No. The truth was she hadn’t caught herself. She’d fallen in love with Leo, her first and only lover. He’d taken her virginity. He was the father of her unborn baby.
But Leo didn’t exist.
He was actually Leonidas Niarxos. Edgar Ross’s boss. The Greek billionaire behind everything. The real reason the prosecutor and the judge had thrown the book at her father, penalizing him to the fullest extent of the law, when he should have just been fined in civil court—or better yet, found innocent. But no. With his money and power, Leonidas Niarxos had been determined to get his pound of flesh. The spoiled billionaire, who already owned million-dollar paintings and palaces, hadn’t gotten the toy he wanted, so he’d destroyed her father’s life.
A year ago, when her father had been convicted of forgery, Daisy had been heartbroken, because she’d known he was innocent. Her father was a good man. The best. He never would have broken the law. She’d been shocked and sickened that somehow, in a miscarriage of justice, he’d still been found guilty. Then, six months ago, Patrick had died of a stroke, alone and scared, in a prison surrounded by strangers.
Daisy had vowed that if she ever had the chance, she would take her revenge. She, who’d never wanted to hurt anyone, who always tried to see the best in everyone, wanted vengeance.
But she’d naively given Leo everything. Her smiles. Her kisses. Her body. Her love. She was even carrying his baby, deep inside her.
Daisy
stared up at Leo’s heartbreakingly handsome face. The face she’d loved. So much.
No. He wasn’t Leo. She could never think of him as Leo again.
He was Leonidas Niarxos. The man who’d killed her father.
“Oh, my God.” Edgar Ross stared at Daisy, his eyes wide. “You’re Cassidy’s daughter. I didn’t recognize you in that dress. What are you doing here?”
Yes, what? The ballroom, with its gilded glitter, started to swim in front of her eyes.
Daisy’s breaths came in short wheezing gasps, constricted as her chest was by the too-tight cocktail dress. With every breath, her breasts pushed higher against the low neckline. She felt like she was going to pass out.
She had to get out of there.
But as she turned away, Leonidas grabbed her wrist.
“No!” she yelled, and wrenched her arm away. Everyone turned to stare at them in shock, and the music stopped.
For a moment, he just looked down at her, his handsome face hard. He didn’t try to touch her again.
“We need to talk,” he said through gritted teeth.
“What could you possibly have to say to me?” she choked out, hatred rising through her, filling every inch of her hollow heart. She gave a low, brittle laugh. “Did you enjoy your little joke? Seducing me? Laughing at me?”
“Daisy...”
“You took everything!” Her voice was a rasp. She felt used. And so fragile that a single breeze might scatter her to the wind. “How could you have lied to me? Pretending to love me—”
“I didn’t lie—”
“You lied,” she said flatly.
“I never claimed to love you.”
His dark eyes glittered as they stared at each other.
All around them, the glamorous people were frankly staring, tilting their heads slightly to hear. As if Daisy hadn’t been humiliated enough last year by the New York press gleefully calling her beloved, innocent father names like con artist and fraud, and even worse, calling him too stupid to properly commit a crime.
But she was the one who was stupid. All along, she’d known Leo was hiding things from her. She’d ignored her fears and convinced herself he was perfect. She’d trusted her heart.
Her stupid, stupid heart.
Her shoulders sagged, and her eyes stung. She blinked fast, wiping her eyes savagely.
“Daisy.” Leonidas’s voice was a low growl. “Just give me a moment. Alone. Let me explain.”