Page 112 of Through You
Thirty
Me, in love? With that iceberg?
CLAUDIA
“I want to be alone.”
His request doesn’t surprise me in the least. This is Artemis’s reaction whenever he’s going through something that’s emotionally heavy.
He reacted in a similar way the day he found his mother with another man, making the exact same request after I tended to his injuries.
Leave me alone.
I guess some things don’t change. Part of me wants to stay with him, hug him and whisper positive words of encouragement in his ear. But I know him better than that. He needs time alone to process everything that just happened, including what he divulged to his mother and the rest of his family.
I’m confident he’ll come to me once he processes everything, just like he did a long time ago. This time won’t be different. Still,
I owe him the chance to reconsider in case he’s changed over the years that have passed.
We’re in his father’s study, so I sit next to him on the couch.
“Artemis.”
“No.” He shakes his head and avoids looking at me.
And that’s my answer. He needs to spend this time by himself, which doesn’t bother me. I, too, have had moments in my life when I needed to be left alone in silence to assess things.
“Okay,” I reply, standing up. “I’ll be in my room.” He knows he can come to me when he’s ready to talk.
“I’m leaving for work in a few minutes,” he informs me. “I’ll see you later this evening.”
The coldness in his tone doesn’t surprise me, but it also doesn’t please me. His cold-as-stone defensive walls tend to go up when he feels vulnerable. I don’t believe he’s aware he does this; it just comes naturally to him. I refrain from saying another word and walk over to the door, taking a quick glance over my shoulder. He remains seated, in his impeccable suit, with his elbows resting on his knees and his hands massaging his face.
The expression he wears is a mixture of pain and rigidness. I briefly reconsider whether I should turn back and hug him, but decide to respect his wishes. After I leave the study, I run into Apolo in the living room. He’s sitting on a sofa, in the same posture as his brother. He’s even rubbing his face with his hands. I guess they’re related after all. It breaks my heart to see his eyes red and the sadness on his face. He looks at me but doesn’t say anything. I let out a sigh and sit next to him. He immediately reacts by turning to hug me.
“I had no idea,” he whispers against my neck. “I didn’t know the truth, I . . .”
We pull apart, and I notice the color of his eyes has been intensified by recently shed tears.
“What are you talking about?”
He twists his lips before licking them in attempt to suppress the urge to cry. “I didn’t know he had suffered so much.”
I understand he’s speaking about Artemis.
“Apolo.”
“No. I always thought he was a coldhearted idiot because he wanted complete control over my father’s company. I just assumed—” He looks away. “I didn’t know about the pain my own brother suffered, Claudia.”
I open my mouth to say something, but he continues.
“What kind of brother am I? He’s lived with this bottled-up frustration, backed my father one hundred percent, and helped him get back on his feet. And what do I do? I judge him.”
“Apolo.” I take his face in my hands. “You haven’t done anything wrong. Please don’t blame yourself for anything that’s happened. This entire situation is extremely messed up and yes, it has hurt your brother in so many ways. But it’s not your fault. The blame lies with other people and their terrible decisions,” I say, thinking about his mother. “And you are not responsible, now or ever, for the outcomes.”
“Do you think he holds a grudge against me?”
“On the contrary, I think he loves you guys so much, and you’ve been his greatest motivation to carry the weight of the promise he made to your father. He didn’t want you or Ares to be burdened with the responsibility.”
