Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
OPHELIA
I’m a total mess. Snot drips from my nose. My face is wet with tears. It’s like the floodgates of hell opened, and I can’t stop crying.
The second I saw Ares, I lost it.
He followed me when I wanted him to stay inside with his family. I wanted to walk away and never look back.
Then, I saw him.
And I felt everything.
All my feelings came pouring out of me, leaking onto the ground at my feet. They consume me, and I hate how much I want him.
Need him.
As we walk into the house, Ares slings his arm over my shoulder. “Baby, I missed you. I’m so glad you’re back.”
My heart aches for him, ripping a little more with his words. How can I be falling for a man who killed my father? He came into my house intending to trick me.
So did Apollo and Atlas.
It was all a game.
I hate them.
“I’m not back.” I shove his arm off me. “You betrayed me, Ares. I will never forgive you for this.”
“Give it time,” he insists, trying to reach for my hand, but as our fingers brush, I pull away. “You’ll see that I’m not the bad guy.”
I follow Athena as she leads the pack into the sitting room. Atlas and Apollo are at her sides, the dutiful sons doing whatever Mommy wants.
I’m so stupid.
I thought they were mine, but they were always Athena’s. They were only here to fuck with my head and make me compliant. I wouldn't be here if not for my feelings for Ares. I would have shot him, got in the car, and returned to my uncle’s house.
Athena points at the couch, flashing perfect white teeth as she smiles at me. “You should sit for this, Ophelia. What I have to say is not pleasant.”
I smirk. “Nothing with you ever is, Athena.”
“Sweetheart.” Her nose scrunches, and she blows out a deep breath. “I’m not a monster. You might think I am, but I assure you everything I have done is for a reason.”
I sit on the couch beside Ares and glare at Athena. “The villain always thinks they’re doing the right thing. There’s nothing you can say to prove you’re not pure fucking evil.”
Athena sighs, shaking her head. “I’m not the villain here.
That role goes to your father.” She strolls over to the table and grabs her purse.
“I only married your dad to get even.” Digging through the contents of her Mary Poppins bag, filled with a little of everything, she pulls out an envelope.
“Your mother wanted you to have this. She thought it was time you know the truth about your family.”
Apollo leans against the wooden bar on the right side of the room and pours five drinks. He hands two highball glasses to Atlas and then crosses the room with the other three. He offers one to Athena first, Ares, and then me.
I stare at him.
Blink.
“It’s not poisoned, Mistress.” He nudges the glass at me. “Drink. It will help calm your nerves.”
I watch him pour the whiskey from my father’s stash, so I know it’s okay to drink. Even so, I’m highly suspicious of him and wouldn’t put anything past any of them.
The first time we met, red flags went off in my brain at one glimpse of Apollo’s mischievous smirks. I knew better than to trust Ares most of all.
I’m such an idiot.
So weak and pathetic.
They played me.
I taste the whiskey, and then Apollo drinks from his glass, raising it as if he’s ready to toast. If he does, I might kill him.
Ares places his hand on my knee and squeezes. I used to hate it when he touched my legs. It made me all too aware of how much I hate my body. But because of Ares and his brothers, I’m not the same insecure girl. I feel stronger with them, so I overlooked their deception.
I never saw this coming.
Athena hands me a pink envelope. “This might change your mind about my sons and me. We’re only here because your mother made it so. She was my closest friend. And on her deathbed, she had one wish.”
I can smell Mom’s perfume on the paper. The scent is faint, but there’s no mistaking the hint of honey in her favorite Jo Malone scent.
My eyes water when I read my name on the envelope in my mother’s handwriting.
My Sweet Girl
“Mom,” I whisper.
It’s the same perfect cursive she scrawled on every note in my lunch box. I still have almost all of her letters that tell me I’m beautiful and strong. Those notes still get me through some of the worst days.
I feel something small and thick inside. So, I slide my finger beneath the seal. A flash drive with a handwritten letter falls out of the envelope.
“What was her dying wish?” I ask Athena.
“That you know who you are.”
Everyone in the room watches me with curiosity. My eyes flick from Athena to Apollo as she perches on the arm of the couch beside him.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Athena gives me a sweet smile. “Read the letter, sweetheart. Then we’ll explain everything.”
Apollo sips from the glass, eyes on me. Atlas also holds my gaze, and for the first time, he doesn’t have his sketchbook on his lap. No sign of the charcoal pencil he usually tucks behind his ear.
I lift the flash drive, confused about why my mother would leave this behind. She hated computers. When Dad bought her a laptop three years ago for Christmas, she couldn’t even figure out how to turn it on.
I taught her how to use a cell phone when I was eight. Technology was not her thing.
My hand won’t stop shaking, so Ares slips his fingers between mine. “You hate us now,” he says in a hushed tone. “But we’re the only family you’ve got. And we’re here for you, Ophelia.”
I stare into his eyes for some sign of malice and only see love written all over his handsome face. Ares is different with me. When we’re alone, he opens up to me. He tells me his secrets, his desires, and all his fears.
That’s why I can lower my guard with him, even though I hope my gut feeling isn’t wrong. I want to trust him, but I have been burned too many times.
“I’m scared,” I whisper.
Ares moves our joined hands to his thigh and kisses my cheek. “I know this is hard. If I were holding a letter from my dad, I’d feel the same way. So, whenever you’re ready. Open it. We’ll still be here when you do.”
I glance at his brothers, then Athena. It sounds strange to call them my family. Our parents weren’t married long before everything fell apart.
“What if everything changes after this?” I ask Ares.
“It will,” he says without a trace of doubt on his face. “Your life will never be the same.”
I set the flash drive on the coffee table and open the envelope.
The top of the page says From the Mind of Cora Drakos.
Bringing the letter to my nose, I breathe in her scent.
Tears slide down my cheeks. I don’t care that everyone is watching me.
These are the last words my mother wrote me, and I want to savor every second.
Ares’s hand is still on my thigh. I look down at his inked fingers, then over at him. Just knowing he’s beside me calms my rapid heartbeat. He shouldn’t make me feel this way, but he does.
“No matter what the letter says,” he says softly. “I’m here for you.”
“Ares,” I mutter. “You’re not allowed to care after what you did. You don’t get to be my person.”
“Well, I am your person. So deal with it, Little Dragon.” He shakes his head, a dark strand of hair dropping onto his tanned forehead. “If you want to make me your punching bag, I don’t care. Hit me all you want. Scream at me. Tell me how much you hate me. Just promise not to leave me ever again.”
My heart drops into my stomach harder than an anchor hitting the ocean floor. Is he afraid of losing me? Ares should have thought about that before he conspired with his family to kill my father. To destroy his legacy and take what is mine.
I think that, but don’t say it. Instead, I read the letter my mother wrote me.
With shaky hands, I hold the paper and blink away the tears.
I’m crying so much it’s hard to read her perfect handwriting.
She made this little swoop with her C’s, S’s, and W’s.
I tried to emulate it when I was younger, but it looked like chicken scratch.
To my sweet girl,
If you’re reading this letter, I’m no longer here with you. But a piece of me is always with you in spirit. In your heart and memories. Whenever you feel lost, I’m not far away.
There were so many things I wished I could say but could never find the courage. Belen had such a chokehold on you that I was lucky to have those stolen moments of happiness with you. You were my daughter first, but he claimed you the second he saw you.
He loves you. I know he does, even though he doesn’t always show it. And if you’re reading this, Belen is also gone.
Athena will take care of you, my sweet girl. I know you must feel so betrayed and upset right now. But know we did none of this to deceive you. We want the best for you.
Watch the video I recorded for you on the flash drive. It will explain everything.
Why I did the things I did.
Why I tried to protect you.
I hope you can forgive me for keeping so many secrets from you, but it’s time you know the truth.
I will love you forever.
Love,
Mom
My vision blurs, black dots swimming in front of my eyes. Even more tears are falling, sliding down my cheeks as the page slips from my fingers. The sobs that escape my chest suck the air from my lungs, and I can’t breathe.
It’s too hot.
Too much.
Ares catches me in his muscular arms before my head hits the couch. He yanks me backward and onto his chest as tears flow out of me and onto his bare chest.
Just promise not to leave me ever again.
His words rattle around in my head as he holds me, his long finger trailing up and down my arm. There’s no place I would rather be than with Ares, and I hate myself for it. I hate that the only person who makes me feel better has also hurt me beyond repair.
“It’s going to be okay, baby.” Ares presses a kiss on my forehead. “Your mom wanted this, you’ll see. We’ll watch the video together, and then you’ll understand.”
“Okay,” I mutter, clutching his jeans with my fingers as I cry on his rock-hard chest.
Apollo hops up from the couch with his laptop and kneels beside me as he sets it on the table. He inserts the flash drive into the slot and waits for the computer to load.
I lean into Ares and let him console me. I brush up against him as he whispers cute things to me. He promises to take care of me, and I believe him.
I want to believe him.
My mother’s face pops up on the screen.
Apollo’s finger hovers over the trackpad, and he looks at me. “Are you ready, Mistress?”
I nod.
But before he can hit Play, someone bangs on the door. Then the bell rings. Through the thin curtains, I see blue and red police lights flashing in the driveway.
Fuck.
I’m sure they’re wondering about the situation out front. My uncle’s car is still running, the fender smashed into the bumper of the Audi. If Apollo is mad about that, he hasn’t said anything.
“I will handle this.” Athena rises from the couch, smoothing a hand down the front of her dress. She looks at me. “Ophelia, no one knows you’ve been living with your uncle for the past two weeks or that your father changed the will.”
“My uncle knows,” I tell her. “That’s why I stopped talking to your sons. Uncle Alexander came home with signed and stamped papers from the courthouse. He will tell the police you had something to do with Dad’s murder.”
She presses her lips together, smearing the pale shade of pink. “Your uncle is another problem we’ll address.”
Ares and Atlas nod.
“I’ll go with you, Mother,” Apollo offers and comes to stand at her side. “Let me take the lead.”