The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract [SAMPLE ONLY / FREE ON TAPAS!]

Chapter 3- Borrowed Bliss (1)

Costas realized that Cassia was so besotted and so naive that she’d make a great pawn in this elaborate game.

“Go and get ready,” he instructed his granddaughter.

Cassia immediately bowed her head and ducked out of the room.

She entered her own room and was not surprised anymore when her team of hairdressers and make-up artists were there waiting for her. They had already set up their equipment and were impatiently tapping their feet on the carpet.

She knew they were the best and the most expensive team but she did not like their attitude. They always treated her as though she knew nothing. They went ahead with whatever they wanted to do even if she expressed her wishes that she did not want it.

She also knew that no matter how great their skills were, she’d never be as beautiful as the other girls.

Oh well...here I go, pitying myself once more.

Cassia shook her head and tried to empty it of those negative thoughts. What was important today was that she was going to meet Nikos Demakis. That would be enough to get her through the ordeal of being poked and prodded by the set of people who used every opportunity to point out all of her flaws.

“Please sit and we shall begin,” the lead stylist told her.

Cassia sat and this was the first time she welcomed their ministrations for she truly wanted to look her best for her meeting with Nikos Demakis.

“Is this a special party, then?” Cassia asked after an hour.

She faced the tall mirror in her room and twirled around. For the first time in her life, she felt beautiful. She also felt her self-confidence rising, even if she hated that they dyed her brown hair and turned it blonde. Maybe today she could shine like all those supermodels and actresses that Nikos dated.Or maybe he was the kind of man who could look past the external.

“Who am I kidding? He’s dating supermodels so how can I say he’s the kind who looks past one’s appearance?” Cassia muttered under her breath.

She snorted and then went back to inspecting herself in the beautiful, gilded mirror.

The team did a perfect job with her hair. It was coiled on top of her head with some loose curls framing her face and her nape. Pearls were also placed on her hair and they made her skin glow with every movement of her head.

She wore the blue dress that her grandfather’s secretary gave her and it was very striking. It was simple yet very elegant. It only had one strap and it was fitted in the chest and waist area and then the skirt flowed down her hips and her legs. The light and almost sheer material moved gracefully with every step she took.

Cassia knew that this dress was a traditional Greek design altered to make it look more contemporary. It was brilliant! What made it even more beautiful was the brooch encrusted with diamonds and sapphires that was placed on the bodice of her gown.

Also, her make-up was flawless as always. Her eyes looked bigger and more luminous. Her cheekbones and her nose were made to stand out and her face was set to be more angular rather than plump.

Cassia then closed her eyes for a moment and wished with all her heart that the dress, the hair and the make-up would all be enough to make Nikos notice her.

October 6, 2003
The Grand Ballroom
Andrade Shipping International
Athens Greece

 

“I shall be bringing the papers for the initial proposal for the merger later during the engagement party,” Costas Andrade told Nikos Demakis over the phone.

“Good. Then we can look them over and finalize everything before the wedding in a month.”

“Yes,” came the reply.

“All right. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. I still have to prepare for my own engagement party,” Nikos said dryly.

His tone did not escape Costas who took it as a chance to spread further lies and start his vengeance both on his granddaughter and the grandson of the man who stole his betrothed.

“Nikos, I have something more to talk to you about.” Costas tried to soften his tone so that it would sound as though he was a concerned grandfather. “Why do you think I offered your grandfather this merger when I was so close to ruining your entire family?” Costas asked in a concerned tone.

Nikos’ hand tightened on the phone and he resisted the urge to hurl it across the room.

“Why?” he asked. His voice was barely a whisper as he tried to restrain his temper.

“My granddaughter likes you,” Costas said in an affectionate tone.

“What?”

“Cassia...she told me so much about you. She told me how she met you at a ball and how you rescued her from a terrible experience. And since that day, she could not stop talking about you anymore. She wanted you and when my granddaughter wants something, I move heaven and earth to give it to her. Please do not break her heart.”

Costas wanted to laugh at himself at how he sounded. Judging from the harsh breathing on the other line, Nikos was clearly buying it.

“So what are you saying here, Costas?” Nikos asked in a challenging tone. His temper already got the best of him after hearing Costas’ words.

Now, it seemed as if a spoiled little girl had gotten her fancy on him and asked her dear grandfather to get him for her. Instead of looking at it from a point of view wherein Costas’ main agenda was revenge, Nikos now saw that he was a bought husband for a spoiled heiress.

And that fact injured his pride even more.

“All I am saying here is that my granddaughter is smitten with you. And somehow, I err...I apologize for this but...somehow I made it look as though you wanted her too. She’s a great girl. She’ll never agree to an arranged marriage...so...make it look real. If my granddaughter sheds a single tear due to you, your family will pay, Demakis,” Costas threatened.

“I hear you,” Nikos replied through clenched teeth.

“Good.”

“If there is nothing else, Costas, I really have to go and prepare for my own engagement party.”

“There’s nothing else. Just remember this conversation Demakis,” Costas finished and then he pressed the button on his phone and ended the call.

As soon as the line went dead, Nikos flew into a rage.

He sat up from his chair and swept his arm across his desk sending all of the things there crashing into the floor. Papers and office supplies scattered everywhere. Glass went all over the carpet as his paperweight shattered.

His secretary entered the room and gasped at the mess she saw.

“Get out!” Nikos growled and the poor woman dashed away.

Right after she shut the door, Nikos collapsed in his chair and placed his head in his hands. He ran his fingers through his hair in both anger and frustration and resisted the compulsion to tug at the black strands.

“He will pay,” Nikos vowed.

He then crossed his room and grabbed a bottle of brandy from the liquor cabinet. He took a hefty swig and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The liquor burned his throat just as Costas’ words burned his pride.

One day, he promised that Costas too would burn like he did.

“Costas Andrade will pay for this. And so will his spoiled little heiress. I will rebuild Demakis International and repay Costas twice or thrice the price that this merger cost him. As for Cassia, her life will be a living hell married to me.”

Another swig of alcohol and the fire reached his veins just as his anger had pierced his heart.

“I vow this: one day they will all pay.”

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