The dog’s tail thumped wildly against the wooden boards of our porch. He lunged forward, nearly knocking me over as he pressed his head against my stomach, whimpering with joy.
“Hey, boy,” I whispered, sinking to my knees to embrace him properly. I buried my face in his coarse fur. “I missed you too.”
Two months of emptiness crashed through me as I held him. Eight weeks of waking up without his weight at the foot of my bed, of walking without his loyal presence beside me, of missing a connection I’d never expected to form.
As I kneeled there, arms wrapped around Zeus, I became acutely aware of the second visitor. I slowly raised my eyes, already knowing who I would see.
Santo stood on the porch, hands in his pockets, uncertainty written across features I’d memorized in dreams. He’d lost weight, the sharp angles of his face more pronounced. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, making the blue more intense by contrast. His hair was longer than I’d ever seen it, curling slightly at the ends.
When our eyes met, the world seemed to pause between heartbeats.
“I know you said not to follow you,” he said quietly. “But Zeus didn’t make any promises.”
I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice while fighting the treacherous warmth spreading through my body. “You flew him across an ocean for me?”
“He wouldn’t leave your room,” Santo said, his voice rougher than I remembered. “After you left, he slept by your door for weeks. Nothing would console him.” A smile flickered across his face. “He chose you, Tia. Just like I did.”
I stood, keeping one hand on Zeus’s head. “As a weapon against Katalina.”
“At first,” he admitted, not dodging the truth. “But you became my choice. My only choice.”
“Words are easy,” I said, though my resolve was wavering at the sight of him. Each second in his presence made the walls around my heart more fragile.
“Which is why I stayed away these past months,” he replied. “I wanted to come the day you left. Then the week after. Then every day since.” His fingers flexed at his sides. “But I needed to respect your decision, even when it was killing me.”
The pain in his voice mirrored my own sleepless nights. The memories, the what-ifs—they’d been eating me alive too.
“So why now?”
“Because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least try.” His voice broke slightly. “Not for my sake, but for yours. You deserve to hear the truth, even if you choose to send me away afterward.”
“The truth?” I repeated, unable to keep the skepticism from my voice. Truth had been in short supply when we began.
Santo took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling with it. “The only way I can get through this is with complete honesty. It’s what you deserve.”
He took a small step toward me, close enough that I could catch the faint scent of his cologne. The aroma had clung to my clothes, my skin, my memories.
“What I did to you was wrong,” he began. “It was cruel and thoughtless, selfish and calculating. From that first moment on theroadside, I saw you as a means to an end. For that, I will never forgive myself.”
I didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. Every muscle in my body tensed as I fought to maintain control of emotions threatening to break free.
“When I decided to pursue you, I did it with revenge in mind,” he continued. “I figured there was nothing that would upset Katalina more than seeing me with a friend she deemed beneath her.”
I winced, the admission reopening wounds I’d thought were healing.
“But we began spending time together,” Santo said, his voice softening. “I discovered how exciting it was to make you laugh. I began to see my own home, my own country, through your eyes, and everything was more beautiful.”
I kept my expression neutral despite the way his words resonated with me. Sunset walks along Thalassía’s shoreline, the warmth of his hand in mine as we explored ancient ruins, the way he’d listened when I explained the historical significance of buildings.
“Suddenly, it wasn’t about revenge,” he said. “It was about you. Everything was about you. You were all I thought about, all I could see or hear. From then on, the only thing I wanted was to make you happy.” He shook his head. “You were right to walk away.”
I’d expected excuses, justifications. Not this complete acceptance of blame.
“But I can’t let us end like this.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Not without telling you that I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything. That I’ve changed, not because I wanted to win you back, but because loving you made me want to be better.”
Santo dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing his face against my stomach. His body trembled against mine as he whispered, “Tia, please, don’t make me live in a world where you don’t love me anymore.”
My breath caught painfully in my chest. Zeus pressed closer against my legs, as if lending me his strength.
