Page 78 of The Diávolos: Part One
My father lets out a sharp laugh that doesn’t reach his cold eyes. It gives me the chills. “My own daughter is betraying me for a man who lies to her. Forthe Diávolos. What have I done to deserve this disloyalty?”
How dare he say I am betraying him? After everything I’ve tolerated and looked past. This man is my father, but right now, he feels more like my enemy. I can’t stop the fury bubbling inside of me. So much that I can’t stop the next words from spilling out of my mouth.
“Fuck you,baba,” I screech, my voice sounding raspy and high-pitched. “I’ve been nothing but a good daughter to you. An obedient one, at that. How dare you talk to me like I’m a piece of garbage and call me a littlewhore? I’ve never once gone against you, and you think I would betray youon purpose?You are as despicable of a man as you are a father,” I spit, feeling sick with outrage and hurt.
What happens next, I never would’ve expected. My father gets out of his chair and slaps me right across the face. My head swings to the side from the brutal force of the hit, and I can taste metal in my mouth. I hear Gianis growl as he pushes out of his chair and slams his fists on the table, making our coffee mugs rattle.
“What the fuck, Peter?” He takes a moment to catch his breath. “Hitting your own daughter? I should kill you for putting your hands on her.”
“Mind your own business and watch your mouth, boy. I could have your tongue cut out for threatening me. Don’t meddle in things you don’t understand,” my father responds as he sits back down at the table, seemingly unbothered by what he just did. The heartlessness of this man still shocks me every time. My hand rises shakily to my burning cheek, and I cover it with my palm. Gianis kneels in front of me and yells out to Eldora to bring me an ice pack.
“Ang, look at me,” he says. I face him and my eyes well with tears, but I refuse to let them fall. I will not allow my father to be the cause of anymore pain. The adrenaline that I felt in the moment starts to dissipate as the stinging in my cheek takes precedence. I can’t hold back the tears any longer. Gianis tenderly cups my face with his hands and looks at me straight in the eyes, his expression apologetic, and wipes the falling tears away with his thumbs.
“I didn’t tell him, I swear,” he pleads, his voice barely audible. I nod.
I know if it had been anyone else, Gianis would’ve killed them on the spot. But he can’t because of who my father is—the Kouvalakis Godfather of the Night, and his boss. We both know the ripple effect that would cause.
Eldora arrives with the ice pack, and Gianis gently rests it on my face, causing me to wince a little from the sting. My father puts down his newspaper and finally breaks his silence.
“You are to stop seeing him immediately, Angelica, or I will do the same to him as I did his uncle. Do you understand?” My father interrupts.
“Over my dead body,” I seethe. I push myself off the chair, moving away from Gianis. He places the ice on the table, his eyes full of worry. He knows exactly where I’m going.
“If you think for one second that you can control me, tell me who to talk to, who to date, you are gravely mistaken,” I spit. “I am no longer your concern. You are as dead to me as I am to you. Doyouunderstand?”
I want to smash something, more specifically, his face, but my father does nothing. Doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t even look my way. “What happened all those years ago for you to hate me like this?” I cry out. “Why can’t I remember? TELL ME!” I scream. “Why do I have nightmares? What aren’t you telling me?” I’ve officially lost it as I start sobbing hysterically. My father keeps ignoring me and walks back into the house without responding.
“Angelica,” Gianis says in a soothing voice as he stands to join me. He rests his palms on my cheeks again. “It’s okay,mikrí mou.”My little bird.
My eyes grow wide. Gianis hasn’t called me that since we were kids, when I would run around my backyard, pretending to have wings. I would fly into him and he’d fake an injury every time. That’s when he started calling me his little bird. The nickname immediately fills me with a sense of peace and a slight twinge of sadness at how much things have changed. I wish I were that young again, with no cares in the world other than being with my best friends.
“What isn’t he telling me, G? I can’t take it anymore,” I murmur.
He lets go of my face and runs his hands through his hair. “I don’t know, Ang. I really don’t know,” he replies regretfully.
Breathless with anger, I turn to walk away, promising to myself to never step foot in this house again.
“Please, be careful,” Gianis whispers right before I leave.
I force myself to smile. “I will,Gianiaki.”
* * *
I hailan Uber to my father’s property, and I wait for my ride outside the gate. I text Evan to let him know I’m on my way to see him. He’s probably busy, so I don’t bother waiting for his response before heading toward the nightclub. I have to talk to him right away and inform him of my father’s threat. He needs to know what happened.
I don’t want to believe what mybabatold me. There’s no way the Evan I know is my father’s rival. He wouldn’t lie to me, let alone keep this huge secret from me after everything we’ve been through and shared. I know there are things I don’t know about him, but this would be big enough for a ‘first date’ mention, maximum second. A simple, “Hey, I’m Evander Vasilakis, by the way, the new Godfather of the Night. I’m technically your enemy, and your father wants me dead,” would have sufficed. Surely, my father was just lying to get under my skin.
But if what mybabasaid is the truth, then why would Evan want to be with me, the daughter of the man who killed his uncle? My heart sinks. What if he was planning this all along? If he knew who I was from the start, there’s no way he could truly like someone directly linked to the murder of a family member.
Was Evan playing pretend all along? What are his true intentions? I can’t fathom this all being true. I want to vomit at the thought.No. Evan wouldn’t do this to me, he wouldn’t have lied like this. I reach for the elastic band around my wrist. I stretch it out wide and let it fling back onto my skin multiple times. One pain eliminates the other. I haven’t had to resort to this in weeks, my mind too preoccupied in a beautiful nightmare with Evan.
My Uber ride pulls up and I hop into the backseat. Evan’s office is only a 12-minute drive from here, but it feels like an eternity with the fate of our relationship looming in the air. As we approach the nightclub’s entrance, I see Leon sitting on a chair smoking a cigarette. The car stops right in front of him, and he gives me a lazy smile as I step out.
“Yiasou,Leon. I’m here to see Evan. Is he inside?”
“Yes, he is,noná,” he replies with a smile.Godmother? My brows knit in confusion, and he lets out a little laugh, not aware of the disorientation he just implanted in my brain. He clearly knows something I don’t and I’m even more nervous to confront Evan now. I head inside, making my way through the empty nightclub. I approach Evan’s office, and I stop when I hear murmurs from inside. Not wanting to interrupt his meeting, I tiptoe to the door to hear who’s talking. I immediately recognize Dion’s voice.
“Afentiko, I’m telling you this as a friend. Things are getting out of hand; she’s going to find out sooner than later. She’s at her father’s house right now with Gianis. You gave her my last name, for god’s sake!” He lets out an exasperated breath. “Sneaking around with her is only going to work for so long. Do you not think Peter already knows what’s going on?”
