“Who was he?”
“He was the Mayor of Thessaloniki. He was young, but the whole country adored him and his vision.”
“Okay,” he says, growing impatient but fighting to stay calm. “Let’s try this a different way. Why wereyoucharged with his murder?”
“Because...” I inhale a deep breath and brace for impact as if I’m back on the plane, ready to skydive, strapped to the instructor like we were a few weeks ago. Only this time, I’m jumping solo and without a parachute. “I was the one who called the police. He was my husband.”
Deafening silence fills my ears, and my blood runs cold.
“Your husband,” Theo echoes quietly, his voice strained as if the word is too hard to pronounce. For ten seconds, he’s not reacting, relatively unaffected by the confession, but then his body turns rigid, and hands fly to his head, clawing at his scalp. His composure snaps so fast I don’t catch when it happens. “You were married?!” he booms, scrambling to his feet. “And you didn’t think to fucking tell me?”
“Theo, please, let me—”
“You were married, Thalia! It’s notoh, I fucked a few guys before I met youno, this isI loved him so much I wanted to spend the rest of my fucking life with him!This is big! Fuck! You should’ve told me before we—”
“Before we ruined our friendship?” I finish for him, tears stinging my eyes, threatening to spill. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but the disdain in his voice cuts me with a scalpel’s precision. “Would it have changed anything?”
I didn’t expect him to quietly sit and listen, but the fire burning in his eyes and the sharpness of his voice are more sinister than any scenario of his reaction my brain conjured up. I squirm in my seat, fighting to stay in place, to let him shout and scream and process the news on his own terms before I explain further, but another thing I’ve not anticipated happens.
“It sure as fuck changes things now.” He flies across the room to retrieve his car keys from the hanger by the door.
“Theo, let me explain, I—” I’m up on my feet, chasing after him, but he opens the door and slams it behind him so hard the frame shakes. Ares leaps out of bed, yelping.
I break down into a sobbing mess at the sound of his car engine springing to life outside.
He’s gone.
He left like everyone else...
I slide down the wall, my mind creating endless scenarios of how I should’ve handled this conversation. I had the perfect opportunity to tell Theo I was married when he asked about my truth before the party. I could’ve madeI was married for eleven daysmy truth that night. But I didn’t, and now he has a very vague idea of the truth. I wish he had stopped to listen. I wish he had let me explain that marrying Vasilis was the biggest mistake of my life. That it wasn’t even out of love.
I was infatuated with theideaof love.
In fact, I could’ve told Theo the truth even earlier. I could’ve told him the day we sat on the beach all day, and he asked about my life in Greece, but instead of the truth, I lied through my teeth, feeding him the bullshit story about The American Dream.
I should’ve told him about my parents when he asked. That I’ve not seen them in almost two years because, in their eyes, they don’t have a daughter. I stopped being their daughter when Vasilis was found dead in our bathtub.
Not just my life was ruined when Vasilis died. The murder charges ruined my parents’ lives too. Standing by my side during the trial would’ve been the equivalent of standing up to the entire nation. They abandoned me to save their good name and livelihoods, and now so did Theo.
Vasilis found a way to break me all over again, even from beyond the grave, all the way across the Atlantic, where I tried to start over, forget the past and find a way to live a happy, peaceful life. For a short while, I was happy. Happier than I’ve ever been before, but my life is not meant to be easy. It’s even meant to be difficult.
It’s meant to be unlivable.
My eyes flood with tears as I glare at the door Theo disappeared behind, willing him to come back andlisten. I can’t stomach being alone right now.
I should’ve known my relationship with Theo wouldn’t last long. It was too perfect.
Curled into a ball on the floor, I cry like I’ve never cried before. Ares licks my face, then lays beside me, letting me cuddle into him, and he might just be the only reason my heart hasn’t shattered into tiny pieces.
THIRTY
Theo
EACH ONE OF MY BREATHS IS FUCKING PAINFUL as if someone’s tightening a chain around my chest, pulling harder every time I inhale.
My hands shake on the steering wheel, even though I squeeze it so hard my knuckles whiten.
I’m a mess.