Epilogue
ARIS DRAKOS SAT IN HIS FATHER’S OFFICE FOR A MEETING as they spoke on how to handle their new loss of territory at the hands of the Petrakis family.
Though the Petrakis family had just brought in three new family members in the form of Raelyn Armstead and her twin children with Leonidas Petrakis, they had not relented in their rage against them, and Aris suspected that he would never see this war end in this lifetime.
There had been too much blood spilled, and too many people lost to return to a place of peace, and now he sat in this meeting, listening to the members of their family argue about what they should do next as his father, Giannis Drakos, sat behind his desk, listening to his men’s ideas and requests.
Aris sat quietly, listening until his phone buzzed against his thigh.
He grabbed it, and when he saw Ava’s name, he nearly smiled before he looked up at his father to see he was already looking at him.
Usually, Aris would ignore phone calls during meetings like these, but there were three people apart of the exception—his wife, his sister, and the woman he saw as a mother, Ava Montgomery.
“Excuse me, father,” Aris said, and his father nodded as if he knew who was calling him, and Aris stepped outside his father’s office and answered the call.
“Ava,” he said.
“I hope I’m not calling you at a bad time, Ris,” Ava said.
“It’s fine.”
“Which means I called you at a bad time,” Ava said knowingly and sighed. “You can call me back if you’re busy.”
“It’s fine,” Aris reiterated again, knowing Ava wasn’t the type to call him unless she had something to tell him. If it were things about her grandson, she usually texted him or called Mia instead.
“I have exciting news to tell you,” Ava said, and Aris could practically hear her smile over the phone. “But you have to promise you won’t get upset about it because it would make your sister sad.”
Aris straightened, having a feeling that he wouldn’t like what Ava was going to tell him.
“I can make no promise,” Aris admitted.
“Tommie, Nina’s boyfriend, proposed to her. So your sister is getting married,” Ava said softly, and though Aris could hear the excitement in her voice, he could not feel the same.
Even though they were not blood-related, Nina was still his sister, and he felt that it was his duty to protect her.
Nikos had already told him about Tommie a couple of months ago, so he had had some time to adjust to the idea that Nina was in a relationship.
Still, he wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to adjust to this, especially when he didn’t like Tommie Knox.
He didn’t seem like a bad person, but the person who married his sister had to be worthy of her, and he didn’t think Tommie could be that man.
“I don’t like it,” Aris admitted.
“But she’s happy, Ris. Your sister is happy, and that’s all that should matter.”
Aris sat with that idea before he nodded.
“Okay. Tell her I said congratulations.”
“You’ll be able to say that to her yourself,” Ava said, and Aris arched a brow. “In two months, your sister will be going to Greece again for a prestigious event. I forgot what she called it, but she’s very excited to do it, and she’s asked me to come too.”
His sister coming to Greece didn’t surprise him.
Nina had been here a couple of times before because of modeling events, but Ava coming was surprising.
He didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what to say.
As far as he knew, Ava had been avoiding Greece because his father was there.
And the idea of her being in the same country as Vicky Drakou was concerning.
“I know what you’re thinking, but she wants me to come,” Ava said. “It’ll be fine, and I’ll get to see Romanos.”
“Okay,” Aris said, realizing that this would happen. “I’ll get prepared so you and Nina can have a nice stay and be protected.”
“I thought everything was over,” Ava said.
“It isn’t,” Aris said. “It’s far from over, and I don’t want Nina to get hurt or either of you to be used as a pawn in this war.”
“But no one knows about us, right?”
That was the thing.
Giannis Drakos having a daughter was supposed to be a secret to the world, with the exception of a handful of people.
Still, Aris knew that everything could not remain a secret forever.
With their enemies gunning for them left and right, it was only a matter of time before their enemies realized Giannis Drakos’s weakness—his daughter, Nina Montgomery.
“Hopefully, no. Hopefully.”
Because if one of their enemies knew, he would be worried about Nina’s safety.