Dimitrios’s laugh caught me off guard. The older women whispered to each other, smiling at me with what appeared to be approval rather than offense. Nothing about this scene matched what Katalina described.
Inside a lavish receiving room, I refused to sit until Tia did, unwilling to lower my guard. But she sprang back up immediately, pacing across the marble floor like a caged animal.
“Tia,” I said more gently, “you’re making me nervous. Talk to me.”
She stopped pacing, and I noticed her twisting something on her finger. “I just don’t know where to start,” she admitted.
“The beginning is always a good starting point.” The phrase I’d used throughout her childhood seemed to affect her deeply, bringing tears to her eyes.
Tia finally began talking and told me about rescuing a boy from a car accident, then attending a party at this very estate where a wardrobe malfunction led to Katalina’s ex helping Tia. Kat found them together in his bedroom, assumed the worst, and abandoned Tia on a rural road without her passport, wallet, phone, or clothes.
Fury rose in me. “I’ll find Kat and beat her bony ass myself,” I declared, standing.
“Mommm!”
“Don’t mom me,” I countered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
She feared I’d rush to Greece and drag her home. I couldn’t deny the charge, so I remained quiet.
“What I don’t understand is why Kat would call me now. Am I missing something?”
The room grew still as Tia explained Katalina’s ex-boyfriend becoming interested in Tia, Katalina’s vengeful actions when she learned of their romance, and finally, her engagement to Katalina’s ex. When Tia extended her hand to show me the ring, I gasped at the massive sapphire surrounded by diamonds glittering on her finger.
I stood addressing the anxious family hovering nearby. “I’m sorry about earlier. I appreciate your looking after my daughter. But we’re leaving now.”
“Mom, I—”
“Not now, Tia.” I was still processing. “We’ll discuss why you didn’t tell me about your engagement at my villa.”
I expected her usual compliance. Instead, she squared her shoulders. “I will go to your villa with you to talk,” she saidwith unexpected firmness. “But I’m telling you now that if you attempt to convince me to end things with Chrys, I’ll leave, and you’ll hear from me only once a month moving forward.”
Her ultimatum hit at my deepest fear. “You’d choose him over me?” I asked, hurt bleeding through. “You love him that much?”
“I do, Mom.”
My baby girl had planted her flag with the same determination I’d always wanted for her. I just never expected to see it used against me for some boy I’d never even met.
“Alright,” I conceded. “Go get your things. I’ll wait in the car.”
At the villa, I unlocked the door with agitated movements. Tia hovered while I poured water in the kitchen.
“I can’t believe you’re engaged to your ex-friend’s boyfriend. When were you planning to tell me?” I asked.
Tia sank onto the sofa. “Kat and Chrys were completely broken up, Mom. I tried not to like him. I really did. But it was impossible. There was something between us from the first moment.”
Her words echoed my own experience with Aris. The immediate connection, the chemistry that defied logic or timing.
I sat beside her. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have told me.”
“I’m sorry I kept it from you.” Her fingers twisted in her lap.
“Tell me more about this Chrys,” I said, trying to sound casual. “What kind of man is he?”
“His real name is Chrysanthos. Everyone calls him Santo, but I call him Chrys.” A smile broke through her nervousness. “He’s amazing, Mom. Strong but gentle. He doesn’t care about my size or fixate on my darker complexion like other boys did.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” I gathered her into my arms.
The thought of my beautiful girl believing she was anything less than perfect broke my heart. What other wounds had she hidden from me?
