Page 144 of About Love and Revenge

Maybe the things I said were brutal, but every single one of them was true.

If this is the beginning of our life as husband and wife, as well as the beginning of our lives as parents, I want it to be based on honesty.

“I can't deny that what you're saying shakes me, but from the bottom of my heart, I believe it's much more because we grew up being told that we should love and respect father and mother rather than any feelings I might have had for him.”Her face is as serious as ever. “Leandros was never a father to me or to any of my siblings. He was the provider, but mainly, our tormentor. I don't know if I'll ever fully recover from the things he did to me. I don't even have the courage to say it out loud. The humiliations, the beatings?—”

“No one will ever lay a finger on you again. I promise.”

She nods in agreement. “People think that having a father and mother in the house is the same as having love. They are wrong. To Greek society, the Argyros family was exemplary, but no one had any idea about what happened behind closed doors.”

I know I should wait until she's finished, but I can't. The sadness in her voice compels me to touch her.

"Do you remember when I told you I didn't want to get married? Like most girls, I dreamed of having a family, but as I grew up and saw the way my mother was treated, marriage began to look like a prison.”

“Do you feel stuck with me?”

“Yes, but in a good way. I don't want to leave.”

“I don't want you to go, my Elina. Before you, life was just a series of meaningless days.”

“Does it make sense now? Life, I mean. We haven't talked about having a baby, and I'm pregnant.”

“I didn't want to promise anything without being sure what our future would be like when it all came to an end, but I need you to know that every breath I take from now on will be for you and for our son.”

“Come here.”She reaches back on the bed and pats the spot beside her.

I take off my shoes and, after lying down, pull her into my arms.

“Is it done? Is the past behind us? I need your word.”

“Yes. You have it.”

“Odin, when I left home today, I weighed everything and decided that I am exactly where I want to be, but I need you to promise me that there will be no more hatred or rancor in our home. I love you more than I could ever explain, but I will only stay if you can give all of your heart and soul to our family. I want to build a home with you, but one where there is love between us and the children we will have.”

“That sounds like heaven to me.”

Elina

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

Six Months Later

GREECE

We walk hand in hand,in silence, to the spot where his family's grave is located. That was just another one of the lies his uncle told him in an alleged attempt to make him strong.

To me, this Ingvar is no better than Leandros. What kind of person knowingly destroys a son's love for and faith in his mother in the name of revenge? The damage he did to my husband's emotions may still take a long time to heal.

Odin told me that every year, on the anniversary of their deaths, he would remember his family's pain.

Despite this, we only found out that they had actually been buried when Odin decided to finish reading the letter that Ingvar left him.

Today, I hope that my husband can finally feel peace.

I know I'm his world, but he still has moments of introspection. I think Odin spent too much time keeping everything to himself, so it's not easy for him to learn how to share.

On the same day that we decided our future, he told me his storywithout hiding any details. At first, he tried to spare me because of the pregnancy, but I've learned a lot about myself during the last year. The main thing is that I am not a fragile flower.

He recalled what his childhood had been like before evil struck him. He shared the dreams of a boy who wanted to be an astronaut and who had loving parents—despite having few resources for themselves and their children. Parents who gave him and his little sister everything that my brothers and I never had: affection, attention, and hugs.

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