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Honeymoon

SAANEN - SWITZERLAND

“Have you been here before?” I ask.

“No. Once, while browsing the internet, I saw a banner about this city and saved it in my future folder.”

“Future folder?”

“Yeah, things I would do one day when I . . . slowed down at work.”

“You haven't slowed down yet.”

“I've been trying to travel less.”

“I'm not complaining. Also, when you come back, I want to get chocolates.”

“You're like an ant.”

“I am. I need to eat at least one small sweet every day.”

We’re staying in a cottage at a resort for our honeymoon, and Odin has just lit the fire.

The house was already warm, protecting us from the cold outside, but the smell of wood burning is delicious, so I asked him to put some logs in the fireplace.

One of the glass walls provides a full view of the incredible landscape. There is still no snow, however.

“Does that future folder of yours concern only the places that you want to visit?"

“No, it was about everything.”

“Was?

“Yes. It needs to be redone.”

“Why?”

“Because I'm going to tag a subfolder.” He is smiling.

Damn sexy .

“And what name will that subfolder have?”

“My Elina, the love of my life. The one who makes me dream of things I never thought I was worthy of.”

I feel the same emotion he awakens in me every time he reaffirms his love for me.

“It's going to be a pretty long tag,” I tease.

“Actually, it will be summarized. Not even close to what I feel for you.”

I climb into his lap. “When you tell me things like that and the rest of the world seems so far away, I forget about everything else. There are only the two of us.” I take his face in my hands and kiss him. “I'm not very good at saying what I feel. I don't think I'll ever be able to explain what you mean to me, but ever since that day you saved me at your house party, you've filled my life. Now, I feel complete and loved. Special and cared for. You make me so happy I'm afraid this will end.”

“My love for you will never end. No matter what happens, I will never stop loving you.”

“I know you still have secrets and that you want to settle some questions about your past, but please don't put yourself at risk. I would die of sadness if something happened to you. I would never be whole again.”

“I promise I will always come back to you. I just hope you still want me when I do.”

A shiver of fear runs through my body, but I push it away quickly.

Loving means trusting, and I trust him with my life.

Two months after the wedding

NEW YORK

“Zoe, I think I'm pregnant.”

“Oh my God! If I wasn't a month away from the birth of mine, I would come there to celebrate.”

“Calm down! Did you hear what I said?"

“You don't look excited. What's wrong?”

“Everything.”

“Elina . . .”

“I’m afraid. We haven’t exactly talked about children. When I mentioned it once, Odin closed himself off.”

“Did you want to get pregnant?”

“I didn't plan to. I'm...I was on the pill, and I may have missed a day or two, but if I'm really pregnant, I'll be very happy.”

“Then that's all that matters. When are you going to tell him?”

“After I go to the doctor. Do you know anyone you trust around here?”

“You need an obstetrician. Let me make a few calls and I'll be right back with a name.”

“Thank you, Zoe.”

I've found a lot of things to do while I wait. I redid my homework several times, read a full page of a book, which was the highlight of my day, and now I'm sitting anxiously waiting for Zoe to call.

But when the phone rings, it's not her—it's my mother's photo on the screen .

It's the first time she's called me since she and my father left the island.

I dry my suddenly damp hands before finally answering. “Mother?”

“Elina . . . your sister said you wanted to talk to me.”

“Yeah.”

Suddenly, I'm mute.

I’ve spent months looking forward to hearing her voice and finding out if everything is okay, but now that it's finally happened, all I get from her is coldness.

“What do you want, Elina? To apologize for the mess you've gotten us into?”

“How did I get you guys in trouble?"

“Your father told me everything: that Lykaios went after him because he had bestowed your hand on Naim and not on Aristeu’s nephew. You started a war between Odin and your father because of your stubbornness, when it would have been so much easier to just give in and marry the sheik.”

What she says is so absurd that at first I just listen.

Is it possible that she truly believes Odin's problem with Leandros is just because of me?

Rather than directly confronting her, I choose to explain as calmly as I can manage. “Your husband did not grant the sheik my hand, Mama. He sold me.”

“Don't be ridiculous. He wouldn't do that.”

“No? So where did the money he used to escape come from? You yourself heard what Odin said at the party. Leandros was bankrupt back then.”

“Don't call him that. Show your father some respect.”

“Just like you guys respected me when you left me in that man's hands? If Odin hadn't come to our house the day you ran away, I would have been raped, Mom.”

“Stop making drama."

“Look, maybe you're not ready for this conversation yet, and I don't feel like pushing any further. When you want to hear the truth, just call me.”

“You became arrogant after you got involved with that man.”

“ That man you speak of saved me in more ways than you—who are supposed to be my family—could ever imagine. Aside from preventing a terrible fate beside that monster I was sold to, Odin has become the best thing that has ever happened in my life.”

“He hates your father.”

“Honestly, Mother, that is not a very difficult task, because not even his own children can admire him. When my ladylike mother called me, I thought there was some chance we could get along, but now I realize I was wrong. Have a good day.”

Before she can say anything else, I hang up.

I worked so hard not to cry that my head felt like it was going to explode.

It's quite likely that if she had said all that to me a few months ago, it would have hit me much harder, but for the first time I know what it is like to be around people who like me. I feel stronger.

I've just come to the conclusion that if my family isn't ready to face the reality of who Leandros is, I don't want them, at least for the moment, in my life.

If I'm really pregnant, I'll have my own family to worry about.

No more begging for their love.

It's time to live by my own rules.