Page 48 of Pregnant at the Palace Altar

And look what happened to him.

He had been murdered in cold blood. But that was no personal failing. How had Diamandis spent all these years believing it was? Was Marias to blame? Himself? Something or someone else?

He did not know. He only knew he could not let his wife cry all by herself.

He crossed to the bed and sat next to Katerina, gathering her up into his arms. He didn’t say anything—there was nothing to be said.

He just held her.

Katerina tried to get a hold of herself. Surely she could manage that so they could focus on the problem at hand and solve it.

But Diamandis had pulled her into the warmth of him. He held her there, stroking her hair. He didn’t tell her not to cry.

He simply held her.

Which made her cry harder, but she didn’t mind so much. Not here in this comforting cocoon. It was a kind of release to cry, but it was so much better to say all that had been bottled up inside of her with nowhere to go for so long.

“I wish I didn’t have a father. Or a mother. I’d rather be an orphan. Which probably is very insensitive of me. I know how much you loved your parents and wish they were here.”

“I did. I do. But my loss does not mean you should have to love the parents you were given.”

“When we got married, and she wasn’t there, I allowed myself to think I was finally free. I will never be free of her. As long as she can use me as a pawn, she will.” Katerina forced herself to look at him, though her eyes were puffy and her head ached. She must look a fright, but she met his gaze because he had to understand. “And now you. She will never stop, Diamandis. No matter how many times you beat her at her own game. As long as she thinks she might get some scrap of attention from a powerful man, she will make your life hell.”

He studied her intently for a very long time, no doubt cataloging all the stupid ways she’d fallen apart. But he stroked her hair one more time and wiped tears off her face with his own hands, oh so gently.

“I am the king of Kalyva. No one can make my life hell without my permission,glyko mou.”

Well, that must be nice, she wanted to say. But she just rested her head on his shoulder. She was all cried out. Exhausted. But she knew from experience that now it was all out, she would be able to think about the situation rationally and clearly.

She would find the best option for moving forward. She would somehow save Diamandis from her mother’s manipulations. She had to, for his sake. For her children’s sake.

“Do not worry. I will gather myself and figure out a way to deal with her.” She lifted her head and tried to pull away, but he did not let her go. He studied her.

“It is a weak threat at best. If there is a story here, it will be a blip. Even if it is true, you did not grow up with the man. One could hardly connect your life to his. But I do not think it is true, my queen.”

“The truth won’t matter if she has her way, Diamandis. Zandra did not grow up in the palace, yet we welcomed her home—and rightfully so. She is the princess, and she deserved to return home. But people did not care who she was or whom she had been raised by. They cared that she was your father’s daughter.”

“It is not the same.”

“It will be, for some people.”

“I do not care about some people. One cannot be universally loved. Even Zandra has her detractors. This is not the goal. The goal is to ensure that the nasty words are pointless and do not turn into violent dissent against us as a family. I do not believe something like this can cause the kind of uproar your mother would no doubt like.”

“Maybe not, but she’ll only keep trying.”

“Your mother is a cruel, selfish woman.”

She had heard this all her life. Maybe not in those words, but so many people had tried to impress upon her that while her mother was quite awful, it wasn’t Katerina’s responsibility to bear. Cut her mother out, let it all go.

She wished she could. She wished she knew how. Diamandis would expect her to be that strong, and she could not be. Still, she forced herself to nod and smile. “Yes, I know. I shouldn’t let her get to me.”

But Diamandis’s mouth firmed in confusion. “Of course she gets to you. She has betrayed you, time and time again. This is not so easy to forgive and forget. Not from anyone, but especially not from a mother.”

He spoke from experience, she could hear it in the conviction of his words. He would not speak like this if he had not been betrayed by someone close to him, which made little sense considering his family had been murdered and he let few others close.

“Who betrayed you?”

He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly as he looked away. “I have betrayed many.”

---