Page 106 of Secrets, Lies and Love

“You don’t need to do anything, Dionysus. I’m sure she’ll end up condemning herself on her own.”

“I don’t work like you, Cecily. I don’t give an enemy a second chance.”

Cecily

“Cici, where are you?” Elina asks on the phone.

“At home. Why?”

“Don’t go out on the street today.”

“I was getting ready to go to the bank.”

“Honey, you don’t read the newspapers, do you? Odin just asked me to let you know because he can’t seem to reach Dionysus. He’s in a meeting at the family bank.”

“What happened? You are starting to scare me!”

“Calm down. It’s nothing that serious.”

I sit down, my legs feeling weak. A thousand different scenarios run through my mind.

Two days ago, the press officers released news, along with official photos of us—me, Dionysus, and Joseph—about the engagement.

Today, I am determined to tell him the whole truth about the past. I can’t delay it any longer. I have to stop being a coward.

“Tell me, please.”

“Did you say you’re going to the bank? Maybe you should. Your stepsister sold a report with a bunch of nonsense about you in it, including that you tricked Dionysus into having a baby. She said you left Kansas determined to find a rich husband no matter what.”

“Oh, my God in heaven!”

“Calm down. Dionysus will never believe something like that. Odin has already contacted Zeus and is taking measures to neutralize the article and try to contain the damage. If you are going to meet Dionysus at the bank, don’t go without his bodyguards.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Elina. I’m leaving home now.”

“For my peace of mind, keep your phone on, Cici.”

“I will. I’ll let you know as soon as I get there. I know Dionysus won’t believe her, but I need to talk to him in person.”

Dionysus

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

“What typeof meeting were you in?” Zeus asks on the phone. “I couldn’t reach you on the phone, and the secretary said she was ordered not to interrupt you.”

“I had to deal with a problem of gigantic proportions. I spent the morning meeting the lawyers. One of our group executives is being accused of sexual harassment by his secretary.”

“Fuck! Who?”

“I prefer to talk about this in person. Now tell me the reason for the urgency to find me.”

“I’ve got nothing good for you, either.”

“I suppose not. When I picked up the phone, I had six calls: two from Odin, yours, and one from Christos, Hades, and Ares each. What the hell happened? Did the Third World War break out?”

“You can’t stay incommunicado with a pregnant bride, Dionysus.”

“I know Cecily is fine, as is Joseph, otherwise the bodyguards would have found a way to contact me.”

---