Текст книги "My Dutch Billionaire"

Автор книги: Marian Tee

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 7 страниц)

PART III

Eight months after Book 3

Routines had again come to Serenity’s rescue. As a freshman enrolled in the newly-opened Athens campus of Christopoulos University, her days began to follow a pattern that she was quick to embrace. Her classes went from morning to noon, and after lunch, she proceeded to spend the afternoons at her part-time job. Weekends, she went home to stay with her friend Willow, who was now married to a Greek billionaire of her own, Stavros Manolis.

It was a very orderly life, and she liked it exactly that way.

It would have stayed that way, too, if only Anton wasn’t making her feel horrendous for constantly turning him down.

Anton was a sophomore in her book club, and he had befriended her on the first club meeting. He was of average height, and with equally average looks. Everything was average about him, and if Serenity was honest with herself, it was that very trait which had allowed her to relax her guard with the boy. He was ordinary, and in that sense, the very opposite of the Dutch billionaire she was slowly succeeding in forgetting. She had been pleased when he had offered her friendship and had not hesitated to offer hers back. In her innocence and sheer lack of experience with members of the opposite sex, Serenity had not realized until it was too late that a boy’s offer of friendship was frequently the first step to dating.

“How about I just walk you back to the dorm?” Anton asked as soon as the club president dismissed them for the day and everyone began to leave. He braced himself for rejection, but when Serenity visibly hesitated, he realized that, for whatever reason, he had a real chance now of getting the beautiful Serenity Raleigh to say yes.

“Just a walk,” he pressed, deliberately moving to block her way to the door. He knew he was being unfair. From the very start, Serenity’s innocence had been obvious, and eventually, he had found out that she had studied in an all-girls’ school her entire life. He knew he should give her space, but he just couldn’t do it. The moment he did, Anton was pretty sure some other guy – someone much cooler than he was – would snap her right up. No way in hell would he wait for that to happen.

Serenity chewed on her lip uncertainly.  “Just a walk?”

He nodded eagerly. “A walk.” He crossed his heart. “I swear it.” Like Serenity, he was a full-blooded American, and he thanked God for it, knowing that it was another reason why Serenity was more comfortable in his company.

“Okay,” she said finally.

Anton mentally pumped his fist in the air. Yes! 

As they walked, Anton noticed the way the other guys gazed at him with not-so-secret envy and almost smirked. Eat your hearts out, he thought smugly. None of them knew Serenity like he did, and he would do everything to ensure it stayed that way.

Keeping his pace slow to prolong his time with her, he began to regale Serenity with funny stories about his family. The first time they had met, he had tried to impress her with how wealthy and famous his family was, and it had been a big mistake. He had noticed the way she became more polite and stiffer with him by the second and had desperately changed tacks, accidentally blurting out the first thing that came to his mind.

“When I’m nervous, I tend to fart. Only my family knows it though, and now you.”

As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, Anton had been aghast and miserable. He had waited for Serenity to tell the whole class about him and wouldn’t have blamed her for it.

But she hadn’t.

Instead, she had smiled at him while saying in her lovely, clearly voice, “Your family sounds so wonderfully nice.” But there had also been a note of wistfulness in her words, and Anton had realized then if he kept telling her stories about his family, she would stay with him forever. It was like Scheherazade and the king, only this time he was the storytelling virgin and he had a queen to entertain.

Even now, Serenity did not seem tired at all, listening to him telling her the most mundane things about his family. Throughout their walk, Anton was careful to keep his distance, knowing also from experience how Serenity hated being touched by members of his sex. He had researched about her and had eventually come to the conclusion that it was probably because she was a virgin. She was Willem, Jr. after all, and the Dutch billionaire likely had some of his guards looking after her, being his girlfriend’s younger sister.

What if the Dutch billionaire came here, he mused even as he kept a steady stream of chatter about his family. What if the Dutch billionaire disapproved of him? What would he do?

Anton mentally shook his head. Nah. Even if the Dutch billionaire did come, surely the older man would not find any fault in him. He came from extremely good Greek stock, and he had never been accused of being a playboy. In fact, if Willem de Konigh requested that he honor Serenity with an offer of marriage, Anton would be more than happy to do so.

He looked at Serenity.

She looked back at him, her tranquil expression unchanging and her eyes still an unreadable shade of blue.

One day, Anton vowed to himself, he would learn all the secrets behind that perfect mask. One day, he would have the right to kiss her. His pulse quickened at the thought. One day, he would have the right to undress her—

Her brows furrowed. “Anton?” Her tone was bemused.

Anton recovered. “Sorry.” He cleared his throat and wished to God it would be just as easy to clear his erection away. “I was just thinking of un—” He hastily caught himself in time. “I mean, I was thinking of unnecessary stuff.”

“Unnecessary stuff like what?” Serenity’s tone had turned curious.

He pulled on his collar. “Well…” Anton was not at all used to lying. He saw her frown and her gaze narrow at him in puzzlement. Her eyes began to move down, and he panicked. Not wanting Serenity to notice the rather prominent bulge under his jeans, he pointed behind her back. “Look!” He hadn’t really anywhere or anything to point at, had only wanted Serenity distracted. But as he followed the random direction his finger pointed to, Anton realized with a start that there was something worth noticing.

A black stretch limousine, parked right in front of Serenity’s dorm.

“What is it?” he heard Serenity ask as she whirled around to follow his gaze.

A chauffeur had stepped out to open the passenger door.

Serenity whitened upon seeing the limousine and the man stepping out of it with elegant grace.

Willem.

Before she knew what she was doing, she had reached for Anton’s hand and gripped it tightly, needing to remind herself that she was not alone.

Anton jumped at the unexpected touch but had enough presence of mind not to pull away. Instead, he tightened his hold on her, and his chest puffed with pride when he felt Serenity return his tight hold.

He turned to face the Dutch billionaire—

Willem de Konigh was standing right in front of him, dressed in an obviously bespoke pinstriped suit, with the way it molded perfectly to his broad shoulders and long, lean frame. He was so damn tall Anton had to crane his neck to meet the Dutch billionaire’s gaze.

The older man’s icy blue eyes raked him from head to toe.

Anton’s earliest boost of self-confidence disappeared, and he heard himself croak out, “Good afternoon, Mr. de Konigh.”

“I’m afraid I do not have the pleasure of knowing your name.” Anton felt like he was in some kind of Twilight Zone as he listened to the Dutch billionaire speak. He had a strong accent, but his perfectly modulated voice also bore an immensely strong resemblance to Serenity’s. It was like hearing twins speak, even when they weren’t really that.

“Anton Floros, sir.” And because he couldn’t very well ignore the hand the billionaire offered, he reluctantly released his hold on Serenity’s hand to shake hands with the older man. When it was over, he considered taking Serenity’s hand again. But her hands were already fisted against her sides, and despite everything, he didn’t quite have the nerve to risk rejection by taking her hand.

“I believe you were just leaving?” The billionaire’s voice was pleasant.

Anton blinked. “I’m not—” He saw the billionaire’s eyes bore through his, and he suddenly realized that even if Serenity had not noticed his erection, the older man had. And right now, Willem de Konigh was courteously and generously offering him a way out before he proceeded to embarrass himself.

“On second thought, I think I have to go.” Anton couldn’t quite meet Serenity’s gaze as he spoke. “See you, Serenity.” He turned and walked away quickly, thanking God that the Dutch billionaire was indeed the nice gentleman that he was reputed to be.

Alone, Serenity and Willem were left facing each other.

It was agony to look at him, but she forced herself to, telling herself that she would only make herself weaker if she did not. He was still heartbreakingly beautiful, maybe even more so than she remembered. But he had grown thinner, too, his new leanness causing his features to be more prominent and aristocratic.

Willem had a hard time keeping his reaction in check as he devoured every inch of Serenity’s face. He had missed her. He had missed her the second he had left her, but now that he was standing in front of her, the ache and longing he felt for her presence couldn’t be any more acute.

He had this insane urge to haul her to him, to rain kisses all over her face the same time he begged her for forgiveness. Only his rigid self-discipline kept him from doing so, the stoic look on Serenity’s face telling him that to act like a Neanderthal would only drive her further away from him.

Instead, he finally chose to be the first to break the silence, saying simply, “I would like a private moment with you.”

****

She led him to the café next door, which was staffed by students as well. Heads turned as they entered the establishment, with most of the girls openly staring and excitedly gushing as Serenity and the billionaire proceeded to walk past them.

“Is this okay?” she asked stiltedly, gesturing to the booth at the far end of the café.

“Anywhere will suffice.” As soon as they were seated, she realized the reason why he had said so. His bodyguards had followed them inside, and once again they formed a human wall to keep everyone away from their employer.

“You are okay?”

Why did he care? It was what she wanted to ask, but she managed to keep her bitterness at bay. It was not his fault that he did not love her, was not his fault that she could not be what he wanted in a wife.

She said finally, “I’ve started to move on.”

“I see.” His fists clenched under the table.  She had started to move on. He did not know what he should make of the words. He knew now that he loved Serenity like no other man would ever love her, but he also knew it was that very same emotion which allowed him to hurt her like no man ever could either.

“I would like to tell you something.”

She thought immediately of Shane. He was going to tell her that he was going to marry Shane, and she almost reared back at the mere thought of it. Even though she had left home two months ago, her sister had not stopped taunting her. Shane regularly left messages in her voice mail, and like an incurable addict, Serenity was unable to stop herself from listening to every one of them.

Willem and I had a date at Zurich. He had the company jet fly me over and we fucked each other in his private cabin. Have you had that with the billionaire yet? I bet not. I bet you want to, but you know what? I’m going to bet you’ll never be able to experience it.

Willem and I were on the phone for hours, and the whole time I kept waiting for him to ask about you. But he didn’t. It’s like he’s forgotten you ever existed.

Willem’s flying to Greece, and I may have convinced him to see you. I told him that you’ve matured, and you’re going to be less clingy now probably. Shane’s voice had lowered, and it took a sly and cruel tone as she spoke the rest of her message. I told him I’m cool with him messing around with you again. I told him it would be so easy for him to lie his way back into your good graces, since you’re a cheap, mindless whore who thinks that giving up your virginity is a way of keeping a man chained to you.

She had thought Shane was only making the last few things up to hurt her. But obviously it wasn’t so. Because Willem was here now, and seeing him devour her with patently hungry eyes, she came to two realizations that made Serenity feel sick to her stomach.

One: he had no idea she knew about him and Shane, knew that he was only here now because Shane had told him she might be willing to play the whore for him again.

Two: the knowledge didn’t make any difference to her feelings.

She still loved Willem de Konigh, and the truth tore her apart.

“Did you hear me, Sere?”

She almost flinched at his use of her nickname. Once, it had made her feel special. But now, she wondered bitterly if it was just the billionaire’s “style,” his way of making all of his paramours feel special.

“I heard you,” she managed to say. Still unable to meet his gaze, she continued in the same stilted fashion, “And I’m listening.”

Something was wrong, Willem kept thinking. There was something in the way she spoke, something in the way she couldn’t make herself look at him. In the end, he told himself he was being foolish. Of course something was wrong. Everything was wrong, and it had been so the moment he had allowed his past to color his thoughts and beliefs about love. And if not for a certain pair of interfering strangers, he would have remained blind about his ignorance.

Drawing his breath, he said tautly, “I left you because I did think I didn’t love you.”

Ah. Serenity’s lip curled in self-hatred. “You’re not saying anything I don’t know, Mr. de Konigh.”

He flinched at the way she said his name but knew that he deserved it. “But what you saw was a setup. Shane wasn’t—”

“No.” She didn’t want to hear him lying, didn’t want him to hear him prove Shane’s every word true. “I don’t want to hear anything about that anymore.” She forced herself to meet his gaze, and she wanted to cry and scream when she saw the agony in the billionaire’s gaze.

Liar! 

Liar!

Liar!

How could he pretend so easily that he was hurting just like she was?

“This is a mistake,” she said tightly.

Willem saw Serenity start to stand up, and he moved swiftly. “No!” He grabbed her hand, his fingers tightening around her wrist just before she could leave the booth.

His touch burned her. It was as if the millions of cells that made her up had flocked to the place where his fingers held her and had become the source of her very life. She breathed, lived, burned for his touch, and it was so damn pathetic.

Shane had been right.

She was pathetic.

And she couldn’t help it.

She wanted it to be over but she couldn’t help it. She had loved Willem de Konigh for five years. She had loved him since she was fourteen, and even though he had ripped her heart out with his betrayal, it still wasn’t enough to completely kill her feelings for him.

“Please.” The billionaire’s voice was just as tight as hers had been, and hearing him plead the very same way she had pleaded with him not so long ago nearly drove her insane.

She fell limply back into her seat. “Let me go,” she whispered.

Slowly, reluctantly, Willem forced his fingers to loosen, and pain ravaged his chest at the way Serenity so quickly yanked her hand out of his touch.

Once…once she had trusted him to guide her every step of the way.

But that was then, he thought dully, and it was his fault she no longer looked at him with stars in her eyes.

“I don’t ever want to talk about the past.”

Slowly, he nodded.

She swallowed hard. “And now – I want to know why you’re here.”

He said quietly, “Because I’ve realized, perhaps too late, that I have loved you from the very beginning.”

****

Serenity lay awake on her bed for hours.

No matter what she did, she could not forget what had happened, could not stop the same scene replaying over and over in her mind.

“You love me.” Her voice trembled. 

The billionaire’s gaze didn’t waver from her face. “Yes. I love you.”

“From the very beginning.” Her voice caught.

“From the very beginning.” His tone was even, his face serious, and it had made her want to cry. It had made her want to laugh and scream. Oh God, it made her wish she were insane. Because then – maybe then it would hurt less.

“Do you know what you’re saying?” she demanded shakily. “After what you’ve done to me, after what you’ve made me do – you have the gall to come here and tell me you’ve loved me from the very beginning?”

“Yes.” His tone was unequivocal despite of the way he had grown white at her words.

“And you expect me to believe you, just like that?”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to prove it.”

She shook her head. “There’s no need because I can tell you right now. I will never believe you.” She stood up, and so did he. “Thank you for your time, Mr. de Konigh, but I hope this is the last time we see each other again.”

A look of devastation flickered in his face before disappearing, so quickly that she told herself she had imagined it. And she had, she had, Serenity told herself.

“I don’t love him,” she whispered, but even to herself the words sounded like the lie that it was. Her throat tightened, and she could barely choke the words past her tears. “I don’t love him. I don’t. I don’t.”

But still, it sounded like a lie.

She remembered the times that were oh so good between them. The time he had given Serenity her first pair of custom-designed shoes, the time he had taken her in his arms.

But right next to those memories were those that hurt, that might always hurt like wounds that had no way of healing. She remembered the way his lips had felt so cold under hers the first time she had kissed him. She remembered the way she had begged him, remembered the way her injured muscles strained to support her as she tried to run after him.

Slowly, the tears fell.

And the moment she started to cry, she could no longer stop.

He loved her, the billionaire said.

But no matter what he said, she knew it could not be true.

True love did not betray. True love did not lie. True love did not hurt.

And in her innocence and inexperience, Serenity believed this to be true. She believed it so much that soon her tears turned her emotions into a feverish desire for revenge. She would make the billionaire pay. She would make him take a dose of his own medicine.

She would make him fall for her and then humiliate him the way he had humiliated her.

****

“Hey there,” Willow Somerset-Manolis greeted sleepily when she saw her friend hovering awkwardly by the doorway. She was a violet-eyed brunette, petite and curvy, and – due to the doctor’s strict orders – was on enforced bed rest.

“Hello.” Serenity’s voice was grave, and she didn’t move from her position as she continued in the same tone, “I only wanted you to know I’ve arrived.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “Stop being so formal and come in here.” She pushed herself up to a sitting position and, while waiting for Serenity to reach her, she took quick but careful note of the girl’s face. What she saw didn’t please her at all.

Serenity sat gingerly at the foot of the bed, fearful of making any movement that might cause the pregnant woman pain. When their gazes met, she blurted out, “You seem to get bigger every time we meet.”

Willow grimaced. “Why do you have to be tactless just with me?”

Serenity flushed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…” She shook her head. “But you really are huge.”

Willow couldn’t help chuckling at Serenity’s worried tone. “Relax. How many times do I have to tell you? This is perfectly normal for someone who’s carrying twins, and then there’s the fact that Stavros isn’t exactly petite.”

Serenity wrinkled her nose at the mention of the Greek billionaire’s name. “I still think he’s made you pregnant too early, and it’s just his way of chaining you to him so that when you’ve regained your senses and realize he doesn’t deserve you, it will be too late, and you won’t be able to leave him.” Even now, Serenity couldn’t quite make herself forget completely all the things her friend had suffered in the name of love. In her opinion, Stavros Manolis would never deserve her friend, and it was something she had not attempted to hide from the billionaire.

Like now.

The door behind her opened, and when she glanced over her shoulder, Serenity and Stavros both grimaced upon seeing each other.

“I see your baby lioness has arrived to protect you,” Stavros murmured as he strode into the room. “She’s found out about my latest affair, hasn’t she?”

Serenity gasped. “How could you?”

Willow shook her head in amusement. “Stavros, you must stop teasing her. She’ll never—” The rest of her words was cut off as her husband gave her an open-mouthed kiss as soon as he reached her side.

When he straightened, Serenity was furiously blushing, and so was his wife. “I hate you,” Willow grumbled. “You’re supposed to be conservative, you know.” But her violet eyes were full of love and desire as they rested on Stavros’ face.

“It’s just a kiss between husband and wife,” he said with sham innocence as he lowered himself to the chair next to her. “Even when I did have an affair.”

Serenity made a face. “Ha. Ha. Ha.” But she was still reprimanding herself for once again falling for the Greek billionaire’s prank.

Stretching his legs while holding his wife’s hand in his lap, he told Serenity, “You have a male visitor waiting for you downstairs.”

Willow’s head snapped in her friend’s direction. “A classmate?”

Serenity’s heart started beating hard. Surely, it couldn’t be…surely, it wasn’t—

After throwing the younger girl an odd look, Stavros answered his wife, saying, “It’s Willem.”

Serenity paled. It was him.

Willow was squealing for joy, crowing to Serenity, “I told you he’d come running back and beg you to return to him.” But to her surprise, her friend started vehemently shaking her head.

“It’s n-not like that at all.” She chewed on her lip, her conscience wrestling with her desire for vengeance, which had grown to life the moment she heard Stavros’ name. Her fingers clenched and unclenched as she felt Willow’s curious gaze rest on her. She said haltingly, “I d-didn’t t-tell you everything about what happened.” Swallowing hard, she continued faintly, “He and I didn’t just have a fight over S-Shane. H-he made me think we were together, but then one night I saw him…” Her memories started beating her up like a punching bag, and she took quick, shallow breaths in an effort to control herself. “I saw him, Willow, coming out from my sister’s room.”

Willow bit back a cry, and she felt Stavros’ fingers tighten around hers, her husband knowing instinctively when to lend her his strength. She had experienced something like what Serenity had described with Stavros once, and the only reason she had been able to survive it was because she had known, even when she had heard the man she loved fucking another woman in the room next to her, Stavros had only done it because he thought he had betrayed her.

But this, with Serenity and her Dutch billionaire, was different.

“Serenity, I’m sorry,” she whispered helplessly.

Serenity quickly wiped her eyes. “It’s alright. He never did tell me—” Her voice caught. “He never did tell me he loved me.” She gulped back a sob. “But he…he made me believe I was the only one. He k-knew I thought I was s-special, when I was…not.”

****

Willem came to his feet as soon as the door to the private living room opened. But instead of Serenity, it was the house’s owner himself who had come to meet him, and he was not entirely surprised by this.

“Willem.”

“Stavros.”

Their handshake was brief, and the Greek billionaire’s eyes were noticeably cool as they met Willem’s gaze.

“I had not thought our next meeting would be under such circumstances.” Stavros’ tone was grim.

He knew then. Willem was not sure how much Stavros knew of his situation with Serenity, but he could see that his friend knew enough to view him with distrust and disapproval. He said with quiet honesty, “I was a fool.”

Stavros didn’t answer right away. Instead, he gazed at his friend for a long time, and Willem met his gaze straight on, hiding nothing. Stavros inhaled heavily. Pain and regret were all he saw, but even so, he could not make himself forget Serenity’s admission.

“How could you have done something like that to her?” he demanded under his breath. “She’s just nineteen, for heaven’s sake.”

A muscle started ticking in Willem’s jaw. “I know that. Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I’ve never considered that it might be better to leave her alone and let her lead her life—”

“Then why don’t you?” Stavros charged.

“Because I owe it to her to try,” Willem snapped. Even this very second, even without closing his eyes, he still saw her on the floor. He still heard her begging for him—

Please.

Please wait.

Please.

The memories ripped his heart, but the knowledge that Serenity had to be suffering even more was what killed him and brought Willem all the way to Greece.

“She deserves to have me crawling on my knees,” he said tautly. “Even if nothing comes out of it, I owe this to her.”

Stavros slowly shook his head. He had never seen his friend this humbled, but he had never seen Serenity Raleigh so broken either. He said finally, “She’s coming down to meet you, but I have been asked to be your chaperone.”

Willem’s lips twisted. “Your wife’s orders, no doubt?”

“She’s as protective of your ex-intern as Serenity was of her in the past.”

Willem inclined his head. “Understandable. They share a remarkably poor taste in men, I’ve noticed.”

Stavros had to smile at that. “I have to agree.” He and Willow might be happily married now, but he would never allow himself to forget the pain and suffering he had put his own wife through because of his stubborn blindness.

Before either of them could speak again, they heard the door open, and Stavros said tensely under his breath, “Don’t hurt her again, or I’ll have to come after you personally.” Then he was walking away to meet Serenity halfway across the room.

He saw immediately that her eyes were faintly swollen, her nose red, her face pale, and knew that she had not been able to completely control her tears when she had gone to her room to change.

“I will be right outside the door,” he told her gently.

She fidgeted in her feet. “You don’t really have to—”

He tried to make light of the situation, saying easily, “Unfortunately, my wife’s condition requires that I do. Whatever she asks right now, I give her, and you know she asked that I do not leave either of you alone.” He nodded towards the hallway. “I understand your need for privacy so I’ll be right outside, making calls—” His tone became faintly apologetic.

“Willow told you to leave the door open?” she guessed.

“I’m afraid so.” Turning towards Willem, Stavros said, “I’ll be leaving the two of you then.”

She stared at Stavros as he walked away, a part of her wanting to follow him out. She should just leave, pretend Willem hadn’t ever come, and it would be all over. That was what she should do, but she just…couldn’t.

“Serenity?”

Willem’s tone was quiet, almost hesitant, and her heart skipped a beat at hearing the Dutch billionaire sound so. It was all an act, she told herself fiercely. He had made love to two sisters in one night. No man who could do that could ever be capable of love.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around to meet Willem’s gaze—

He held flowers in one hand.

Flowers.

He had never personally given her flowers before.

He had sent her a lot of gifts over the years, for every occasion in her life, but none of them had been flowers that he had personally given to her.

Until now.

An act, it’s just an act, just an act, she told herself feverishly even as she wanted to cry at the way her heart kept racing faster and faster the longer she stared at him.

He was walking towards her now, slowly. It was as if he was giving her all the time in the world to escape him, and it was at that moment she really did cry. The tears fell, fast and furiously, and she could no longer stop crying.

By the time he reached her, Serenity’s shoulders were rocking hard at the strength of her sobs, and she was too weak to struggle away as his arms closed around her.

In his embrace, she cried harder.

She cried at the way her heart continued to beat for him, cried at the way her heart couldn’t seem to understand that all this was an act.

It was just an act.

But then Willem said in a raw whisper, “I’m so damn sorry, engel.”

She shuddered.

The endearment used to make her feel special, but now it made her feel like the cheap, stupid whore Shane told her she was.

Engel.

It was supposed to be a secret they shared, but he had told Shane about it.

How could she ever believe him again after the way he had betrayed her?

“Please give me a chance to make it up to you.”

She took a deep breath.

One word, and she could put an end to all of the heartbreak. One word, and she could forget him and move on. One word that would decide everything else—

“Yes,” she heard himself whisper.

One word, and there was no turning back.

Her youth, inexperience, and the devastating pain that had afflicted Serenity since he had left made the decision for her.

She would make him fall, and she would ruin him, just like he had stolen and broken her heart.

****

He came to meet her the next day at work. He had texted her, asking what she was doing at the corporate headquarters of Acheron Simonides instead of school, but she had chosen not to reply.

At one in the afternoon, reception told her she had a visitor at the lobby, and she asked the staff to relay the message for her visitor to be shown to waiting area. A part of her wondered if the Dutch billionaire would indeed go to such a place. After all, people like Willem de Konigh were not at all used to waiting.

But less than a minute had passed when her phone buzzed with Willem’s text message—