“I will do no such thing.” He followed that up by saying something in Greek.
Aristides didn’t share his amusement. “For once in your life, can you be serious?”
“Why should I?” Chrys retorted. “The idea of marrying Katalina is preposterous. Why would I entertain such hell?”
Katalina gave a huge, heaving sob and wiped the back of her hand dramatically across her eyes, making her mascara smear even worse than it already had.
“Because I’m pregnant,” she announced. “And it’s yours.”
20
Tia stiffened, but my focus remained on Katalina. She was playing her role perfectly, with her subtle trembling and glassy eyes. A performance worthy of an Oscar, if only the audience wasn’t familiar with the actress.
Her father towered with rage beside her, his face turning red. I imagined if we weren’t surrounded by my family, he’d have tried to take a swing at me. “I demand accountability!” he roared, spittle flying from his mouth.
The man had consumed way too many greasy platters of lamb in his lifetime. His lavish lifestyle had rendered him obese andslow. He wouldn’t get the chance to land a blow even if he tried. I remained unfazed, deliberately giving Katalina enough rope to hang herself with her own web of lies.
“How far along are you?” Tia asked, her voice surprisingly serene despite the tremble of her hands.
“It happened the night after Santo’s crash.” Katalina’s eyes slid to Tia. “I showed you the hickeys, remember? Told you I was with him.”
Tia said nothing, but her face turned ashen. The sight of her pain angered me.
I stared at Katalina like she’d grown a second head. Was she seriously doing this? The audacity wasn’t all that surprising, though.
After the crash, she’d shown up here unexpectedly, begging to resume our relationship. When she dropped to her knees in the backyard, I let her, not because I wanted her, but because some petty part of me wanted to see how desperate she was.
I had deliberately held my release back for almost an hour, watching her struggle, punishment for her betrayal. And when I finally finished, I made sure it was on her face.
We hadn’t kissed. I had touched no part of her body except her head, guiding her movements. We definitely did nothing that could create a baby. Afterward, I’d told her to leave, not even caring about the evidence of our encounter still on her face.
But Tia didn’t know these sordid details, and she shifted beside me, her body language geared to flee. I could almost see the thoughts tumbling behind her eyes, the terrible conclusions forming. The signs of her internal turmoil were crystal clear, and it fueled my rage toward Katalina.
“That’s impossible and you know it,” I said, my voice tight. “What the hell are you trying to pull here?”
“Chrysanthos, this matter is serious,” my father interjected.
“I know it is,” I shot back. “But if she’s pregnant, it isn’t mine.”
Her father exploded, his face now fully purple. “What do you mean? You’re challenging her statement? If she says it’s so, it’s so!”
Across the room, my father assessed rather than react, and it was a relief. At least my own father was allowing me the chance to defend myself rather than leaping down my throat without hearing me out.
“Are you sure? Absolutely sure?” My father asked.
I opened my mouth to give a detail accounting of our backyard encounter, but Yiayia cut me off. “My grandson is smart enough to know if he’s impregnated a woman,” she declared.
Dimitrios chuckled at that, giving his mother a fond look. Trust her to always be forthright, even in the most delicate situations.
Katalina’s father wasn’t amused. It clearly irritated him that my family was closing ranks around me. He snorted, face turning an even deeper shade of puce. “Are you calling my daughter a liar?”
I ignored him completely, deciding the surest way to end this farce would be to address Katalina directly. In the most neutral voice I could muster—though my blood was boiling—I said, “If you are truly pregnant, I can refer you to our family doctor. He will arrange a prenatal paternity test. Today, if necessary.”
The challenge in my voice was unmistakable, and I saw the first flicker of uncertainty cross Katalina’s perfectly made-up face.
“How dare you treat my daughter like one of your casual conquests? Like one of your whores?”
At those words, her father glanced pointedly at Tia, and only my iron self-control prevented me from launching myself across the room and slugging him.
