Chapter 7
SEVEN
VIOLET
Iwalked onto the plane I’d been on a thousand times, yet it was unlike ever before. It felt like I was taking a trip back to the past. The last decade was a very lonely and difficult period. Not that I deserved to be happy.
Stop that, Violet, I reprimanded myself, giving my head a subtle shake.
As a therapist, I knew these kinds of thoughts hurt more than helped, but it was human nature and the result of years of self-imposed guilt.
Although, even to this day, I couldn’t convince myself it wasn’t justified.
After all, the sixteen-year-old me did leave Lily alone that night.
A shrill ring of my cell phone pulled me out of my trip down the road of self-pity and guilt. I reached for my purse and started digging for it.
I finally found it on the fourth ring and answered, “Dr. Freud here.”
“Oh, hey,” a man’s voice came through and my brows furrowed, trying to place it. “I was starting to think I was going to have to leave you a voicemail. It’s Derek.”
“Oh, hey, Derek.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, cursing silently. We went out on a date a week ago and it was surprisingly quite pleasant. We made plans to meet up again, but I completely forgot about it. “Listen—”
“I can’t meet you tonight,” he cut me off.
“Why?” I blurted, even though I couldn’t meet either. For Christ’s sake, I was boarded on a plane to Greece. “You seemed very interested during our first date.”
“I… I… It just won’t work out,” he muttered.
My brows furrowed in confusion. It seemed to be a pattern with every man I met over the last decade.
They always seemed very interested during our first date, only to bail on me before the second.
It was starting to really mess with my confidence.
What were the odds of all my dates backing out, standing me up, or altogether ghosting me?
“I’m waiting for your explanation,” I said impatiently, taking a step forward while waiting in line to sit down on the plane.
Silence stretched and my irritation grew with each second, knowing full well I wouldn’t get an explanation. And I wasn’t wrong, because his next words were, “I have to go. I’m sorry, Violet.”
The stewardess flagged me forward and I ended the call without another word, firmly putting Derek and any other man I’d had a date with out of my mind. Clearly it wasn’t meant to be.
“Good evening, Dr. Freud,” the flight attendant greeted me after examining my ticket. “Take a left, and your seat is row 1A. Per your request, we’ve blocked off 1B as well.”
“Thank you.”
It was one benefit of inheriting my grandfather’s vast fortune. We were considered old money, not that it mattered to me. It certainly didn’t save us from heartaches or protect us from Father’s wrath and Lily’s loss.
The only benefit of it was that now I could afford to travel first class and buy both seats so I could have privacy. It wasn’t something I regularly did, but this time, I needed the space, the peace that couldn’t be guaranteed if someone was seated next to me on a twelve-hour flight.
I sat down in the front row and stared out the window while passengers boarded. My mind was already in Greece with a man I’d looked into often.
Lykos Costello.
I didn’t have his personal details or address, but I knew enough about him to know how to find him.
My private investigator managed to retrieve some information on the Greek mobster and his family.
The reason Lykos often visited the States was because he was a real estate mogul, owning multiple buildings and condominiums on the East Coast. He also owned docks in Athens, which he used to conduct his questionable business dealings.
He was very well thought of in Greece, particularly in Athens.
They considered him a respectable and dedicated father as well as a ruthless businessman.
Funny enough, my PI could never find out any specifics about his children or his wife, claiming that Lykos protected them fiercely.
In fact, it appeared not even authorities knew much about Lykos Costello’s wife.
There were speculations, sure, but no concrete information. Was she dead? Alive? Happy?
I couldn’t decide which scenario was the best.
Even though I loved that single night with Lykos, I hated my role in that triangle and how badly things had ended between us. I hated the way I parted from Lykos when I showed up unannounced at his penthouse.
Most of all, I hated the words I used when I left him… and her. My baby.
Did he keep her name or change it? Did he tell her about me?
There were so many questions whirling in my mind, and the only one who had the answers was the one that I was terrified to see.
Yet, if I wanted to see my child, I’d have to see him too.
With my elbow leaning on the armrest, I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to shut off my mind.
Would this flight take me to all the answers, or to hell?