Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91361 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Umm...yes.” Her flustered tone, combined with the soft look in her eyes, practically screamed of her adoration of him.
Boy oh boy. Who knew philanthropists like Bobby could be just as generous with their affections, even in public?
Leandro bent down and gave Bobby another kiss. When he released her, he was breathing hard while Bobby was red-faced. It was fun, watching the way Leandro Christopoulos could so effortlessly transform the evil redheaded queen into a starry-eyed girl unable to string even two words together.
Or at least it was fun until-—
“Love you.” Leandro had whispered the words as he straightened to his commanding height. He gave me a polite nod of goodbye before stepping out of the office, leaving behind a dazed-looking Bobby.
Ouch. Two words, just two stupid words, and yet they burned me like the sun, the way they shone so beautifully bright.
“Aria?” Bobby had finally recovered, but her cheeks were faint with color.
I saluted at Bobby. Yes, ma’am?
She didn’t smile. “You still haven’t told me you don’t want to talk to Kellion.”
My face turned expressionless at her words.
“MJ told me about what happened last night.”
And here I was, thinking MJ was my friend. Shaking my head at her words, I wrote on my board. COMPLICATED.
“God, I hate that word,” Bobby muttered. “Ever since Facebook used it as a relationship status, it’s become freaking hard to get people to say just yes or no.”
If I didn’t feel so dead inside, I would have smiled at her quip.
“Aria?” When our eyes met, she pressed gently, “Just tell me one thing, please. Just one and I’ll get off your back.” Without waiting for me to answer, she asked, “Has he done anything to hurt you? Something you can’t forgive him for?”
Slowly, I shook my head again. It really wasn’t him. It was me. It was my fears winning over my hopes, my past winning over my present.
“I see.” Bobby started typing on her phone.
I frowned. That was strangely rude for someone like Bobby. But before I could say anything, I heard the door behind me open again.
“I’ll take it from here, Bobby.”
I stiffened. It couldn’t be him. It just couldn’t be. He was supposed to be in Athens, a whole damn ocean away, dammit. He couldn’t be here so soon.
A shadow fell over me, a man crouching in front of me, dissipating my doubts and filling my badly chipped heart with anguish.
Kellion.
He was suddenly standing in front of me. Kellion. The real one and not a figment of my imagination. My fists clenched on my lap as I stared up at him, still unable to fathom his sudden presence. Just looking at him made me realize how much I missed him. Had he really been this tall? Did I really have to crane my neck all this time just to look up at him? I felt both starved and satiated at the sight of him, unable to get enough but also feeling like I was about to burst.
I looked at his thick black hair, at how they shone under the lights, and I had to clench my fists tighter to prevent me from reaching out to him. I looked at his face, and I could only wonder if he had really been this beautiful all the time. Those green eyes, those high, carved cheekbones, those thin perfect lips – had he really been this gorgeous? Or was it because I knew now I was in love with him that everything felt so different?
“Aria?” It was Bobby speaking, but her voice reached me like she was far away. Right now, all that existed for me was Kellion.
“I’m going to leave you two—-”
When her words sank in, I jerked. No. I didn’t want to be alone to him. Panicking, I tore my gaze off Kellion and found Bobby already walking to the door. I hurried towards her and managed to catch the older girl just as she was opening the door.
She turned to me and I shook my head at her. Please. Please don’t leave me—-
“Aria, listen.” Her voice was gentle, so beautifully gentle it didn’t sound like her, and I wanted to cry because of it. This, I thought painfully, this was the kind of voice I wished Amelie had. I didn’t give a damn if she had the voice of a siren. I had wanted this kind of voice, one that would have made me feel like I was cared for.
“I wouldn’t have helped him if he had hurt you.”
I shook my head more vigorously. No, Kellion hadn’t hurt me. But—-
She took my hand, and her voice became even gentler as she spoke. “But right now...I think right now...you’re the one hurting yourself.”
KELLION
For a long moment, Kellion didn’t move from where he was. Even with Bobby already gone, he forced himself to stay still, not wanting Aria to feel crowded. But when she moved, when she reached for the knob and he knew she also intended to leave—-