Chapter 4 Katerina
KATERINA
The car shakes as we drive down the dirt road, away from the person I just watched burn to death on a pole. And while I'm thinking about the man and what just happened, my thoughts go in another direction.
I'm thinking about the smoke.
The way it twisted into the sky, thick and endless.
It brings me back to the worst night of my life.
I remember waking up choking. Thick clouds of blackness filled my lungs, made my eyes water, turned my world upside down. My mouth was dry, my tongue coated in the bitter taste of ash.
The heat was suffocating, pressing against me like a living thing, wrapping around every surface. Like I wasn't just inside the fire - I was actually a part of it.
But I had to run.
I forced a scream from my throat, calling for my parents, but I could barely hear my own voice over the roar of the flames. That's something I never realized before—how loud fire is. It drowns out everything.
My brother's door was the only thing I managed to reach.
I called out his name, and he didn't reply.
I reached for his door handle, but it was searing hot. I kicked the door, but it wouldn't budge. Centering myself in the middle of the doorway, I took a few steps back, braced myself, and ran straight at it.
It finally burst open.
I fell into the room, coughing, the air thick with poison, my eyes burning like I'd rubbed them with embers.
I called for him. And for a brief second, the smoke thinned just enough for me to see him.
His body was crushed under the weight of the collapsed ceiling.
I ran toward him. I ran as fast as my lungs would allow.
But I couldn't.
I couldn't do anything.
The beam on top of him was too heavy. The fire moved too fast.
It burned too much.
If I had been faster, stronger, he might still be here.
The flames swallowed him, and I dropped to my knees, my voice gone, lost in the heat.
And then—blackness.
When I woke, I was on the sidewalk, surrounded by paramedics and flashing red lights.
It was the worst night of my life.
The worst thing anyone could ever experience.
And Ares just made me relive it all.
"Katerina."
A voice pulls me back. My name, spoken low. Firm.
I blink.
I'm no longer in the car.
I don't even remember arriving, but suddenly, I'm here. We head inside and right towards his study. I'm still in my gown and I couldn't be more disgusted with how the night has gone.
Ares stands near the window, his back to me, pouring himself a drink. Completely unfazed by everything.
My hands clench at my sides. "For the record, you may be my husband now, but you don't get to decide how I face my demons."
He doesn't turn. Just takes a slow sip of whiskey. "I didn't decide anything. I simply gave you what you wanted."
I scoff. "What I wanted?"
Ares finally turns, his gaze sharp and unreadable. "Actually, I gave my wife the best thing anyone could give a person - some closure."
I stare at him, realization sinking in.
He doesn't get it.
He watches me, studying every flicker of emotion on my face.
"I gave you someone that took part in your family's death. I handled what should have been handled years ago. And, I plan on doing more of it soon.”
A dangerous pressure builds in my chest. “This wasn't yours to handle."
His lips curl into a slow smile. "Well, I thought differently."
He sets his drink down and moves toward me.
I see his eyes drop to my hands—to the slight tremor in my fingers. A reaction I can't quite suppress.
"Are you angry because I killed him?" His voice is low. "Or because you felt nothing when you watched?"
My tremor stops.
His head tilts slightly. "Maybe you expected to feel relief. Justice. Peace even." He moves to walk around me. "Instead, you stood there, numb. Empty. Just like at our wedding."
The words land like a strike.
My pulse hammers, but I keep my voice steady. "I felt nothing at our wedding because you are nothing to me. But that man?" I take a slow breath. "Maybe I wanted that vengeance one day. Maybe I wanted to be the one to look into his eyes and kill him—but you took that from me."
Ares looks at me. "You had years—"
"I'm done talking about this." I turn away, cutting him off before he can finish.
I reach for the door, not knowing exactly where I'll go, but before I can leave, Ares grabs my wrist.
His grip isn't painful, but it's firm, aggressive, his thumb pressing into my skin.
"Walk away from me again, Katerina," he says, his voice a dark promise. "And see what happens."
I try to free my arm, but he won't allow it. He tilts his head slightly, like he's waiting to see how far I'll push.
"You may not like my methods, but everything I do is to protect my family. That includes you now."
The possessiveness in his voice sends an unwelcome emotion through me.
Ares leans in, his voice certain. "Your every breath, every heartbeat— is mine now. Remember that."
Then—slowly, deliberately—he lets go of my wrist, his fingers trailing over my skin like a warning.
Silence stretches between us.
He steps back, reaching for his drink again. "We leave for Chicago tomorrow."
The words knock me slightly off balance.
Chicago.
I haven't left Greece in years.
And now, I'm being dragged across the world to a city I don't know, to a life I never wanted.
Ares watches me closely, but I give him nothing.
He smirks. "Chicago is my city. My territory. My rules." He lifts his glass in a mock toast. "You should start getting used to that."