Page 115 of About Love and Revenge

“I said I wouldn't stop.”

“Yes, you did, but I thought your love for your own life was greater than your need to force a woman, who obviously doesn't want you, to accept you.”

He lets out a mocking laugh. “You don't know what you've gotten yourself into, Odin. Elina is a snake like her father. At first, I thought you were using her, but now I realize you’ve made the mistake of falling in love with the whore.”

I get up and stand in front of him. “Stand up.”

For the first time since I walked in, he seems to hesitate, looking over my shoulder.

“What? Lost your courage?”

“I'm not afraid of you.”

“You should be.”

“You're not crazy.”

“That's something I'll have to disagree with you about. It would have been wise of you to have done your research on me, you know?”

“I already know everything I need to about you.”

“Not even close. You have no idea, for example, that I would do anything to protect her.”

"Forgive her father's debts, even?"

I stare at him as I ask myself that question, but not for the reasons he thinks. Naim thinks my problem with Leandros boils down to money.

He's on his feet now too, but like the coward he is, he’s taken a few steps back. “I won’t stop. In all my fifty years, there has never been anything I wanted that I didn't get. I bought her and I won't rest until I get my goods.”

I walk forward without taking my gaze from his. “She was never for sale. Whatever deal you made with Leandros, it was money that you lost.”

“Why don't you back off? You already got what you wanted from her, anyway. Yes, I know she was a virgin. That's why I paid such a high price.” He laughs. “Or are you going to tell me that you’re happy to continue to parade around with an illiterate?”

Even though I heard what he said, my brain takes a second to process, but I think my face shows surprise as he laughs.

“You didn’t know? That would make a good joke. An information expert like you doesn't know that the bitch he has at home can barely sign her name or read short sentences.”

I think about her dyslexia and how she told me she's had a lifetime of embarrassment. I quickly understand that it wasn't just a confusion of words. If what he's saying is true, she can barely read them.

My heart aches from the years of darkness Elina must have gone through. I don't need any more explanation to understand that she didn't get any help from her family. It’s now clear how, even at nearly thirty-one, Elina is still as inexperienced as a teenager in some ways.

I think he interprets my silence as an indication that he has gained ground in convincing me to give her up.

“Think about it: you don't need that kind of embarrassment. I have to agree that she’s a beautiful woman, but I’m willing to negotiate and even keep it a secret.”

As if coming out of a trance, I stare at him, pretending to pay attention to his proposal. “If I give her up?”

“Yes. Let me take her and our troubles end here. I'm not one to hold a grudge—I just want the stuff I paid for. You don't need a stupid woman by your side. I myself only accepted it, at first, for the sake of her beauty. She never studied, you know? Her father dismissed her teachers as soon as he realized it was a waste of time and money.”

I see his shoulders relax. He's sure he's won.

“She's as dumb as a child,” he continues. “I only went through with the marriage negotiations because that air of superiority has always encouraged me. I’ll enjoy teaching her to obey.”

“You won't. I’m going to marry her.”

He looks at me in amazement for a while and then smiles, as if I've just told him a joke. As if he expects me to smile back.

When he seems to realize that I'm serious, his face transforms into a scowl of pure hate.

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