Page 84 of Unraveled

“You knew who she was, Dad?” Harper asked.

“Yes. Not at first, though. It wasn’t until she’d told me she was there for a funeral that I figured it out. It hadn’t escaped my family’s attention that the head of their rival’s had passed away.” He stared at the floor with his jaw fixed.

Harper couldn’t see it from her place against Mom’s legs, and she smiled proudly. “But you saw Mom again, anyway.”

“I did.” Dad smiled. “When I left her that day, I knew I had to see her again, but I didn’t knowhowI could, either. I couldn’t just go home and tell my father that I was falling for the enemy. He’d have forbidden me from ever seeing her again without another word. I ran to my brother for advice instead.”

“And I told him to stay away from her,” my uncle cut in. “I warned him that it would only cause trouble. But did you listen?”

Dad laughed. “Nope. I saw her browsing fruit a few days later at the market. She was with another girl that I’d never seen before. I’d guessed it was her sister. I knew all the other girls on the island. With who she was, I knew I had to be careful, but I was dying to talk to her again, and I stopped to talk to some friends of mine at another stall while I waited for an opening.”

“I’d seen him staring.” Mom picked up the story. “And so did my sister. She asked me if I knew him, and I told her about bumping into him that day on my walk. She smirked and offered to leave so we could talk, andsure enough, just a few minutes after she left, that gorgeous boy was looking over the fruit with me.

“He wanted to meet me in private that night, and I knew I shouldn’t meet with a boy alone, at night. But, of course, I was saying yes after one flash of that smile.

“The whole way home, I couldn’t stop wondering howhecould be wanting to meet in secret withme, but every nerve in my body was alive with excitement. I worried that my father would be able to tell when I got home, but I ended up with the perfect cover for my mood. It was the same evening my father announced that we wouldn’t be returning home. We were going to stay and live in my grandpa’s house.

“I was a mix of emotions over leaving my old home and friends, but by then, I couldn’t stand the thought of never seeing that boy again. He had such a firm hold on me already.

“My sister was excited for me that night, helping me sneak out and agreeing to cover for me so our parents and older brother wouldn’t find out, but she did warn me to be careful. She didn’t have a wild bone in her body, but she loved to live through mine.

“Stef was waiting for me on our rock. I remember thinking how funny it was that I already thought of it that way. He’d laid out a picnic for us under the stars, and we ate and talked and laughed for hours, though it felt like it was just minutes. It was the most romantic, wonderful night of my life, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was off. I’d thought he might be frustrated that we couldn’t do this again if I was leaving, so I told him my news. He’d smiled but still looked so sad, confusing me even more. I finally just asked him what waswrong.”

“I was terrified when she did,” Dad continued. “I was falling for her more and more every second I was with her, and even though I was ecstatic to hear she wouldn’t be leaving, I was terrified she’d run or look at me in disgust after she found out who I was. Who we were to each other.

“But I knew I had to tell her. None of what we were feeling would have been real if she didn’t know. If I didn’t know she could see past who I was, the way I saw her. Because at that point, I didn’t care about our families’ feud. All the hate I’d been brought up with was nothing compared to what I felt with her.

“So, I took a deep breath and asked, ‘You don’t really know who I am, do you?’ She looked at me, confused, and then asked what I meant.

“I tried to smile, though I think it turned out more like a grimace. As nervous as she sounded, I felt it tenfold, knowing how my angel already had the power to crush me. She just stared at me at first when I told her, and I could see the disbelief then the fear on her face. I waited for her to get up and leave, to yell at me for tricking her into meeting me, but after a few torture-filled seconds, she smiled and said–”

Mom looked at Dad as she repeated her own line. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what our families think. We’ll find a way.”

“I kissed her then. I never wanted to stop. But we had to. It was getting late, and her sister was waiting up, so we came up with a plan for how to continue meeting without getting caught.

“It worked out well for the first few months. I’d sneak out of my bedroom window most nights and spent thenight at my brother’s house when I could. It wasn’t so hard to get out of the house there. Dimitris didn’t ask a lot of questions.” He grinned at his brother.

“You’re lucky I didn’t listen to my wife on that, Stef. Sophie told me I should ask where you were going, but I didn’t think to worry about it too much. It was summer. I was letting you have your fun. I figured you were off to see some girl, but I’d also thought you’d taken my advice. You usually did.”

“I’m glad he didn’t,” Mom murmured.

Uncle Dimitris smiled. “Now, I can say that, too. But when I first found out who he was going to see, I wasn’t happy. Being the amazing brother that I am, though, I listened and eventually realized that I couldn’t stay mad. It was clear to me that he was in love, and I couldn’t imagine if anyone had wanted to separate me from Sophie.”

“How did you find out?” Harper asked next.

I watched my uncle share a look with my mom and dad, and something in their expressions told me that the story was about to take a sharp turn away from happy.

“My brother came home much earlier than usual one night. Sophie and I were still up watching a movie when we heard him climb back through the guest room window and start slamming things around.

“I found him crying, about to crawl out of his own skin in distress. It took ages to convince him to tell me what was wrong. I was shocked when he finally confessed but also even more worried when he told me they’d been caught.”

“By who?” Harper breathed.

“By my sister,” Mom answered and took a deep breath. “She’d been helping me sneak out all those nights. Therereally was no other way. We shared a bedroom. She was so excited for me in the beginning that she helped with no questions asked. I’d come home, and we’d lie in our beds talking about my nights out with the mysterious boy from the market.

“I was always careful about what I told her. She had no clue who Stef really was, and she never bothered to ask why I had to sneak out to see him in the first place. She was more naive than I was, and one of us having a boyfriend was exciting. Our father was very strict.

“But that night before supper, she pulled me into our room to confront me, and I was shocked and completely terrified when she asked if I knew that Stefano was a Thanos. When I didn’t answer, she knew that I did.

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