Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149148 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“I think...if he had chosen to give me up because he “loves” me, I would probably eventually find some other guy to love. But...” She bit her lip. “There’d always be a part of me that wouldn’t believe him. Because if he really loved me, he should have at least tried to fight for me. He should have given me the chance to say ‘no’.”
She turned to Helios, and for one moment, the poignant smile that had formed on her lips reminded him so much of MJ his heart constricted at the sight of it.
“You see, Helios, I’ve always known I’m an ordinary girl. If Derek had told me he wouldn’t come after me because he loved me too much, a part of me would think it was because I was too ordinary for him. That I’m not worth getting back.” She cocked her head to the side as she dealt him a questioning glance. “Do you want MJ to think the same?”
And with those words, Helios’ life regained direction.
Now, he knew that where MJ was, that was where his life was supposed to lead.
Behind Helios, a doorknob rattled before they heard the door swinging open. There was a second’s pause before someone said in a half-dry, half-irritable tone, “I swear to God, Helios Andreadis, if you are hitting on my girl, you are dead.”
Chapter Four
“DID YOU SEE THE NOTE on the board?” MJ’s next-door neighbor in the dorm, Katya Vlahos, asked when MJ entered the common room. Katya was also in her freshmen year, but that was basically the only thing they had in common. It was a well-known fact that Katya was an heiress, had a loving family back home, and hated Greek men with a passion.
MJ shook her head as she threw herself on the vacant space on the couch next to Katya. “Nope. Why? What’s it about?”
“The R.A. wants you.”
She shot up in her seat. “What? Millie? Why?”
Katya looked up from painting her toenails. “I don’t know. It just says so on the board.”
MJ got to her feet with a sigh. “I better check what it’s about.” One of the conditions to getting free boarding in the dorm was playing sidekick to the R.A., a senior Economics student who occupied the sole bedroom on the ground floor. She couldn’t figure out why Millie would post a memo on the board about her when she could have just as easily texted MJ. It boded something ill, and the thought had her hurrying down the stairs.
She tried to calm her racing heartbeat when she knocked on the R.A.’s door. “Millie?” She tried the knob, found the door open, and stepped inside like she usually did. R.A.s always had an open door policy.
Unlike MJ’s tiny room, Millie’s was basically a suite, with a small living room and a private bedroom. Crossing the living room to get to the bedroom door, MJ knocked again. “Millie?” She tried the knob again and found it unlocked.
The first thing she saw was a pair of bare feet. Too large to belong to any girl.
Naked legs then a small white towel wrapped around muscular hips.
To-die-for abs.
MJ’s head slowly lifted.
“H-Helios?”
She couldn’t believe it was him, so much so that she rubbed her eyes repeatedly. Was this a Helios Andreadis withdrawal symptom? It had been a week since she last saw him, and maybe this was her heart’s way of telling MJ that it couldn’t really exist without seeing Helios for long periods of time.
MJ held her breath when she opened her eyes.
He was still there.
Helios was still there, and oh, her heart. It was starting to race and ache at the same time again. She pressed a hand against her chest, hard, hoping it was enough to calm her heart down. Why was it that every time she looked at Helios Andreadis, she wanted to cry and smile at the same time? It was like looking at a dying sun. Her life would end when it stopped shining, but at the same time, all she could think of were the best memories she had with it.
Helios kept himself still, afraid to do anything that might cause her to run away. Looking at her, he thought of how young she was and how much she had already endured in so little time. Ever since he found out about her past, there hadn’t been a night when he hadn’t castigated himself for making her feel like she had to earn his love.
“Y-you cut your hair.” MJ’s words, tinged with confusion, had him looking up.
Seeing her wide-eyed gaze made Helios feel self-conscious about his newly shorn hair, and he touched the neatly shaved sides of his hair gingerly. “Looks bad?”
“N-no, but...” MJ dug her fingers into her palms, the only way she could prevent herself from reaching out to touch his hair as well. “Why did you have it cut?”