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“I… I’m still processing, to be honest. She’s hidden so much from me over the course of our relationship, and it’s only been a year. It’s hard to pretend that everything is fine when it’s not. It’s not like it should be between us now.”
I level him with a serious stare. “Be real with me, Andries. Can you really not see that she kept this information from you because she knows how dramatic you can be?”
It was a risky thing to mention, and at first, I think he’s going to get mad, but then Andries laughs. “I’m not as chill as you are, that’s for sure. You and Elise will have a much more relaxed relationship than Roxanne and I.” He stops, a bite of food halfway to his mouth. “If you two decide to get in one, that is.”
It feels like whiplash to suddenly be talking with Andries about my relationship status with his sister after he spent so long being pissed off at us for getting together. Plus, Elise and I haven’t spoken about being an official couple, even though I’ve told her that’s what I want. Still, I can’t exactly lie to him about this, so I don’t even try. “I’d love to be her boyfriend, but your sister isn’t exactly the hopeless romantic that you are.”
He huffs, amused. “Ha, we are all aware that Elise is not any sort of romantic, and definitely not a hopeless one. I’m sure you know that it is going to take some time for her to move on from Johan, especially with all those old memories being close to the surface of her mind now.”
I set my fork down and cross my arms, staring at him. “Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. I really loved you bringing in a third wheel to trip me up. Asshole.”
Andries smirks, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “No problem, man. I know you like a challenge.”
I let the subject drop after that, as I feel supremely uncomfortable discussing my relationship with Andries, considering that my lover is his little sister. Thankfully, he doesn’t bring it up again, and it seems like being able to vent about his fears surrounding his upcoming marriage has at least made the day a little more bearable for him.
Our food is fresh and delicious, and the server is great at bringing a second bottle of wine quickly when I motion for one. We let our conversation trail off to more casual things, and before I know it, things feel more normal than they have this entire trip. This is what I wanted… this bonding time with Andries before his wedding. I just want him to be happy, and while he can’t help the bad things that happen to him, like the Bar Rouge incident, he also has a major problem with getting in his own way and making things more difficult than they need to be.
“Dan…” Andries sighs. “Thank you for everything. I know I don’t say it enough, but you’ve done so much for me and I really do appreciate it. Truly. I will never forget this amazing stay here in Capri, and I hope to be able to return the favor and plan your bachelor trip one day.”
Emotion wells up in me, and I clear my throat so I can speak without sounding strained. “Of course. And I look forward to that day, too… and honestly fear it a little. I don’t want a bachelor trip to a poetry retreat, I’ll tell you that right now.”
He chuckles, genuinely amused, and I consider it a win. At least he’s speaking to me, if nothing else.
I don’t pay it any mind when Andries gets a text, but when he sets down his utensils and his expression changes from calm to concerned, I sit up a little straighter. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Elise… It looks like the court of second instance believes a rapist doesn’t need to do jail time.”
His words ping around in my head for a second before they start to make sense. I swallow my bite and take a drink before I can speak past my shock. “Are you talking aboutKarl? The court already gave a verdict… in his favor!?”
“Yep,” Andries says, resigned. “They kept the fine but removed his jail time. I guess the fact that everyone found out that Patricia was paid to go to court helped his appeal.”
With his mouth a thin line, Andries puts his phone away before pushing his half-empty plate aside. I look down at my food and feel the exact same way: I’ve lost my appetite, thinking of Karl once more getting to go free. What a piece of human garbage.
I’m pissed, but I need to keep it under wraps because I can already see Andries start to spiral again. “Don’t bother yourself with this. You’ve got enough going on. Even Patricia didn’t care about the outcome, so just let it go.”
“None of that changes the fact that we need to get this Karl behind bars for good. He’s nothing but a scheming predator that has enough money to get himself out of trouble again and again. If he and Dad are behind this new drug trafficking scandal, we can prove it. I’m sure of it.”
“How are we going to prove it though,” I ask, leaning forward with my elbows on the table. There isn’t anyone else around us, but I still feel like we need to speak quietly about things like this. Karl has proved himself untouchable again and again, and I’m sick of it. The thought of Elise working with him, and getting closer to him to try and get information, makes my stomach roll. I know she can take care of herself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about her. I have to shelve that thought for the moment, though, because it’s not like she’s going back to work while we’re still in Capri. That’s an issue I have to work through when we’re back home.
“So how do you plan on proving it?” I ask, genuinely curious.
Andries shrugs, but he is restless. Like he has an idea, but it isn’t sitting easy with him. “Maybe Dad can throw Karl under the bus to save himself..?”
Wiping my hands off with the cloth napkin, I raise my eyebrows. “I don’t understand what you mean by that.”
“Once we get back to Amsterdam, I’ll contact Kenneth, and Roxanne and I will do an interview saying Karl and my dad are behind this drug-trafficking scandal,” Andries clarifies, but what he says is so foreign and unexpected that my brain refuses to absorb the words at first.
When I untangle it all, the revelation that I find is astounding. The truth of what Andries is saying––the absolute scorched earth plan that he’s hatching––hits me like a bomb going off. This is the Van den Bosch family, after all, and what Andries is saying he’ll do is tantamount to blasphemy of a sort.
“Wait… you want to drag your dad through the mud?” I blurt out, still not sure that I understand what he’s saying. It can’t be, can it? Is Andries really going to fight for Roxanne like this?
Maybe I judged him too harshly. Apparently, Andries’s form of battling for his loved ones is just more subtle than my own.
“Yes,” Andries says, his tone leaving no more room for questions. “If it’s war that he wants, then it’s war he will have.”
Andries has rendered me speechless, so I busy my hands by pouring us the rest of the wine and draining half my glass in one gulp. My thoughts are all over the place right now, concerned with how Elise will react to this news and what kind of inter-family drama this will cause with Julia, who strongly prefers to fly under the radar when it comes to the media. Andries going public, accusing his own father of being a fraud, and creating a fake crime to implicate his bride in a public interview is anything but under the radar. Poor Julia.
Still…it’s a good plan. A great plan, even, and I’m shocked that Andries is so willing to hit back now. “Man, this is… well, this is very bold.”
