The Billion-Dollar Marriage Contract by Alyssa Urbano Read Free Book Online Page A

sighed.
    “Revenge is not a good thing.”
    Nikos raised an eyebrow and then threw back his head and laughed.
    “Since when did you get so wise? Did you get a new job as my guardian angel or something?”
    Antonio rolled his eyes also and laughed.
    “I just can’t shake this feeling that you’re about to do something wrong.”
    “And now you have become an oracle or a soothsayer,” Nikos teased.
    “I see that your tongue is still as charming as ever! You best be coming back to your future bride,” Antonio said before he stood up.
    Nikos also stood up and started to follow his friend but Costas stood in his way.
    “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
    “Ah, Mr. Andrade. You have the papers?”
    “Yes. Here they are. You can review them and just contact my legal team for any changes. The final contract will be signed right after the wedding.”
    “All right then, I will get in touch. I will read through this and also have my grandfather and our legal team review it.”
    Costas then handed Nikos a thick envelope. Nikos raised his hand and motioned for his executive secretary to approach him. The man approached and retrieved the papers from him.
    “If that is everything, I have to go back to my party,” Nikos said flatly.
    “That is everything,” Costas replied with a smug grin.
     
    Nikos excused himself and went back to find Cassia who was still sitting in the spot he left her in. She stared at the crowd warily and he noticed that she was twisting her skirts yet again.
    “Cassia.” Nikos called. Immediately, she raised her head and her brown eyes looked straight into his.
    “I want to introduce you to my grandfather,” Nikos told her.
    She stood up and he took her arm and led her across the room and towards his grandfather.
    “Grandfather, this is Cassia, my future bride. Cassia, this is my grandfather, Stavros Demakis,” Nikos introduced.
    Stavros looked at Cassia from head-to-toe and then leaned forward and gave her a kiss on both cheeks.
    “Nice to meet you, Cassia. And welcome to the family,” Stavros said.
    Cassia noticed the coldness in his tone and the way his eyes hardened like Nikos’ did earlier.
    She peered up at Stavros and tried to study his expression but his face remained blank. A second later, Stavros turned his back on her and continued talking to his fellow businessmen. With that, Cassia’s spirits fell. She knew she was not welcome with Nikos’ family.
     
    “I guess that means your grandfather doesn’t like me,” she whispered in defeat.
    “ Pappou doesn’t like a lot of people,” Nikos replied dryly.
    “What about your parents, then? Will they like me?” she asked.
    “You don’t have to worry about my parents. They are too busy travelling the world to pay me any notice. If they don’t notice me then maybe they would not notice you too,” Nikos muttered.
    He realized later that he’d been rude and he quickly made amends.
    “And it does not matter. It’s not them who are getting married. It’s us,” he explained and even squeezed her hand to comfort her. She lifted her head once more and smiled at him.
    And something tightened inside Nikos’ chest at the sight of that smile.
    “Thank you, Nikos...” she whispered dreamily.
    With those words, Nikos was snapped back to reality for he realized that this girl truly had a bad case of infatuation with him.
    “Well, time for the big announcement,” he said as he took her hand and guided her towards the dance floor.
    The moment they were in the middle, the music stopped and the entire crowd became silent.
    “Good evening everyone. I know that some of you already know why we are gathered here tonight. And I also know that some are still baffled as to why. So let me announce this right now. The lovely Cassia Andrade has agreed to marry me and this is our engagement party! So tonight, help yourselves to the food, the wine and I bid you enjoy!” Nikos announced.
    To make everything look real, he