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“So, are you going to tell me what happened between you and Dion?” he asks, and I can hear the smidge of a smirk in his voice.
I fidget with the edge of my shirt, suddenly feeling exposed. How do I even begin to explain the way my stomach still somersaults and my cheeks flush whenever his name is mentioned?
“I...um.” I struggle to find the right words. How do I put into words the intensity of feelings I can barely comprehend myself? “It’s...complicated,” I finally mumble, hoping that vague answer will suffice.
But my brother isn’t one to be easily deterred. His brow furrows. “Complicated how?” he presses.
I swallow hard. I can’t tell him the whole truth, especially the bit where Andrew threatened to hurt him, but I’m tired of keeping it in.
“I really like him, Dimo. But we can’t be together.”
He squints. “Why not?”
I laugh. “Seriously?” I retort, lifting my left hand in the air to show off my engagement ring.
Dimitri lets out a puff of air. “That’s just a technicality, Riri.”
“A really fucking big one. How the hell am I supposed to be with another man when I’m getting married to someone else?”
“Dion had a plan,” Dimo says, in a serious tone.
“Here we go again with all these plans,” I utter with a heavy exhale.
“If you would’ve heard him out at your engagement party, you’d know what I’m talking about,” he argues.
I whip my head around. How the hell does he know about that?
Calling his bluff, I ask, “What is it, then?”
“Ah! That’s not for me to tell, Aria.”
We pull up to our estate, my mind still reeling with questions.
Had Dion actually found a way out, and I abandoned him without giving him a chance?
I remember the look in his eyes when I rejected him, the hurt and confusion. He tried to speak, and I shut him down before he could utter a single word.
Now, I can’t help but wonder what he was trying to tell me. If it would’ve changed anything.
28
DION
The sun peeks through the curtains, casting funny shapes on the carpet.
I’m hiding behind the chair, tracing patterns on the rug with my finger. I was playing with my toy cars and got bored, but Mama didn’t want me to play outside. She seems worried and tired, as if she hasn’t slept. She keeps trying to call Baba, but he isn’t picking up the phone.
I look out the window. Kids are playing, but inside, everything feels strange and quiet. I want to be out there with them.
I don’t know why I’m hiding, but something is wrong. The doorbell rings, and I hear footsteps as Mama goes to open the door. There’s a man I don’t know, his face serious. I crawl a little closer to hear their conversation, careful not to make any noise.
I try to listen, though they’re talking very quietly. I hear the man say something about my baba. It doesn’t make sense. Then, something about him being...gone.
My mom starts crying, and I want to run to her. She looks so sad like she is falling apart. The man tries to help her, but she doesn’t want it.
“Ma’am, I’m so sorry for your loss,” the man says gently, his voice full of sympathy.
She shakes her head, tears falling freely. “How...how could this happen? He...he was just...he was supposed to come home...”
