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The rest of the meeting is a blur to me.

I shouldn’t be, but I’m focused on him the entire time, to the point that Bia has to call my name twice or thrice to get my attention.

The time apart led my mind to play with the image of a cruel, unscrupulous man who, even though he knew he had destroyed a girl’s life due to his own negligence, ran away from his duty and simply offered a paltry sum to heal his own conscience.

When I found out, in Barcelona, who he was, I knew nothing about Christos Lykaios other than the insane desire he awakened in me. But now, when trying to analyze him from a distance, what Ernestine, Pauline’s mother, told me, makes no sense.

Of course, people change. I’m not the same naive, fearful girl he met on the ship, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Character is something you can’t change, and Christos doesn’t show, I now realize, anything resembling someone who would run away from an obligation.

I look at his hard face, a shadow of a beard already growing. He doesn’t seem to be aware of my presence. While I’m unable to get my neurons to function properly, Christos remains impassive, not even looking in my direction .

I hear the conversation, but I am totally oblivious. I know that some new clauses are added, and when Bia asks me if I agree, I nod. But as far as I know, I could be trading my kidney on the illegal market. I can’t say what the clause contains, not even to save my own life.

“So, the first shoot will be in Greece, on Mr. Lykaios’s private island.”

Wait. What?

I look at Bia, confused, but she looks absolutely calm, so I repress it to freak out later.

That can’t mean much. There are always many people around for photoshoots or for filming commercials. It’s not like we’re going to be alone—it doesn’t even mean he’ll be there.

“With that, I think we’re done,” says the other man, who I know is called Yuri, and only then do the eyes of the one who was my first everything turn to me again.

It lasts a few seconds.

Soon, he gets up. “Good afternoon, ladies. Our meeting is over,” he says. He turns on his heel and walks out of the room, leaving me confused and lost.

He looked mad at me.

Why did you leave when, with just one touch, you melt in my arms, ? When your body, even after so long, still recognizes and responds to me?

How could he ask me something like that after treating me like a nobody?

The pieces don’t fit together, and not just for the two of us. The honor that Christos shows goes against everything Ernestine ever told me about him.

I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming but determined to investigate that story again.

“What happened in there, ?”

“What do you mean?”

“I could start by saying that you seemed totally oblivious to reality throughout the entire meeting, but that’s not even what I’m talking about. Before that, it was obvious to everyone that you already knew each other. The sexual tension between you could light up a country.”

Bia is my best friend and confidant. She knows everything about my wedding, even the sordid details of the wedding night. She hates Mike with all her heart, and it was because of her advice, much more than therapy, that I decided to go through with the divorce.

Regardless of what happened after that brunette at the restaurant tried to humiliate me and Mike laughed at me, I already intended to end it.

But what Bia says now has nothing to do with my ex-husband. I never told her about my history with Christos; I think the time has come.

“Yes, we have a history. And I think I need you to help me understand it.”

Christos’s assistant comes back down the hall and says that the Greek’s private plane will take us back to Boston. I automatically nod, still overwhelmed by our encounter.

An hour and a half later, inside the aircraft, Bia looks at me in shock. “I don’t even know where to start, but I’ll try to organize my thoughts. The first thing I must say is that I am now sure you being hired was no accident. He still wants you.”

I’ve already come to that conclusion, too. It’s not that he wants me, because despite his desire, there is a lot of pent-up anger, but my hiring wasn’t fate’s doing.

“Did you run away from him because of your friend? Look, I’m sorry, , but Christos Lykaios is a well-known figure not only in the fashion world but as a billionaire philanthropist. I’ve dealt with rich people for a long time, and I’ve never seen his name in the midst of rumors of illegal practices. I’m talking about drugs, mostly. Look at him. Sound like someone who takes drugs to escape reality, gets into a car, causes an accident, and evades accountability? ”

“No. He doesn’t.”

“Quite the contrary, the man is a dominant. He looks like he wants to have control of the world in the palm of his hand.”

“I know, and even when I was young, I did research to check that story. But as Ernestine said, the deal they made was behind closed doors. I’m so confused.”

“You were too young. What you experienced was surreal, but I promise I’ll dig deeper. Where did you say the accident happened?”

“In Boston. According to Ernestine, he was a college student and Pauline was very young.”

“I have an ex-boyfriend who is a police detective and has contacts within the DA’s office. I promise I will find out the truth. Now, let’s get to the money in the envelope. Okay, it wasn’t nice that you woke up and he wasn’t there, but I blame your youth again for a lot of what you felt. Honestly, I’m going to play the devil’s advocate here, but Lykaios doesn’t have to offend a woman to get rid of her.”

“Not even pay her?”

“With those looks? Baby, I bet even if he was a beggar, he’d have fans after him. With all due respect, the beauty of that man could turn the world around.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me; he’s not mine.”

“If you say so . . . The fact is, I have many more years on the road than you do, , and I can say, without fear, the man wants you. And judging by the state you were in, it’s reciprocal.”

“There’s still Pauline’s matter.”

“Yes, there is, and I promised I’d investigate. But what if it was all just a lie from that woman? For God’s sake, she gave you back to the orphanage when you were a little girl.”

“She and several other families. It’s more common than you might think, Bia. And I swear I’m not trying to defend her; I’m saying this because it’s a fact. In her case, there was never any intention of adopting me; I just didn’t expect to be returned so quickly because I loved Pauline. I still love her.”

“The purest friendship in the world: between two children. Innocent hearts.”

“She was beautiful and so happy. Pauline is my best childhood memory. Even after she was gone, I kept talking to her in my thoughts, celebrating each achievement with her. That’s why I was so horrified when I found out who Christos was.”

“I’ll look into it, , but even if I don’t have solid information, I can assure you that whatever happened wasn’t what that Ernestine woman told you.”