Page 138 of About Love and Revenge

“This isn't about Orien.”

“No. This is about a family that you burned alive about twenty-two years ago." The words run like acid down my throat. “It's about my sister begging for mercy and only receiving the reply that no one should be spared.”

Now I can see real astonishment on his face, and I can see he never even suspected that there was a surviving son in the family which he annihilated. “You are Hedda's son.”

“Don't speak her name. Even though I know how you two betrayed him, my father's memory deserves respect."

At first, he looks at me in surprise, which confuses me for a while. Then he laughs again. Unlike the other one, this laugh is a true one. “You think your mother was a traitor? Nope. Just too dumb to make the right choice. At first, I was only interested in her beauty. Hedda was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I didn't care that she was married, of course. It wouldn't have been the first time I'd gotten involved with another man's wife."His voice conveys pride as he says that. “I went after her, but she wouldn't budge. I tried to be a gentleman while I courted her, which came as a surprise to myself. The more she resisted, the more desire I felt, until I promised what I’ve never promised any woman: to leave Cinthya and the children to be with her.”

I’m listening to every word, and it's ironic that the man who’s revealing the darkest part of my past is the same man who’s made me what I am today.

“The idiot wounded my pride, saying she wouldn't trade her family for anything. She did not even want to give me a kiss. I think the poor thing didn't really know who I was, or she wouldn't have acted that way. "

His speech is full of mockery, but all I can think about is the factthat my mother, the one I blamed and held a grudge against my entire life, never betrayed us.

“I could say that I'm sorry you grew up hating her, but that would be a lie. I like that you hate her. I hate her too, even after all these years."

“You're going to die, you bastard. The same way you killed my family. I will burn you alive. You will pay."

I think he realizes that I'm serious, because he unconsciously pulls away.

“Don't do this, Odin.”

Christos's voice surprises me. I didn't know he was in Greece. Grigori probably warned him.

“You heard what he said. Your mother was not to blame for anything. This monster is nothing but a rapist in expensive clothes. He doesn't even deserve to die by your hands."

“He killed my family.”

“Yes, he did it because he's a damn coward, but that wretchedness is in the past, my brother.”

“Get out, Christos. Don't stay here, or you will witness his death. I don't want to involve you in this."

“I'd like to ask you a favor, Mr. Odin.”

I look back when I hear the voice of Darius, the islander who is the father of Thalassa, one of the missing girls.

To my amazement, he is not alone. There are at least ten more men with him. All humble-looking. I recognize some as islanders.

“I don't know what kind of accounts you have to settle with him, Mr. Odin, but I know what he owes us. He stole our daughters, and they never came back. None of them came back, and we're pretty sure he was the one who hurt them. Now, we've come to collect our debt from this bastard, so I'm going to ask you to leave."

“You can't leave me here with them,” Leandros says, and the desperation in his voice makes me sway. It's a kind of music to my ears to hear him feeling fear.

“I can't do that, Darius.”

Christos stops in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders. “Let's go. I'm asking as your brother. The future awaits you at home. Elina is pregnant."

“What?”

“Your wife is pregnant. Don't get blood on your hands. Think of your family. Don't you want to raise your child?"

Elina, my wife, is expecting our child.

My head, normally so analytical, has got millions of thoughts running through it at the same time, including doubts about my choice.

I know what I will do.

I'm just overwhelmed with information.

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