At the church, Kostas and Aris stand just inside the doors, greeting and thanking everyone for coming as each person walks through and extends their condolences. I stand by Kostas’s side as he introduces me to several people as his wife. Some look shocked, but most congratulate us. He explains who some are to me, and others, who I assume aren’t important enough in his eyes, he doesn’t bother.
When his father arrives, a nurse wheels him up the ramp in his wheelchair and then Kostas takes over, pushing him to the front row, leaving him to sit at the end of the pew. The funeral service is being held in the same church as our wedding. Father Nicholas speaks about love and loss, and the entire time, Kostas’s fingers stay intertwined with mine. He doesn’t shed a single tear, but I can feel it in the way he squeezes my hand when Father Nicholas talks about her going to heaven, he’s barely keeping it together. I can practically feel the sadness radiating off him, and I wonder if, at some point, he’s going to finally lose it. In the short time since I’ve known Kostas he’s never once lost it. He’s the epitome of put together all the time. Aris, on the other hand, gets so upset, he ends up walking out of the church.
The funeral moves to the cemetery for the burial, and once again, Kostas pushes his father down the sidewalk to the spot where the earth is open and Nora’s coffin is waiting to be lowered into the ground. There’s a tent set up so everyone can stand in the shade while Father Nicholas says a few more words, and then the casket is lowered.
When Father Nicholas calls on the family to step forward to throw the dirt onto her coffin, Kostas pushes Ezio over and helps him gather a handful of dirt to throw in. Aris and I go next, and then the other family members follow. Everyone circles back around under the tent while Kostas remains in the front with his dad.
Kostas’s gaze meets mine, and I try to convey through my gaze how sorry I am for his loss. As if he knows what I’m trying to say, his eyes go a little softer, and the smallest hint of a smile appears.
And then they go dark. And hard. I have no clue what’s going on until I feel someone’s hot breath at my ear. “I know you married him because you thought you had to…because you’re afraid of him.”
With my eyes locked on Kostas still, I do my best not to make a scene or show any emotion. I will not let Aris get to me.
“You can’t deny we have something. From the moment I saw you in the bar, to the night we fucked…”
My chest heaves at his words, and Kostas’s eyes narrow as he pushes his father’s wheelchair toward us, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Just because you’re married now, doesn’t mean we can’t explore those feelings. I could make you happier than Kostas ever could,” Aris says.
And just when I think he’s finally done, he grabs my ass.
Panic rises inside me.
I feel sweaty and dizzy.
I’m thrust back to the night he shoved me against the dresser and took what wasn’t his to take. It’s difficult to keep my emotions in check.
My lip wobbles slightly, and I pray Kostas doesn’t notice.
Leave me alone! I want to scream at him. Push him away. But there are people all around us, and I don’t want to cause a scene at Nora’s funeral.
Unable to stand this monster’s hand on me for another second, my self-preservation wins out. My eyes leave Kostas’s and meet Aris’s, and my hands comes out, grabbing Aris’s hand to remove it off my ass. “What the hell is your problem?” I seethe. “We’re at your mother’s funeral, for God’s sake.”
Aris simply shrugs a shoulder and smirks, not even bothering to argue. When I scan the area to find Kostas, hoping he didn’t see what Aris did, I find him standing directly behind Aris. His fists are clenched at his sides, and his eyes are pointed down at my hand, which is still holding Aris’s. Oh, shit!
“Kostas,” I begin, unsure how to even explain what he’s seeing. But he doesn’t give me a chance. Because when Aris spins around to face his brother, Kostas cocks his fist back and clocks Aris directly in the jaw. His head whips to the side, and he stumbles back. The hit is so loud, everyone turns to see what the commotion is.
“You ever put your hands on my wife again, and you will lose them,” Kostas roars, his body trembling with rage.
Aris, the instigator he is, just laughs and walks away. It’s like he has a death sentence he gleefully awaits.