Page 10 of Slightly Married
The thought of having a child for the sole purpose of reclaiming Thalassía felt wrong. Years ago, I’d imagined building a family with Elena. When she chose to marry Yiorgos, that dream had withered.
I’d made my peace with it. Santo had naturally filled the role of heir in my mind, the nephew I watched grow up. And Stella had been clear from the beginning that motherhood wasn’t in her plans. A position I’d accepted without reservation.
Now, suddenly, fatherhood wasn’t just possible but contractually required. A child conceived not from love or even mutual desire, but as a bargaining chip. The notion made me uncomfortable.
I studied my cousin’s face. “I take it Theia Irida knows nothing about this?” Irida was my father’s younger sister, Matthaios’ mother and the woman Michail had jilted decades ago.
Matthaios’ jaw tightened. “You know she doesn’t. If she knew I was here, she would be on the first flight to New York.” His voice dropped. “You can’t tell her either. I want to keep my presence here quiet for a bit longer.”
I groaned inwardly, torn between family loyalty and common sense. The car resumed its journey, weaving through the city traffic. “Are you planning to hurt him?”
“His business, sure.” Matt’s voice was matter-of-fact. “And his favorite daughter. I’ll do to them what they did to my mother.”
The chill in my chest spread. “Matt, are you sure this is the way you want to go? Simone has done nothing, and Michail doesn’t even know of your existence.”
I thought of the man whose daughter would soon become my wife. Would things have been different if he’d known of Irida’s pregnancy all those years ago?
Matt’s mouth twisted, his fingers gripping the armrest. “I don’t give a fuck. The fact is, he slept with my mother and fucked off to raise another man’s child.”
The car turned onto Park Avenue, the buildings outside growing larger. I knew I couldn’t reason with him. He had inherited our grandfather’s legendary stubbornness, along with his temper.
“This is bigger than you now,” I said quietly. “Your sister will become my wife.”
Matt’s eyes hardened. “Half-sister,” he corrected.
We rode in tense silence for several blocks, the city lights creating shifting patterns across Matthaios’ face. His features held none of the warmth I remembered.
“You’ve changed,” I finally said.
“We all have.” His gaze remained fixed on the passing buildings. “Your father’s passing, the robbery and now this marriage... Everything changes, Kos. Except for the fact that my father abandoned my mother.”
As the car pulled up to my hotel, Matt straightened his jacket. “I should get back before I’m missed.” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I look forward to our family reunion.”
I watched him walk away and wondered how many more casualties this family feud would claim before it was over.
I stood in the bathroom of my suite, unbuttoned my shirt. Dropping the garment onto the heated tile floor, I turned to face the mirror fully, my eyes tracing the jagged scar curving across my ribcage.
My fingers followed the path my eyes had taken, trailing along the raised flesh. Nine months hadn’t been enough to fade the angry red reminder of how quickly life could change.
As if responding to some silent signal, my damaged knee began to throb in sympathy. I bent forward, massaging the joint with firm fingers, working through the familiar ritual of pain management.
“Call Aristides,” I instructed my phone, and the device obediently lit up on the counter beside me.
When the connection clicked through, I heard multiple voices before my eldest brother’s came clearly through the speaker.
“You’re on speaker, Kostas,” Aristides said. “Dimitrios is here with me. We’re assessing the damage at the factory.”
“The fire was contained to the production line,” Dimitrios added. “But we’re looking at weeks of repairs before production can resume.”
“I’ve also secured a bridge loan to cover immediate repairs while we wait for the insurance payout,” I replied. “The interest rate is reasonable, and we won’t touch our emergency reserves.” I shifted gears. “But that’s not why I called.”
I got straight to the point, giving them a full breakdown of the meeting with Michail. “All this is to say, he wants me to marry his daughter in exchange for Thalassía.”
“Don’t do it,” was Aristides’ immediate response.
“Who does he think he is trying to manipulate our family like this?” Dimitrios added.
I straightened, wincing as my knee protested. “You both know I can’t decline.”
