Prologue

Nik stared at Eva feeling his throat tighten with pain as the words remained stuck in it. He had promised himself years ago that he would never beg anyone again to choose him since he watched his mother leave but it didn't matter. This was Eva, he would beg, even grovel at her feet. 

This was his Eva. 

"Please stay," he begged, letting her see through him. He didn't need to be on his knees now, they both knew how much it took to have Nik Stavros begging. 

Nik chose to be cut out from his family business and build his from scratch. 

She bent her head low, her waist-length brown hair that fell like a halo around her veiled her face. He didn't need to see her face, to hear her answer. It was a low whisper but he heard it loud and clear, "I'm sorry, Nik.  I can't. I just can't." 

“Why can't you?” he yelled and pinched the bridge of his nose to get his emotions under control. From the corner of his eyes, he watched her toy with her fingers, and the diamond band on her right hand caught his eye. That ring was new, it was not the copper-gold one he gave her as a promise ring two years ago while having sex. 

“So it's true?” He whispered slowly. 

He had started hearing the rumors that Eva was seeing someone else recently, but he didn't take it to heart. After all, he had been putting in long hours at the company, and they were almost going public. 

“Is what true?” She asked, her doe eyes shining her bow lips jutting forward in a semi-pout and looking far ahead to the bridge. 

“Don't fucking play games with me Eva, is this real?” This time he grabbed her wrist, brandishing the ring between them. 

She winced from his tight grasp, and he let go of his hold, never wanting to hurt her. 

This time around, he followed her gaze and noticed the car parked not too far from where he stood. He saw the man standing in front of it in his trench coat. He knew who that was. It was his arch-rival; Dominic Torreti.

“Why?” He asked again. 

She shrugged, “he can take of me, Nik. He takes care of me better than you do.”

Nick shuffled back a little, feeling the weight of her rejection hit him like a ton of bricks. 

She had chosen another man over him. 

She chose a wealthy man over him. 

He had loved her and given her his entire heart yet she chose someone else. Nik turned around wordlessly. 

This is going to be the last time he will ever let a woman toy with his heart this way. With every step away from her, he felt his heart break into more pieces. 

Love doesn't exist, it's a mere lie people believe in to make themselves feel good while giving the other party power over them to hurt and break them. Never again.