Okay, now my curiosity was piqued, and it helped that it didn’t make me evaluate how my father saw me.
“Is she an ex-girlfriend?” I asked.
The chance of meeting one of Odin’s past lovers was no doubt going to be high. I knew next to nothing about him. He had a whole life I wasn’t part of.
No, my life was about being home, waiting for my parents to choose the perfect husband for me, which would have nothing to actually do with me and everything to do with them.
I was starting to sound a little bitter, even to myself, and I didn’t like that. I had never questioned my parents’ love for me. Now I couldn’t help but be flooded with doubts. I don’t know why I hadn’t realized this sooner. It was awful what realization could do.
Odin left, and we had three bags of books. He returned minutes later with a cappuccino and a cinnamon roll.
“Here you go. I assumed you might like cinnamon rolls,” he said.
“Did my dad tell you to choose me?” I asked. The question just blurted out of nowhere.
He stopped and looked at me with a frown. Did I sound like a fool?
“No one told me to choose you,” he said.
“So it wasn’t pre-planned?” I asked.
Odin looked at me, and I felt those eyes, but I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. I never could read people.
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked, stirring my cappuccino. It looked good and the cinnamon roll smelled good.
“Sure,” he said.
“Do you think it’s possible for parents to not like their kids?” Do I really want the answers to this?
“Yes,” he said. “I think it’s possible for people not to like who they’re related to, but again, it’s not always their fault.”
This made me frown. “How so?”
“Look at the world around us. Sure, there are some shitty parents out there who raise absolute angels, and then there are angels who raise shitty kids.” He shrugged. “Do you expect parents to love the kid that goes out and kills someone?”
I wasn’t expecting that. “I guess not.” I frowned. “Do you think my dad hates me? Is that why he didn’t put up a fight when you chose me, and why he didn’t stop any of this from happening?”
“You dad didn’t have a choice, and I already knew I was going to choose you.”
This made me frown. “Why? My sisters are the prettiest.”
“You’re the one I wanted,” Odin said. “I was told you were the nicest person, and you made life easier for them.”
Now I was getting even more confused. “Them?”
“Are you aware of the trafficking your father is involved in?” Odin asked.
I stared at Odin. He was talking about business, a part of my father’s world I should not know, but I was aware of the power of being invisible.
“I know of it, but I shouldn’t,” I said.
Odin was my husband, and I couldn’t betray him, even if it meant I had to betray my parents.
****
Odin
The bookstore café was not the place to have this conversation. So, I got her drink and cinnamon roll to go, and got us out to the car. I should have known by now that Alba would do nothing but surprise me, which was exactly what she was doing right now. I expected lies, perhaps even a denial, yet she looked right back at me and told me the truth.
