“Too late for that.”
We both whipped around to see Tia standing in the doorway, one hand braced against the doorframe to steady herself.
Dimitrios set his glass down slowly. “Tia—”
“Don’t.” Her eyes never left mine, the betrayal in them apparent. “The invitation to your room to change. The job. Your interest in me. It was all planned, wasn’t it?”
I took a step toward her, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Tia, listen to me—”
“All of it was to get back at Kat.” Her voice cracked. “I was just part of your plan to destroy her.” She shook her head, stunned. “I fell for it.”
“It’s not like that anymore,” I said urgently, feeling the situation slipping through my fingers. “What I feel for you is real.”
“Real?” The word was a whisper, loaded with disbelief. She backed away as I tried to approach. “You used me. You planned to use me from the beginning.”
“Let me explain—”
“Explain what?” Her voice rose. “That I fell in love with someone who targeted me? That I gave myself to a man who was using me to hurt someone else?”
Dimitrios quietly moved toward the door. “I should go.”
“No,” Tia said, her eyes never leaving mine. “I’m the one who’s leaving.”
“Please.” I reached for her hand. “What I feel for you is real. That wasn’t a lie.”
“So did it work?” she asked, voice anguished. “Did you get what you wanted?”
“No, Tia please. I love you.” My words tumbled out awkwardly. I couldn’t even begin to think of how I’d fix this. What to say?
She recoiled from my touch, her body curving away from me. “Everything was a lie, Santo. Every moment, every touch, every word.” Her voice cracked with pain. “You didn’t just lie to me. You orchestrated an entire relationship based on deceit.”
What a mess. What a fucking mess.
“I’m sorry, aggelé mou. I—”
“Don’t call me that!” She took a step back. “You and Kat deserve each other. You’re cut from the same cloth.”
I lunged for Tia just as my father emerged from around the corner, his presence barely registering in my peripheral vision. Nothing mattered except reaching her, holding her against me, making her understand. But before my fingers could brush her skin, she raised her hand like a shield, her eyes flashing with a coldness I’d never seen before.
“Do. Not. Touch. Me.”
She lifted her left hand and wrenched off the ring I’d placed there, holding it out to me as if it offended her. “Take it.”
“No. Please aggelé mou. We’re going to have a big wedding and a big family, remember? We don’t want our child to grow up as only children like we did.” My voice was desperate.
“Take the ring, Santo!”
When I still didn’t budge, she simply let it fall. The rest of the room was so quiet we all heard its metallic clatter on the tiled floor, followed by the softer sound as it rolled to a stop.
“Now,” she said slowly, straightening her shoulders, “here’s what’s going to happen. I’m leaving Greece with my mother tonight. Don’t follow me.” The command was steel-edged, despite her tears. “Don’t call me. Don’t come near me or my family again.”
My breath was ragged in my ears, blood pounding in my temples. I shook my head. “You can’t leave, Tia.”
“You and Katalina can become a family and raise your ugly, vengeful, mean-ass baby together.”
My father spoke up from the doorway where he’d silently stood. “There is no baby. I received a call this morning, saying that Katalina miscarried.”
I’d had enough of Katalina and her convoluted tales to know there was never any baby to begin with. Had her ploy worked, she’d probably have had a convenient miscarriage after we were wed.
