“No, but… I still feel bad.”
“I got it to make you happy,” Mano said. “Not to make you feel bad.”
“You make me happy even without gifts.”
Their eyes locked. Then Ody leaned in and kissed him gently. “Alright,” he said with a small smile. “I’ll wear it. People can ask whatever they want.”
A faint smile appeared on Mano’s lips.
“It’ll be like the cross around your neck,” Ody added. “I won’t take it off.”
Just then, Mano’s phone buzzed with a notification. He unlocked the screen and sighed the moment he saw the sender’s name.
“What is it?” Ody asked.
“Stella,” Mano muttered. “What does that bitch want now?” He opened the message.
You and Odysseus Stavrinos?! Wow… Anna is going to love this
Mano went completely still, all the color draining from his face.
Ody noticed the change. “What is it?”
Mano didn’t answer.
Frowning, Ody shifted nearer and glanced down at the screen.
Stella: You do realize what happens now that I know… right? This is going to be fun
Ody’s heart lurched. A cold wave of panic rushed through him.
Stella knew. She hated Mano.
And if she talked to Anna, it would destroy everything.
Another message appeared.I think I should set up a little get-together with her.We have a lot to talk about…
Ody felt his chest tighten. The room suddenly felt too small. The air wouldn’t reach his lungs. He couldn’t hear anything except the frantic pounding of his own heart.
Mano’s voice reached him like a distant buzz, distorted and far away. Ody couldn’t focus on the words. He caught fragments of sentences, questions, but none of them fully registered.
Then silence.
Mano was staring at him now.
Ody slowly lifted his gaze.
“How does she know about us?” Mano demanded.
Ody barely processed the anger in his voice before Mano grabbed his shoulders. His green eyes stayed fixed on him, dazed. His breath shook.
“Ody, talk to me. How did she find out about us?”
But Ody could only see the tension in Mano’s face, his eyes searching him, trying to understand what had just happened.
Anna would find out. She would understand what had happened between them in Serifos. Steve would hate him for the lies, for the game he had played behind everyone’s backs.
And Stella… Stella would destroy them. She would drag everything into the open. She would humiliate Mano. Get her revenge in the cruelest way possible.
