Even I feel my heart opening up to new possibilities.What the three of us have with Ophelia isn’t cheap and tainted like the other girls who came before her.
She’s perfect.
Perfect forus.
ChapterForty-Seven
OPHELIA
My heart beats a mile a minute,pumping so hard in my chest that I might black out.The room spins around me, and I stagger into Apollo’s chest.He tightens his grip on me, holding me with a gentleness I have never seen before.
I thought he hated touching, but you would never know it.Not with how he takes care of me, concerned more about me than his rules.
And I love him for it.
Tears stream down my cheeks like water breaking from a dam, soaking mine and Apollo’s shirts.He doesn’t seem to care and tucks my head under his chin, soothing me with soft, loving strokes of his fingers that trail down my back.
Ares wipes the tears from my face with his thumb.
“I’m sorry,” Alexander says to me, and for the first time in my life, he’s not Uncle Alexander but… Dad?
I can’t even fathom calling him that after all these years, not when the man I thought was my father was just burned alive in one of his clubs.
“I wanted to tell you, my sweet girl.I tried so many times and chickened out.Your mother thought it was best you didn’t know.And I agreed with her until she was gone.”He sighs, scrubbing a hand through his short blond hair that’s the opposite of mine.“Well, now you know why I have always been there for you.And why I insisted you work with me at Olympus.When I stole Belen's empire from him, I wanted my daughter by my side.”
I slip out of Apollo’s embrace and look at Alexander—my father—my entire body trembling from fear, grief, and overwhelming sadness.“All the nights we worked together at the club.The things you saw me do.”I shook my head, staring down at my feet in shame.“Why didn’t you say anything?You let me become a Madam.I hid that side of my life from my father—from Belen.I don’t even know what to call him anymore.”
“He raised you,” Alexander says, reaching for my hand.“You can still call him your father.He earned that much.But biologically, you don’t share any DNA with him.You wouldn’t have inherited his clubs.So I told Athena the truth about what Belen did to Adrian.He killed her ex-husband.”
My gaze snaps to Athena.“How long did you know?”
“Cora was my best friend.She told me everything.”Athena strides across the room and stands before me, smiling sweetly.“Your mom thought she was doing right by you.Marrying Belen was a smart choice.She cheated on him with Alexander and knew Belen would make everyone’s life hell if he didn’t think you were his.So we went along with her plan.”
Alexander moves beside her and cups her shoulder, snapping her attention back to him.“I didn’t want to ruin your perfect image of your mother.She was a saint.And she would have done anything for you.She married Belen to give you a life she never had.I couldn’t give it to her.Not then, anyway.And by the time I could, it was too late.”
“Ophelia,” Athena says in a singsong tone.“There’s more to the story.You should hear it from your mother.”She extends her hand to me.“We’ll watch her confession together.”Her gaze shifts to her sons and then to Alexander.“As a family.”
ChapterForty-Eight
OPHELIA
After Apollo setsup his laptop to play the video on the TV screen, I sit on the couch with my men.Ares is on my right, Apollo on my left.Atlas lounges on the arm and leans over Apollo to place his hand on my shoulder for support.
My uncle—now my father—is with Athena on the couch across from us.I hit Play on the remote and hold my breath as my mother’s face appears on the screen.Long, dark hair frames her cherub-like face and drapes over her right shoulder like fine silk.Even sick and on her deathbed, she looks fantastic.So beautiful and full of life.
“Hello, my sweet girl,” Mom says with a smile as if she were in the room and talking directly to me.“If you’re watching this video, I’m gone, and so is Belen, and you have many questions you want answered.”She presses her lips together, fighting back tears.“Athena will tell you everything.So will Alexander.They know the truth and can help you heal.”
Clutching my knees, I bend forward and suck deep breaths, trying to steady my nerves.I miss her so much.She was the one constant in my life, the center of my universe.The past seven months have been the toughest of my life without her.But thankfully, she sent Athena and her sons to help me recover from the loss.Because of them, I am finally moving on.
“I love you, Ophelia.”Mom coughs, and I hate watching her choke on her words.
The last few months were the worst.She’d start hacking and couldn’t stop for an hour, all while I had to sit and watch her die.
“Everything I have ever done was to protect you,” she says once her lungs are clear.“To make sure you felt loved and supported.I know you’ve always felt different, but that’s because you’re special.”
I smile at her words.
There wasn’t a single day my mom didn’t make me feel special.Every school day, she left a note in my lunch box with an inspirational quote or words of wisdom, anything to make me feel more secure in my body.I was always so worried about weight I never focused on anything else.I figured that was all anyone could see because the kids at school made me feel bad about myself.
