“I knew it.” Katalina advanced toward Tia, but Tia held her ground, folding her arms across her chest. The surrounding crowd had grown.
“Go ahead,” Tia said, her voice harder. “Put your hands on me and see how fast I forget where I am.”
Katalina froze, her momentum broken. Uncertainty flickered across her face.
“That’s what I thought,” Tia said.
With a dismissive roll of her eyes that somehow contained volumes of contempt, she turned away. But before leaving, she paused, her gaze sweeping across the shocked guests.
“Sygnómi gia ti diakopí tou deípnou sas,” Tia said, pronunciations imperfect, but her effort evident. “Den íthela na féro tétoio drama sto spíti sas.”
My heart swelled with unexpected pride. She’d apologized to the guests for disrupting their dinner.
Several of the older guests nodded appreciatively. My father’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and I caught a flicker of approval in Yiayia’s expression.
Tia gave a slight bow of her head and then left. I turned to follow Tia, eager to learn more about her learning Greek, but Katalina stopped me, grabbing my arm.
“Let go,” I said, my voice carrying in the still room.
“Don’t you miss me?” Katalina’s voice softened to a sultry whisper, her fingertips traveling up my chest to rest against my collar. “The way we were together?”
“No.” The single word caused several guests to exchange glances.
“We were good together.” She paused, aware of her audience. “And our parents approve of our relationship.”
The audience had grown, with waitstaff pausing and guests craning their necks for a better view. I grasped her wrist firmly, removing her hand from my arm. The disgust I’d been suppressing all evening flooded my body.
“Cut it out, Katalina.” My voice was low, edged with finality. “We’re over.”
Her expression shifted, the seductress vanishing, replaced by wide-eyed innocence. Her lashes fluttered, catching teardrops that hadn’t fallen yet.
“Why are you being so cruel to me?” Her voice hitched perfectly. “You said we’d be together forever.”
The memory of those words—spoken years ago in the naïve certainty of happily-ever-after—burned. “That,” I said, my voice flat as stone, “was before you fucked another man.”
A collective intake of breath swept through the room. Genuine shock registered on her face. Not at the accusation, but at the bluntness with which I delivered it.
Katalina took a step back, eyes darting to the circle of observers tightening around us. “Santo,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “You’re the only man I’ve ever been with.”
I almost admired the performance. The quiver in her voice, the way her fingers trembled as they reached for me again, might have been convincing to someone who hadn’t seen the evidence. Who still had the proof…
“You’re a liar.” I held her gaze without blinking. “Juan told me everything. Even sent me proof of you sucking his dick.”
A woman nearby choked on her champagne. During our relationship, Katalina had never given me a blowjob, claimed the act made her uncomfortable. Said only whores performed those sexual acts.
Panic flashed across her face before she recovered, summoning tears with remarkable speed. They pooled in her eyes before spilling down her cheeks, leaving trails inher makeup.
“I... I...” Her voice broke convincingly. “It’s not like that. Please, Santo.” She reached for me again, her hands trembling. “He forced me. You have to believe me.”
My stomach turned. I’d expected denials, not the weaponizing of something that destroyed lives and left real victims fighting to be believed.
“If it was force, then where is the police report?” I kept my voice deliberately level, watching her expression closely. “Where are the charges?”
“I was ashamed.” Her hands clutched at her chest, crushing the fabric of her dress. “Embarrassed. It would be my word against his. Please, Santo.”
“Can you ever be honest, Katalina? Even once?”
I’d exposed her lies, confronted her publicly, and shattered her perfect image. The revenge I’d fantasized about was progressing perfectly.
