Page 116 of All for her Forgiveness

"Are you? Have you confirmed that with him lately?"

"Why are you treating me like this? I don't understand."

"I remember."

"What?"

"I remember what you told us on Pam's birthday night. You wanted Hades and Ares to be interested in us. How long have you been planning this? Was that the reason you invited me to live in your house? Because I thought about it and concluded that you changed towards me when I told you in the kitchen, in New Orleans, that I wanted to go back to school and wouldn't give you any trouble. When you saw that I wasn't the woman your daughter had painted for you, you recognized the opportunity not to have just one chance but two to fit into the Kostanidis family. What did you think when your plans went wrong?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Any capacity to feel sorry for her disappears when my anger emerges. "Pam died. Ares married Serenity. I was accused of a crime. Your schemes were in vain."

"That's in the past."

"Not yet. It will only be in the past when I'm free from these accusations."

"I wanted the best for you and Pam. What's wrong with that? Of course I'd have been happy if each of you married one of the Greek boys. What girl wouldn't want to become 'Mrs. Kostanidis?'"

"I didn't and don't give a damn about his last name. I fell in love with Hades at first sight, back in New Orleans. That viper you raised tried everything to separate us." I almost mention that Pam drugged Hades, but then I remember he asked me not to tell anyone else we knew about the cameras on his grandfather's property.

"How did Pam try to separate you guys? I didn't know that! How dare she?"

I roll my eyes. Christ, she's worse than I thought. "Stop. This conversation makes no sense. Once again, I don't know why you called me. We're on opposite sides. I'm accused of being an accomplice in your granddaughter's murder."

"I can testify that you were always wonderful to Pam, which is the absolute truth, and that you would never have harmed her."

"What?"

"Think about it: Hades is supporting you. If I do too, it'll reinforce in your defense."

"You’d do that just to have the chance to be friends again?"

"Of course. I'm dying to meet my great-grandson."

Over my dead body. She'll never get anywhere near King.

"What do you say, huh, Kennedy?"

Kennedy. No more Juliet.Let's call her the name Hades Kostanidis approves.

My God, she's a monster!

"Tell me, what were you lacking? What made you so ambitious?" I ask her.

"What?"

"Why did you want one or both of us to marry a Kostanidis so badly? To ensure a comfortable future for yourself? Hades allowed you to stay in his grandfather's house for years! You had everything!"

"I deserved more. You know nothing. I was that old bastard's lover almost my whole life and he never offered me the position of wife. I hope he's burning in hell."

"What?"

"You heard me. You were clever, caught Hades as you should, with a child. I made a mistake not doing the same. I stayed with their grandfather until the end, and as the Kostanidou are 'very generous,' they let me live in the caretaker's house. Bunch of bastards!"

"So, you saw in Pam a fresh chance to join the family?"

"Yes, of course. She was perfect. She was beautiful, went to good schools, and Hades loved her. I prepared her from a young age to be a Kostanidis wife, and I regret the day I brought you into my house, because you ruined all my plans. Now you're at the top, but if it weren't for me, you probably would have remained a poor thing forever."

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