Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
OPHELIA
Orchestra music fills the silence in the banquet hall. I stand at the back of the room, clutching a bouquet of white flowers stained to match the cabernet color of my dress. My hands are sweating so badly that I hold the base tighter.
Ares, Apollo, and Atlas wear black tuxedos and stand beside my dad at the end of the long aisle. Everyone looks at me. My cheeks flush from all the attention. I hate having so many eyes on my body in this dress.
But I look beautiful.
I feel sexy.
Because of the Demetriou brothers, I am more confident and assertive. And as I walk down the aisle to the music, I hold my head high and focus on them.
I look at Ares first, who stares at me like he wants to fuck me on the floor like an animal.
Then Atlas. His eyes light up as he takes in all my curves, my breasts falling out of the top.
Apollo’s eyes flick up and down my body before settling on my mouth.
He always stares at my lips as if he wants to kiss me.
But he never gets close enough to make a move.
I glance at my dad. He’s smiling at me like he’s proud and hasn’t been acting strangely all month. It sucks that we’ve grown apart since Mom died, but maybe this is what we needed to make us complete. Perhaps he was right about needing to be a family again.
I wonder what Mom would think and if she’s watching over us. Tears sting my eyes, but I can’t let them spill after applying so much makeup. People cry at weddings all the time. But I can’t be that girl.
If I cry, it’s not tears of joy. Instead, the tears will be for my mother and everything I have lost.
You got them. They’ve helped you become more confident and stronger.
As I reach the end of the aisle, I smile at my dad and take my place on the other side. Ares licks his lips, eyeing up my breasts. One look is all it takes for my skin to set on fire.
In a few minutes, he’s going to be family. So will Atlas and Apollo. A part of me feels like it’s dying on the inside.
I don’t want this.
When the song changes, my head snaps to Athena. She’s wearing a white gown fit for a royal wedding. Lace sleeves cover her arms. A long train trails behind her, brushing against the carpet lining the walkway.
She pins her black hair up, with loose curls framing her face. Athena is stunning. She passed on her good looks to her sons. And as she approaches us, she looks like she’s on a runway in Paris.
I wish I had her confidence. She would steal the show, even if she weren’t the bride. Athena has something special that makes people stop and notice.
I only have that when I’m Mistress O. My alter ego is nothing like Ophelia. We’re two halves of the same whole but different in every way that counts.
Dad lifts Athena’s veil and smiles when their eyes meet. My heart is severing from my chest, breaking into a million pieces.
Mom.
I think of her as Dad takes Athena’s hand. My eyes fill with tears when they say their vows.
I force a smile.
Wipe away the tears.
I’m not happy.
I want to scream.
Mom.
I can’t breathe, and my heart pounds so hard that I can’t focus on anything else. The room spins around me.
I fan myself with my hand.
It’s not enough.
Too hot.
Need air.
I see a flash of movement, and then a muscular arm wraps around me. “Breathe, Ophelia.”
It’s Atlas.
“You’re okay,” he whispers, holding me against his chest. “Just take a few deep breaths for me.” Then he says, “Keep going without us.”
Atlas leads me away from the ceremony with his hand on my back. I try not to look at anyone as we exit the room through a side door.
I’m so embarrassed.
Why does this keep happening?
“It’s just a panic attack.” Atlas bends down to look at me once we are safely outside. “Everything is going to be okay, Ophelia.” He hugs me, and I want him to help me take away the pain. “Breathe for me. Can you do that?”
I rest my head on his muscular chest, breathing through my nose. I blow it out of my mouth as I listen to his heartbeat. “Thank you, Atlas.”
He kisses the top of my head and sighs. “I hate it, too.”
It’s not about the wedding.
Or the fact we’re family.
This changes everything.
We both know it.
* * *
I force myself to go through the motions of the night and slap on a happy face. My heart still wages war inside my chest, but I can relax with Atlas. He makes me feel better and hands me glasses of champagne until I’m too dizzy to stand. Apollo tells me to eat more and fusses over me.
Ares sits beside me at the bridal party table with his hand on my thigh, his touch keeping me grounded. “You know, it’s customary for the best man to fuck the maid of honor before the end of the wedding.”
I glance at him and shake my head. “I doubt that’s true. Not when the maid of honor and the best man are part of one big dysfunctional family.”
He rolls his broad shoulders against the chair. “This changes nothing, Little Dragon. You’re still mine.”
I hope so.
Ares was part of the reason I panicked. Well, he and my mother. I can’t stand to lose anyone else. He’s become my addiction, and I don’t want to give him up.
I like the way they make me feel.
When I’m with all of them, I’m not the same Ophelia.
I pat his hand and smile. “We can only ever be us in the dark, Ares. That will never change.”
His shoulder presses against mine, and he bends down to speak against the shell of my ear. “As long as I’m with you, the darkness can swallow me whole.”
My heart does a little flip.
I smile and blush.
He holds my hand under the table as our parents have their first dance as a married couple. I pray no one can see what we’re doing, not after the spectacle I made during the ceremony.
I think I’m falling for him.
I think he feels the same.
Because when it’s just the two of us in the dark, he says things that make me believe he’s all-in with me. This isn’t just sex for Ares.
After dinner, I dance with my dad again to another slow song.
“When I return from Fiji, I’ll sign the papers.
” He spins me in a circle on the dance floor.
“You’ve upheld your end of the bargain, Phe.
” He smiles. “Thank you for making this day everything I had hoped it would be. You’ll see this is good for both of us.
I can already tell you’re leaning on your brothers. ”
I will never call them that.