Back To You (Completed)

Chapter 20

" You were talking in your sleep. You know that night when he came back from Munich he came to your house to surprise you and stay with you. You had a nightmare or something. You were calling Alex's name crying ", Max began.

" He left for Germany again to let you figure out if you really wanted the wedding. He was afraid. It had been only, what 6 - 7 months since he died. He was sure that you just needed his affection because of the baby and he couldn't really handle it well already "

" What are you saying ? He only agreed to the marriage..."

" Because he was, he still is in love with you from day 1 back at high school. Alex was right the whole time ", Max continued. " He wouldn't admit it even to himself at first but he got drunk after that party where we got introduced remember ? He was wasted, i kept asking even though i had guessed months ago that he liked someone here in Greece. I knew him since we were both babies. He seemed cold, distant and bored to all of you but i knew it just looking at him for a second you know ? You were dancing with Alex and he was talking to Mark. Alex was holding you tightly on the dance floor and you seemed like arguing. I caught him looking at you for a sec and i knew why he didn't want to go out with another girl all this time".

" He never talked to me back then, never Max ", i replied stunned.

" Tell you what ? You were with Alex, madly in love. He was the stranger, the new German boy. And he is not the type of guy that will show it or do anything. He will just keep it for himself. I asked him more than ten times what was bothering him before he told me about you. You know how he said it ? " Her ". I said your name, he signed and that was really it. Mark also had figure it out. They were together all day back then ". He paused weighting whether to continue or not.

" When we saw you that summer being so close we all tried to hide our expectations. It was kind of a common secret. We all knew he had feelings for you even though he never talked about it and you were not in a good state. We also knew about your father's problems. He knew and told me actually. When he later found out you were pregnant he was confused. Afraid. He couldn't believe that you actually wanted to keep it. His parents agreed to this marriage because they also had figured his feelings. His mother at least. For his father it would be a good deal too after all. He would invest to your father's company making it healthy again and by the marriage the two companies would lead in the seas. He also knew that his son liked you and with a baby the bond would be sealed forever. When he went to Germany after the night that you were screaming Alex's name he was devastated. His grandfather was poisoning him for weeks about the wedding and this time he gave him some kind of proof that you didn't want the baby and you were only playing him in order to save your company. He was the one convincing him to break all ties with you "

" What kind of proof ? ", i asked trying to hold back the tears.

" Photo's of you exiting a clinic, above Alex's grave and your father talking to you at a restaurant. I don't know. He never told me clearly. He was already hurt Alice. He thought he was making you a favour".

" Right ", i answered bitterly wiping the tears of my eyes.

" Hey, what he did is upspeakable. He really fucked up hard. I know.
After you left he was like a lion in a cage. Cassandra faced him and told him what had happened that day. We didn't talk afterwards for some time. We were all numb. He left for Germany and he came back after his parents death. We went to the funeral. He looked different and the same at the same time. Cold, emotionless but he had lost weight. His eyes were red. He couldn't sleep or eat. I was still mad at him for letting his grandfather get into my parents head so we continued not to speak. Your parents were also there. I noticed he spoke to your father at some point. They were devastated from your absence. He returned to take over the company's presidency. He was working non stop for months. He went back to Germany only to take care of business there and his grandfather's funeral a few months later. He continued to work non stop. One night he had an accident while getting back home here in Athens. They called me and i rushed to the hospital with Mark. He was unconscious all night. The girls came a few hours later. I had broken up with Eleanor over a year ago. Hadn't seen her since ", he paused looking sad.

" He woke up the next morning but he was very weak. He couldn't go to business meetings and i went for him, Mark also helped. The girls brought him food at home and that's when we all started talking again. It took a few months and we were also back together secretly ", he said smiling towards Eleanor.

" What about the deal with my dad ? "

" Well he gave him money to save the company. I know that. And he visited them quite often the last two years. After we learnt about your father's illness. He had seen him years before dealing with a guy at a nightclub who looked weird to him. He used his fathers connections and learnt that your dad was involved with drug dealers. The most dangerous ones in northern Europe. He convinced him to get out of this, put even more money to the company and made a deal with the police "

" He told me that you guys find out about all this ". Max smiled shaking his head.

" The only reason i know any of this is because he withdraw 500 million from the company's accounts. The bank director called Mark and then me. The guy almost lost his job because of that ", Max laughed remembering the incident.

" He could bring me back just by saying about my dad. He could talk to me about a possible merger. He didn't have to trick me into marrying him. The man practically owned me either way Max ".

" The man is crazy about you Alice ! Your stubborn behaviour is killing him slowly. He suffers, everybody can see that. He could always ask, but then again it would take a lot of time to convince you and your father was still on a blacklist. He didn't want to risk your life by getting you back in Greece without guarantees of your safety. I guess it would make him feel better, relaxed if you stayed with him. If he had the right to check on you at all times ", Eleanor said calmly.

" There is no point us three talking about it. A taxi is waiting for you outside. Please talk to him ", Max pleaded.

  I got up and grabbing my bag i marched through the door. Suddenly before i entered the taxi i turned to Max.

" How was he after i... ", i asked curious.

" Bad. Really bad Alice ", he said closing the door behind me.

   Looking out of the window thinking what Max had said i remembered how cute he looked the other night. His frustration when i didn't let go. His passion, his tenderness. We only had sex twice and for the first time i realised that he was the sexiest man i had i ever been by far. I couldn't really explain it even to myself but just by the way he was looking at me made me thinking of him making love to me quite often. Still how a man so distant and silent like him could be so cute and warm at the same time was something that still made me wonder.

" Courage Alice. You can deal with him ", i spoke to myself while trying to open the door. When he opened it the keys left my hand. He was drunk i could see that and for the first time i was actually afraid of his anger.