Page 30 of All for her Forgiveness

No, she certainly didn't know or she would have done something about it.

At this moment, I wish I could resurrect Riny Marcotte just to have the pleasure of seeing her die again.

Ernest said he hoped she was in hell, but that’s too minor for someone who caused so much destruction in a child's life.

King whines as if he's in the middle of a dream, and without hesitation, I walk to the crib.I'm used to children. I have nieces. I look at the little boy sleeping on his stomach, all twisted, just as I often do.

I place both hands on the sides of the crib.You're mine, King,I say only in my mind, and when I hear something like a grunt behind me, I know it's from Kennedy.

When I look back, her expression is one of agony, and I quickly understand it's because she doesn't want me near her son.

I pick him up carefully, but instead of taking him directly to her, I am lost for several minutes watching the boy whom—even though I still have no idea how he was conceived—I know deep inside me is mine.

When I finally approach Kennedy with him, she seems impatient, as if she's not sure I won't take him away.

She reaches out to take him, and only when she has her son against her body does she seem to breathe again.

“You can calm down. I'm not going to steal him.”

“You won't need to steal him. If your plans to throw me into prison forever work out, Hades, soon I won't have access to him anymore.”

I feel my jaw clench knowing she's right, and without anything to say, I leave the room.

In the hallway, I lean against the wall and drown myself in memories of the trip to New Orleans, which ended up resulting in my first encounter with Kennedy.

Past

NEW YORK

"Are you planning to go back to studying?" my brother Dionysus asks from behind me without even pretending he's not reading the brochures I have on the table.

About fifteen minutes ago, I arrived at our bank headquarters for a meeting with my three brothers: Zeus, Dionysus, and Ares.

"It's for Pam. She's undecided about which university to choose."

"Can she choose?" Ares scoffs, entering the room, followed by Zeus.

"Her grades aren't that bad."

Pam has been a disappointment academically since she entered high school. For a previously focused girl, she seems currently unmotivated.

"Don't intervene to get her into a good university, Hades," my older brother, Zeus, advises. "It's no use putting her in a place of excellence if she's not up to it because that can turn into something much worse: making her feel inferior. The girl has some ghosts from the past to deal with; maybe she just needs some time."

We all know Pam's early life story backwards and forwards because when she came to live with her grandmother, we met with Vina and she told us about the difficult childhood her granddaughter had had. The youngest son of my grandfather's former housekeeper died, leaving Pam at the mercy of her mother, who was irresponsible. Besides being deprived of food, Vina said Pam was also abused in other ways.

It was at that moment I swore that no one would hurt her again.

Zeus is not a compassionate man or the type to pat someone on the head and say it'll be all right. The advice he just gave me is because, even though on a much smaller scale than me, he considers Pam his responsibility too.

None of us are sympathetic or the type to feel sorry for someone. The main male influence in our lives was my paternal grandfather, especially for me.

We are protective of each other and of those who are important to us, but contradictorily, we don't understand the concept of forgiveness, second chances, or pity.

Resentment, anger, and especially revenge—that's what prevails in the Kostanidis family.

"I don't cheat. I would never give Pam privileges through illegal means. The universities I'm considering are compatible with her performance. Besides, they have already accepted her."

"Why do you care?" Ares asks.

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