Sixty-Four
Adonis
I stare at the credit card transactions from Gabrielle’s credit card on my office computer, and then over at the bridal magazines I made my assistant get to try and figure out how in the hell to plan a wedding. This is why men have women. The transactions are few and far between, and mostly clothing type stores. No gas. No food. Nothing to signify all of her needs are being met. She doesn’t use it as much as I’d like, but she’s slowly getting back to the daughter I raised. All I’ve ever wanted was to take care of my family. Make sure they had everything they ever wanted and needed. I lost her for a while.
The day she graduated high school she left and didn’t come home. I kept tabs on her, but I sacrificed my need to drag her ass back home and hold her hostage in a nice house instead of the dumps she was always living in, because I knew she needed to work out her anger at me somehow in a way that wouldn’t tear her apart. She knew I wanted her in college. She knew I wanted to financially take care of her, but I always made sure she had food in her refrigerator by slipping cash to her roommate here and there or just bringing groceries over when I knew she wasn’t there. Autumn—the one she lived with the longest—gave me a key. I paid their rent to keep her mouth shut. She put Gabrielle’s part up and when she moved out Autumn brought me an envelope of cash with all the money she’d paid toward rent. I put it in her bedroom safe. Gabrielle is as stubborn as me. She couldn’t know about it.
I’ll never tell her how hard it was for me to take Madden from her. Nothing will ever replace the memory in my head of showing up at home to her screaming in pain and laboring in the bathtub. She was doing it on her own to avoid asking me for help, and that gutted me. She wore me down the entire pregnancy begging to keep him, throwing in my face that giving him away would be disrespectful to our heritage. Even bargained that I could pretend he was my son, her brother, if I would just let him stay.
She was right. I’ve raised her in a way that she knows nothing is more important than family, but her mother isn’t here. People would question where he came from, and it wouldn’t take long for them to figure it out. Any way I looked at it, he wouldn’t know a whole family, so I called my parents. They didn’t even question me. Said to call the second she goes into labor and they’d be on the next flight, but I had to keep up the pretense he was with another family or it’d have been all for nothing. She would have just moved to Greece. My parents would have never told her no had she found out and showed up at their door.
The more I got to know him the more weighted I felt. He’s my grandson, and I see so much of her in him. But I believe in a stable home life with parents that enforce a good education and upbringing, which is something that isn’t within the mental capacity of a fifteen-year-old whether the biological father is in the picture or not. Too many teen mothers are leaving their kids with shitty people to party. Not making sure they have regular, healthy meals, let alone clothes that fit. Constantly bringing different men in and out of the picture.
She needed to be a kid. Make mistakes so that she could learn from them, because God knows she won’t listen to me. She needed to grow up. That way, when she has him, she’ll do right by him. And even though she may not understand my motives, everything I did was to keep from losing her. I’ve only ever loved three women: my mother, her mother, and her. Since the day Mary Elizabeth left, I’ve done everything in my power to be both roles. The second she realized that boy was gone she would have dropped out of school to go with him. I know my daughter. I wasn’t far off.
The phone intercom comes on. “Mr. Thanos, your father is on line one.”
Why the man doesn’t just call my cell I’ll never know. It’s like he wants to verify I’m still sitting at his old desk in a company he still financially benefits from. I press the button and pick up the phone. “Patéras.”
“Yiós.”
“Are you well?”
“I have that information you wanted.”
Never will be a man of many words. “I could have gotten it from her father. We still have business ties, and his granddaughter.”
“The only thing that proves she’s his granddaughter is the gracious monthly inheritance payment he deposits into a trust she doesn’t know about. She hasn’t wanted anything to do with them in years. I’d rather you save your pride. We both know you’re still in love with her.”
I release a heavy breath. “If I didn’t still love her, I would have never loved her at all. Sostós?”
“Ypothéto.”
“I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing it for Gabrielle.”
He laughs. “And you think she’s going to welcome her back with open arms? A Thanos. Eísai anóitos.”
“A fool is not the man who is wrong, but the man who never tries to make it right.”
His aggravation comes across the phone. “For such a smart man, sometimes you can be so stupid. If she gave a damn, she’d have shown up by now. Move on already.”
“You don’t believe in divorce and getting remarried. It would embarrass you.”
“Min me sevasteíte! I raised you a Greek American. Sometimes we are forced to adapt when we aren’t at fault for the outcome. I don’t support a fifteen-year-old giving birth, yet I raised my great grandson for six years while I hid it from my granddaughter, so don’t tell me what I do and don’t believe in. She stepped out on you and then she left her husband and child to go have a bastard baby. You don’t have to love a woman at first to marry her.”
I stay silent. We will never agree where Gabrielle’s mother is concerned. I cannot just turn off my love for her all because she threw our vows away any more than I could prevent falling in love with her had I known ahead of time that this would be the outcome.
I grab a pen and hold the point over the clean sheet of paper. “It was never my intent to disrespect you. I will consider all discussed. I’m ready for the number.”
I write it down as he calls it out three digits at a time, my jaw clenching when I recognize the area code. I quickly key it into my computer and sit back when the city pops up. That fucking cunt. “I suppose you’ve figured out she’s been right under your nose. Several years now, as a matter of fact. Wonder how long she’s been back in the States, let alone the same state as you and her own daughter. Consider that before you make a fool of yourself. Oh, before I forget, the Greek Orthodox Church is available in June and September. Since we don’t want everyone we know to watch a pregnant bride get married, I booked September. Let my granddaughter know I’ll be expecting her call.”
The line goes dead. I replace the handheld back on the receiver and pick up my cell phone, already inputting the number. I place it to my ear with the first ring. It continues, one after the other, with no answer. I pull the phone away from my ear to hang up when I hear a voice through the earpiece. “Hello?” I draw the phone back at the sound of her voice. Loud music is blaring. “Anastacia Calista Thanos, turn that music down now! I’ve already told you twice.”
All of the blood drains from my brain and crashes in my feet. I jerk at my tie. It feels like it’s cutting into my airway. “It’s Ana, mother! For the love of God, call me Ana!”
A door slams, making my hand twitch. If Gabrielle acted like that, she wouldn’t see the light of day for a week. “Hello? Can I help you?”
My heart is pounding and my head is throbbing. The room is spinning. Christ, I feel like I’m having a heart attack. I can’t stop my thoughts. “It was mine?”
The line goes quiet except for the background noise. “Adonis? How did you get this number?”
Her voice makes my chest ache, and that makes me angry. I stand, walking to the window that overlooks Downtown. “Did you expect me to stay silent forever, Mary Elizabeth? You are my wife. You made sure of that every time you sent the papers back unsigned.”
“I still love you. I made a mistake. I let someone in my head and believed them. I thought you stepped out on me first.”
“You thought wrong. You also have a funny way of sh
owing it. I chose to forgive you.”
“You gave me an ultimatum I couldn’t live with. I knew there was a bigger possibility it was yours.”
“Another girl?”
“Yes.”
“You gave her a Greek name.”
“You said all of your children would have them. I respected your wishes.”
“She’s mine?”
“Yes.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since she was born with jet-black hair. Then I had it confirmed. When her eyes changed it was obvious. They look exactly like yours, Gabrielle’s, and your father’s. She’s fifteen and her hair is still black. It’s never lightened.”
“You’ve kept my kid from me?”
“Haven’t you kept mine from me?”
“I did not. I told you that you weren’t taking her from me. I never said you couldn’t be in the picture. You made that choice on your own.”
“I was ashamed of what I’d done. I didn’t want to have to explain to her that her sister had a different father. Once I knew, I didn’t think she’d want me to come back. There’s no denying it. Her sister looks more like you than she does.”
“How would you know what Gabrielle looks like? You haven’t seen her in sixteen years?” I bite into the phone. “You left her without a mother.”
“And her sister hasn’t had a father. Did you call to belittle me or was there actually a reason?”
“I called to tell you she’s getting married. I’ve tried to be the mother and father for her, but this once I’m out of my league. I can’t fill that role the way a girl’s mother can. This once, I’m putting what I think is best aside and giving you the opportunity to put her first, because while you’re letting our current fifteen-year-old talk shitty to you, which you know I wouldn’t put up with, your oldest daughter was giving birth at that age without her mom to help her through it. One needs a mother, the other needs a father. What do you suppose we do about that?”
She sniffles. “We’re grandparents?”
“I’m a grandparent. You have to earn that title. He’s six, and up until recently he’s been with my parents since he was born.”
“Jesus, Adonis. Why would you wait sixteen years to call?”
I turn and walk back to my desk, stopping at the corner. I grab the picture frame turned away from me and look at it. It was Gabrielle and me when I took her to Switzerland. We used to take trips often. It was my way to make up for the fact that she didn’t have a mother when I also had a busy work schedule. A time when she had all my attention. She’d rattle on for hours over her excitement, and even though by the end I couldn’t recall everything she’d said, it made me happy to do things with her. She used to tell me she hated her mother for leaving us. I’d always correct her for it. And to think that one of my kids possibly feels that way about me when I wasn’t at fault for a shattered marriage makes me sick.
I miss that smile on her face. I finally saw it when I gave Madden back to her. And again when I gave her my blessing to marry Maddox. “Maybe the same reason you would move to Brookhaven and not contact your daughter. Or pick up the phone any time over the past fifteen goddamn years to tell me I have another one.”
“I was transferred here by my company when Ana was ten. I’ve thought about it. Ana asks about her a lot. But after all this time I didn’t know if it would benefit her or hurt her for me to come back into her life. You have one and I have the other. I just want what’s best for them.”
I hate myself for wanting to know. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Why would I be seeing someone if I won’t sign the divorce papers? I lost the appeal for that when it cost me my family. You’re the last man I’ve been with like that.”
I glance down at Gabrielle in the photo again and smile. She went against me at every turn to love who she wanted to. Fought me any way she could, and in the end, she gave me an ultimatum. Let her be herself with the man she loves or get out of her life altogether. I would have never thought I’d learn a thing or two about love from my twenty-one-year-old daughter. “I still love you too.”
She cries into the phone. “You do?”
“Yeah, Mary Elizabeth, I do.
“What now then?”
“You come home and be my wife and we become the parents we should have always been to our daughters. The ones that aren’t bitter over a failed marriage. And you never step out on me again, just like I never stepped out on you. My offer is only good once. I’m tired of having a broken family.”
“I want to come home,” she says without any hesitation.
“Then send me the address and start packing. I’m coming to get you.”
I disconnect the call and pocket my phone, hurrying to grab my jacket and keys. The only thing that makes me nervous—Gabrielle’s reaction. She’s had sixteen years to funnel hatred into someone that didn’t come back for her when she was raised to never turn your back on family, and she’s going to come back from Lake Tahoe to discover she has a fifteen-year-old sister. I know my daughter. She easily forgives those she loves who are there for her, despite what’s done to her, but those that have wronged her without reason get nothing but a cold stare into the dark Thanos eyes that no one forgets. I guess we’ll see. She’s the one that taught me we love who we love and it’s going to find a way to work if it’s meant to be.
This storyline will continue in Alluring Fate . . .
Landon and Paxtyn.
Look for it soon!
ALLURING FATE
FATE BOOK TEN
A beautiful brat.
That’s what everyone in Laguna Beach knows me as. Most beautiful. Spoiled. Richest student currently enrolled at Laguna Beach High. The mean girl. Vainest. Most anticipated lay of my graduating class. All things you’d probably find by my photo in the yearbook should the student body have a say. The first to get party invites and last to show up, every girl wants to be me and every guy wants to nail me. Hate me yet? Definitely not the first.
Like my brother and sister in years past, I rule the school. I’m the queen, but I use my reign differently. My brother was a cocky playboy. My sister was friendly to everyone, including guys after dark. Both had a loyal army of real friends, my parents’ favorites. Me, I’m the ice queen. Keep friends close and enemies closer—that’s my motto, and the only way to stay at the top. No one will penetrate my armor.
A virgin—bet no one saw that coming.
Everyone assumes I’ve done the deed. Boys—all pawns in my game. I do just enough to keep them on their toes. Secrets keep the game going. The biggest mystery at LBH is who got between my legs. Rumor has it there’s been a bet going on with the male student body since freshman year. First one to fuck me takes the pot. It doubles if I fall in love. I heard it’s in the thousands already and it’s only junior year.
Landon Scott—the unconfirmed winner and only guy that’s gotten to my core. One hot holiday and now I’m back in the middle of high school drama. Let’s see what he chooses to do with it.
ADD TO GOODREADS TBR & WATCH OUT FOR PREORDER!
Also by Charisse Spiers
Accepted Fate (Fate, #1)
Changing Fate (Fate, #2)
Twisting Fate (Fate, #3)
Lasting Fate (Fate, #4)
Chasing Fate (Fate, #5)
Fated for You (Fate, #6)
Fated For Me (Fate, #7)
Fate By Forgiveness (Fate, #8)
Finding Fate (Fate, #9)
Fight For You (A Broken Soul Novel)
Marked (Shadows in the Dark, #1)
Love and War: Volume One (Shadows in the Dark, #2)
Love and War: Volume Two (Shadows in the Dark, #3)
Sex Sessions: Uncut (Camera Tales, #1)
Sex Sessions: After the Cut (Camera Tales, #2)
Sex Sessions: Passionate Consequences (Camera Tales, #3)
Sex Sessions: Bundle (Uncut and After the Cut with bonus content)
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Finding Fate Playlist
P.S. I feel I should explain my book playlists first before you go "what? 150 something songs." lol. Mine are not traditional book playlists at 12 or so songs. These are my "writing playlists" so the more songs the better since I listen as I write. When I hear a song, if a certain couple starts playing out scenes in my head, that song goes onto their playlist. Not EVERY word of EVERY song will be accurate to the plot, but the feel, the emotions behind the song, the mood, the lyrics, and the vibe in general—all that goes into the development of my stories, so if you want to listen, there it is. Free accounts can listen in shuffle mode with the occasional commercial.
xoxo,
Charisse
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Acknowledgments
To my readers,
You will never know how thankful I am to have continued support. I would not be able to keep releasing books without an audience there to enjoy them, nor would I have the motivation to with a full time job and family, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for loving the stories I write.
I hope you enjoyed Maddox and Gabby’s story, as well as the continuations weaved in for the other characters. This story has gone in a completely different direction than I originally thought, much like most of my books from beginning to end, and I will say this is the first mini series within a series that characters have interacted so heavily in each other’s books, which is the primary reason for the books being so much longer, but honestly, I love it this way. It keeps me from getting bored.
Finding Fate Page 49