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“Fuck, Marco. Why don’t you just admit it?”
“Admit what?” I ask Gio, looking at him because I know if I don’t, he won’t ever leave. I need to be alone. The pain is excruciating. I won’t give into it, I will fight with everything I still have in me, but with every minute that passes, I know I’m close to blacking out. I just need to get something to Helena first. I have to.
“You need to let her go. You’re never going to have a normal life. None of us are. The last thing we need is to bring another woman into this house. Protecting Melina has nearly killed us all. We can’t allow someone else that is fragile to get close to this monster we call a father. Cut her loose, brother. Let her go.”
“I can’t,” I growl. My hands are shaking from the pain my outburst causes. I hide my trembling arm under the conference table.
“Why not? You barely know this girl and she’s Melina’s age. You have nothing in common. I don’t understand your obstinacy in this.”
I close my eyes and look up at him. “Father wants this alliance with Helena’s father. I was chosen at Helena’s request. If I bow out, who do you think George Kratos and my father will choose for Helena?”
“Atlas,” Gio says, and he doesn’t even think twice about it.
“Exactly.”
“So, that’s why,” he says.
“Pardon?” I ask, not understanding what he’s saying trying to concentrate on withstanding the pain.
“That’s why you agreed to marry Helena. You are once again sacrificing yourself to protect a woman, and this woman isn’t even our sister.”
I frown. He’s both right and wrong. In the beginning, that was the reason. After spending even a small amount of time with her, I knew I wanted to be her man. After having her in my arms and the taste of her on my tongue? There’s no way I will allow another man near her—especially Atlas. He would destroy her and take great pleasure in doing it.
“It doesn’t matter,” I finally say, not ready to divulge how I feel about Helena. “I’m doing what must be done.”
“There’s just one thing I want to ask you, Marco.”
“If I let you, will you leave so I can make my calls?”
He nods.
“Fine, get it over with.”
“You keep sacrificing yourself to keep everyone else safe. What is everyone going to do when it kills you?”
I ignore him and pick up the phone. That question doesn’t deserve an answer. I hear Gio’s breath whoosh out of his body in a frustrated breath. I ignore that, too.
Helena
Two Years.
Two freaking years!
Marco Stratakis has played me again. He keeps playing me and I keep letting him. No wonder he thinks of me like a child. I’m as stupid as one when it comes to him. I buy every damn line he tells me.
I look over at the teddy bear on my bed. I’ve taken great care of it—the best really. Hell, I even slept with the damn thing every night. That ends tonight and for two reasons. First, I’m sick of spending my life dreaming about a life with Marco. It’s a life that I’m sure will never happen. My eyes go to my bed. Secondly, the bear is nothing but shredded fur and stuffing. It’s lying on my bed, a horrible mess because of a teddy bear homicide—one committed with extreme malice. I let out a breath, trying to calm down.
Malice, if I didn’t feel so devastated, I’d laugh. I’ve obviously watched too many police procedural television shows. I’m just so upset. Marco has sent me notes and calls here or there. He’s come back to visit here and there. The problem is, we’re never alone. Each of those visits his father has been with him. I know his father is hateful and more than a little scary. I’ve seen it on my visits to Melina’s home. I don’t know the dynamic between him and Marco, but to say Marco has been stilted and very distant with me on those visits, would be an understatement.
I’ve not seen Marco’s nearly enough the last two years. Sadly, his pathetic effort was still enough to keep me hanging on. That proves I’m stupid. In my defense, while he was visiting, there would be moments when Marco would squeeze my hand under the table at dinner, or when he would kiss my temple as a goodbye but doing it as he carefully whispered for me to continue waiting for him. Times like that, kept me from thinking my dreams of a future with Marco was hopeless.
Today proves it is completely hopeless.
It’s also our unofficial deadline. I’m twenty. Twenty! He promised to be here for my birthday. He promised today was the day the distance would end.
He. Promised.
Incidentally, this is also the day I admit Marco’s promises are as worthless as my love for him. I’m done. Today, instead of showing up to take me away for the weekend for my birthday, he sent me a huge bouquet of flowers and a note saying he couldn’t be here, but he would be out in a couple of weeks. That’s it. No explanation, nothing else at all. I guess he thought I’d be okay with it.
