more than she had expected.
She closed her eyes, unable to bear the sight of them together. There was a heightened sense of excitement in the crowd at the sight of them, and she squeezed her eyes shut more tightly when she began to hear them talk about how Damen and the Kokinos heiress looked so good together—-
Oh.
He was walking past her now. She knew it was so, without even looking, because she knew his scent.
He was walking past her now, another woman by his side.His fiancée. His side.A place she might never have.
Mairi literally found herself swaying on her feet, but her friends helped her stay upright as they kept their arms around Mairi’s waist like three bosom buddies.
Mr. Damen Leventis and his lovely fiancée, Ms. Alina Kokinos...
The names and words became louder and louder with every echo in her mind. She wanted to cover her ears and stop herself from hearing it, but she knew it was impossible.
Mandy suddenly squeezed her hand. “Ms. Thorn just called your name.”
Mairi forced her eyes to open and tried to think past her erratic heartbeat and the gnawing pain inside her. Ms. Thorn had the crowd applauding her now, and she knew she had to move. And she would, just as soon as she remembered how to do it.
“You don’t have to do this,” Velvet muttered under her breath, her heart breaking at the blank look on Mairi’s face. It was as if she had just realized that fairy tales were just...fairy tales, and they were never meant to happen in real life.
“I’m okay,” Mairi whispered to them, not wanting her friends to worry about her. She didn’t want to look at them after that, knowing that seeing their concern might cause her to break down.
****
DAMEN SCHOOLED HISface into an expressionless mask as he observed Mairi’s ascent to the stage.She looked too pale, he thought, his chest tightening at the sight of her makeup-less face.
It made him want to reach out to her—-
At the other end of the row of seats, Damen heard Ioniko greet Mairi warmly and he turned sharply to look at them, quickly enough to catch sight of Mairi giving Ioniko a grateful smile in return.
The gratitude hit him like a ton of bricks, jealous rage creating an inferno of bitter feelings inside Damen. It hurt, it fucking did not make him feel good to see that smile on her face.
She was supposed to smile like that at himonly.
As she walked past Ioniko and towards his direction, Damen waited for Mairi to look at him. But when it was clear she would not, he heard himself saying to Alina, “Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”
Mairi stumbled on her way to the podium, having heard Damen’s words.
Damen paled.Shit. He had meant to hurt her for being too close to Vlahos, for wanting him – Damen – to be more like Vlahos, like he was not enough for her, the way he had never been enough for his parents to love.
But the way she scrambled to right herself, her body posture tense and defensive, told Damen that she would rather stumble again than have him help her now.