Page 182 of Modern Romance May 2026 Books 5-8
It would be hard no matter what, to lose him from her life. So quickly he’d become an anchor to it. A safe place. He wanted to give her the world, and she could not trust it…but she wanted to. Moreso after yesterday. Comforting him when he had been hurting had meant something to her. She could give him something, just as he gave her so much.
A risk? Yes. So be it if it meant, for a little while, she might be his wife.
The thought filled her with a longing she didn’t quite know what to do with.
She got out of the car when Bacchus pulled up in front of the house. She walked inside. Like this was hers. Like she belonged. Zervou had made it feel that way.
“Mr. Kritikos would like to see you in his office,” Bacchus told her as he came up behind her.
She frowned a little at that. His office? Odd. Still she dumped her bag and went to find him. Usually when she returned from the gym, he was ready for whatever public appearance they had that night. Tonight was supposed to be some charity gala, if she recalled.
She had a beautiful dress all laid out and was looking forward to another delicious meal she didn’t have to cook herself.
But when she arrived at his office, the door was closed. She hesitated for a moment. Something seemed…strange. She shook her head. She was being ridiculous. Still, when she reached out for the doorknob, she couldn’t quite get herself to turn and push the door open.
She knocked instead.
After a moment, she heard Zervou’s voice rumble from behind the door to come in.
Because you’re being ridiculous.She wiped damp palms against her sweatpants and chided herself on already looking for problems where they didn’t exist.
When she stepped inside, he sat behind his desk. He was dressed exactly as he’d been when she’d left, and when she entered there was no smile. No greeting.
He looked her up and down. There was no heat there. No emotion at all, really. Just a cold kind of calculation.
Something wasverywrong, and that was not in her imagination at all.
She did not recognize this expression. She would have said it reminded her of when they first met, except she could see beyond that arrogant mask to the lick of fury.
He was angry about something, even if he hid it well.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. She never could quite ignore the underlying emotion in a room, even when perhaps it would serve her well.
There was a pregnant pause. He tapped his fingers on his desk, then slowly rose. But he stayed locked behind his large desk. “Your Mr. Demo came to see me today.”
Lefteris… “He did what?” Her own anger swelled quickly. After she’d told him no. After he’d pretended to understand her stance on integrity. He’d gone to Zervou behind her back. Because asking for him to sponsor a fight for her was the only reason he could have come here.
The bastard.
“He should not have done that, Zervou. I apologize. I asked him not to.”
Zervou did not immediately soften or accept her apology. His demeanor remained exactly the same. “And why did you ask him not to?”
Her eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean? It was not appropriate for him to use my connection to you assume kind of…greased wheel toward using you.”
“That is business, Ariadne. Greased wheels and using.”
A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. She didn’t understand what he was trying to say, but it didn’t matter. “But this isn’t business. It is my career.”
“And that is where you draw the line at my help?”
“Yes,” she said simply, because it was that simple.
She saw this was the wrong answer as the fury in his eyes leapt, as his hands clenched into fists. But she did not understand. “What do you have to be angry about? He went around me.Itold him no when he asked. He never should have—”
“I have no right to be angered by thisnoyou gave him, without discussing it with me?”
“Angered?” She shook her head, trying to understand him. “Absolutely not. Boxing is mine. This was my choice, and he did not respect it. Why shouldyoube angry atme?”
