Page 141 of About Love and Revenge

You were her world, and that's why I made you into a strong man.

To avenge her.

I turned you into a warrior, and now our souls will have peace because you put an end to the bastard's life.. .”

I drop the letter on the bed, because I can no longer see it.

Aside from the desperate moments when I was knocking on the basement door trying to save my family, I don't remember ever crying.

Now, I can't stop.

I get up and go to the window, thinking about everything I've accomplished in my life.

Gaining material possessions and much more money than I will ever be able to spend, using hatred as fuel, and with the sole purpose of ending the despicable man who, in the name of his own lust, destroyed my world.

I feel my body taken by lethargy, as if I’m entering a kind of trance.

I never allowed myself to rest, never considered relaxing, since my mind was always overloaded with plans, but now I just wish I could get away from it all with her.

When Elina came into my life, I knew I was heading towards something impossible to reconcile with my past, because I would never back down from my revenge, but my passion, and then the love she aroused in me, made me risk, desire, insist.

And now, I've lost everything.

My origins, my faith in the person whom I believed to be my savior, and perhaps my wife and child too.

Elina

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

“Odin?”

He doesn’t answer.

When I enter our room, I see he's sitting on the floor by the window. Head down, arms at his sides.

It's like he's given up.

I feel my heart being crushed.

Seeing him like this reassures me that no matter what we have to go through, there is no chance of happiness apart from my husband.

I approach slowly because some part of me still fears rejection, but my love is much greater than my fear. “Why are you there?”

Silence.

I kneel in front of him, but when he still doesn't react, without asking permission, I climb into his lap.

I kiss him. Once, twice, over and over, until I finally feel him hold me in his arms. “I love you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Maybe not, but there's nothing I can do about it.”

“Elina, are you expecting our child?”

I take his hand and place it on my stomach. “Yeah. He's growing right here.”

“Are you going to leave me?”

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