Page 24

My hand shakes as my finger hovers over the number that will complete the call to my brother. Closing my eyes, I finally touch the phone screen.

The phone rings a few times, and each time I feel like hanging up, but I won't. I'm not a coward.

"Hello?"

“Theo, it's me."

"Elina?"

"I don't want to fight."

“I didn't say anything."His voice sounds calm, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“It's just that we always end up arguing."

"Because of me?"

“No, you're right, I was really upset when you left. You didn't even say goodbye to me."

“You didn't give a shit about me anymore. Nobody in that house did."

“Theo, there's a lot you don't understand, but that's not why I called."

“Wait, this number you’re calling from has the United States area code. Where are you?"

“In New York . . . with Odin."

"What?"

It takes me a few minutes to give a summary of the story, omitting the part about the sheik and the kidnapping attempt. I don't want to give him anything to worry about the first time we manage to talk without hiding our true selves.

“Are you okay?" he asks when I’m finished, and I think about how good my brother is. Theo did the right thing by leaving Greece. Our family didn't deserve him.

"Yes, I am. Me and Odin . . . We are together."

He goes silent, and I know it's from surprise. "Together . . . as a couple?"

"Yeah."

"Do you actually want to be there, or did you have no choice?"

“He offered me a job, and after that . . . things just happened. But I want to stay here."

"You know you can count on me anytime, don't you?"

“Thanks for that, but that's not why I called. Odin told me about Orien . . . Theo, I'm sorry."

He doesn't speak for a while, and I don't know what to do. I've never needed to comfort anyone but myself.

"Did he tell you everything?"

"No. Only that Orien never left the island."

"It was Leandros, Elina. Our father killed Orien."

Somehow, discovering that still shocks me. I’ve never doubted that my father is a bad man, but I didn't think he could go so far as to take someone's life. He beat all his children, but there's a big difference between physical assault and murder.

“It wasn't your fault,” I say because I know he must be thinking this.

“In a way it was, because my proximity to Orien made him a target for Leandros."

“I don't know what to say, Theo."

“Don't worry. I talked to Derek about it a lot. I'm a little better now. I have to go. I'm glad you called. Don't be a stranger."

"Okay."I don't want to hang up yet, but I don't know how to ask him to stay with me a little longer. “Theo, I'm glad you found someone who loves you."

“Me too." He pauses again. “Elina, I know things between us have been awkward over the years, but you are my sister and I love you. If Odin does anything to hurt you, just call me and I'll find a way to get you out of there."

“He's not like that with me, Theo. We're good."

“He hates Leandros, Elina. I don't want you to be used as a weapon against our father."

Maybe I’m being na?ve, but I feel in my heart that it won’t be like that. Even if our relationship didn't involve feelings, Odin wouldn't use me to get to Leandros.

"Don't worry about me. If I feel that I'm being used, I'll look for you."

“I want your word on this."

“You have it." I take a deep breath to build up courage. "Theo?"

"Yes?"

"I love you too."

A week later

I'm still here.

I've been trying so hard not to get used to staying, and last night I even asked him directly when I would be leaving his house.

He changed the subject, which is kind of weird. After all, Odin is one of the most direct people I've ever met, and he can even be rude at times. Instead of setting a deadline for me to leave, the day after I came to his apartment, he quickly explained to me about Naim and how risky it would be for me to be alone.

He also made me tell him everything that happened during the attack. Whether the men said something important and if I remembered their faces.

The truth is that I remember very little. I was so terrified that I went into survival mode without any concern for what was being said.

Odin confirmed that the men who tried to kidnap me were indeed on the sheik's orders, but I don't understand. I know he lost money on the deal he made with my father, but he must have access to a lot of other women, so why me? I just want to move on with my life.

Now, little by little, I'm getting myself together.

It's not so easy to stand on my own two feet, as I've always had someone who makes decisions for me, but Odin, although he's by my side all the time, is forcing me to make choices for myself.

It’s uncomfortable.

Taking responsibility for my decisions means I also have to bear the consequences, and I'm not used to that.

The preparations for the benefit party are in full swing. I've never attended a masquerade ball, and I'm as excited to organize it myself as I am to dress up.

One of Odin’s secretaries has become my personal assistant for the event. Cassandra. She is a pleasant person, relaxed and straightforward at the same time.

The first time we met at lunch, I realized that she was curious about my relationship with Odin, but I didn't allow her to ask anything, just talking about matters that related to the decoration of the event. When we said our goodbyes, she looked amazed by the security guards waiting for me outside the restaurant.

Odin is obsessed with protecting me, and I would like to say that I'm not afraid, but that would be the biggest lie in the world. The thought of being taken away by the sheik's men still terrifies me. I hear the door unlock, and against my will, my treacherous heart races.

Every night is like that.

I usually get out of the living room and go to the bathroom before Odin arrives. Besides giving me hours of incredible sex—because he's always after me and he's insatiable—this dispels the idea that I was expecting him, like a wife would.

Despite this, it's difficult to fight the intimacy forming between us. I'm not just talking about the hours of pleasure but small everyday things.

At first, I even tried to get my own room. One night, I went to the guest room and pretended to be asleep when he arrived, but he walked over and unceremoniously took me back to the bed we've shared since I've been here. I made an angry face, but he didn't seem to take me too seriously, because he kissed me like he does every night, and we made love for hours.

No talking, not even letting me fight with him.

I watched a romantic comedy once, where the couple had a kind of friendship with benefits, as they called it. They shared an apartment and had sex, but there was no real relationship between the two. I've tried to pretend that's what’s happening between us, but the only problem is that Odin seems to work hard to spoil all my plans to keep him at a safe emotional distance.

I don't know if he realizes how he acts with me, but I do.

I grew up in a house where one member of the couple was absolutely devoted and the other ignored them. So I know the difference between a man who takes care of his wife and one who treats her like dirt.

And the way he treats me is blurring our boundaries.

In addition to the endearing nicknames, there are the kisses when he arrives, tight hugs, gifts, both expensive and silly, like when he brought me a stuffed panther from a trip to Philadelphia, saying that's how he saw me, beautiful and wild.

Every little thing makes its way into my heart, and I don't want it. I'm not sure he acts like this with everyone, and I don't want to imagine our relationship as more than what it is: an intense physical attraction, where we give ourselves to each other in sex. Where hunger and desire don't let up.

"No shower today?"

I think he's been messing with me, and he's already noticed my escape attempts.

"What for, if you're going to slobber all over me soon?"I know what my words will do.

As I expected, he comes and picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist. "You are a tease."

"Did I tell any lies?"

Instead of answering me, he bites my mouth and sucks my lips. Within seconds, every nerve ending in my body is melting. I hold his hair and deepen the kiss, already starting to take off his suit and undo his tie.

"In a hurry?"

"I want you."

He pulls away. “Say it again."

“I want you in me. Every night, all the time."

The predatory gaze that excites me so much appears. He starts walking towards the bedroom without letting me go, and I anticipate the delight of another night in his arms.

NEW YORK

We’ve just walked into a restaurant with two other couples.

Odin explained that it will be a business dinner. He's trying to buy the two brothers' company because he needs the parts they make for his computers to be produced on a large scale. As they don't have the capital to invest, Odin decided to make a purchase proposal.

He said that both brothers seem reluctant to give up the company, but that they are actually trying to get much more than the factory is really worth and they'll eventually give in. They are in debt and have no option but to sell or go bankrupt, but Odin also said that if the deal is not closed tonight, he'll start manufacturing the parts himself, which will force them to sell anyway.

I already suspected, based on the way he cleaned up my father's estate, that Odin was ruthless, but seeing him in action for the first time is exciting and terrifying at the same time.

I'm used to watching men do business, even though my father never bothered to explain to us where his money came from. I grew up around ambition, but what I'm talking about now is power. Not stolen power, where you subdue people, like Leandros did, but the type that makes everyone respect you with a simple look.

It's mesmerizing to be around someone like that.

After the introductions, it doesn't take me long to understand the kind of people we are dealing with. They were born rich and cannot disguise their contempt for having to deal with what they call the nouveau riche.

Odin has never told me how he managed to assemble his fortune. In fact, although we talk a lot, he never tells me anything about his past. So I have no idea how he went from being a student basketball player to one of the richest men in America, as Cassandra told me, but there is one thing I'm sure of: He's totally focused. Once he sets a goal, he’s unstoppable.

When I hear him talking on the phone, I think about how bad it must be to have him as an enemy.

Speaking of enemies, today, after much delay, I called two of my sisters. First, the second oldest after me, Larissa.

I have the phone number of each of them on speed-dial. I can just place my finger on a button and the call is completed.

I wish the conversation had been as easy as making the call. When I summarized what had happened, everything, including Naim attacking me in Greece and whom I was with now, the kindest thing I heard was that I'm a traitor.

The cruelest? That I'm nothing but a luxury prostitute.

However, I'm not one to give up easily, so I tried to talk to Agatha.

It was the worst possible decision.

Neither of them asked how I was feeling. What it was like to leave our island to live in a strange place. They only saw our father's side. Unlike Theo, they didn't offer me any help. Agatha even called me foolish for not accepting the sheik as a husband.

They also didn't seem surprised that Leandros had run away. Apparently, I was the only one who hadn't known about his bankruptcy. They are married to rich men, and news like that travels quickly in their circles .

When I asked whether they were worried about our mother, they said that Leandros would never let anything happen to her.

I'm not so sure.

I've come to the conclusion that there is something very serious behind the story of Odin and my father. At first, I thought his anger was because Leandros had mistreated Aristeu, his uncle, humiliating him whenever he could and not paying him a fair salary. Only, that seems like too simple a reason for him to go after my father like he did.

Of course, there's Orien's death.

It would be logical to think that Odin bankrupted my father to avenge his cousin, except that the mansion on our land took a long time to be built, which means that Odin has been planning to destroy my father for many months, maybe years.

Even after what Theo told me, I haven’t spoken to Odin any more about his cousin's death. He has the right not to want to be reminded of that.

"Elina, how long have you and Odin been dating? I never knew he was in a relationship."

The question takes me completely by surprise, not only because of the ironic tone in which it was asked but also because of the woman's indiscretion.

Not having a chance to prepare, I say the first thing that comes to my mind: “I work for him."

A heavy silence falls over the table, but I pretend not to notice. I settle the napkin on my lap as calmly as possible, but in fact I'm so uncomfortable I feel physically sick.

I feel Odin's eyes on me, but I don't have the courage to face him. Maybe I should have changed the subject, or even not answered at all.

And now?

Minutes later, when the matter seems forgotten, I excuse myself and go to the bathroom. I need to get away for a while or I won't be able to get through this night.

I've been so relaxed in my little world with Odin that I've forgotten that high society is basically made up of mean people.