Chapter 3 Gaia Spanos

• Gaia Spanos
• Unfortunately, after five years, my father is still firm in his decision about my marriage to Joaquim. And every time we’re forced to be around each other, we always end up fighting. He knows exactly how to humiliate me in ways I sometimes can’t tolerate in silence.
• Today, my mother and my grandmothers set aside the day to shop for items for my trousseau. I sighed as I watched all of them excited, and I tried to pretend that I was excited about something too.
• But in truth, all I wanted was to be on the runway, in Arthur’s arms.
• My parents have always known that I love him and that I wish I were buying every single piece of that trousseau to wear with him. But as punishment, my father brought Joaquim and me even closer, just so I could realize he’s not the right man for me.
• Unlike Joaquim, Arthur always finds a way to come to Greece or somewhere nearby to meet me. My sister, my cousins, and our friends always find a way to help us hide our encounters, and I’ll forever be grateful to all of them.
• Aunt Selma and Grandma Paula are the only ones who truly support me. If it were up to them, I’d already be with Arthur. Our last meeting was two weeks ago when I traveled with Laís to Paris to attend the fashion shows. I even bought a few beautiful pieces from Miller’s new collection.
• I see how happy my cousin is with her marriage, even though they faced countless difficulties at first. But now, everything seems to be just fine. I’m happy to know that Laís wasn’t traumatized by the kidnapping and that she found the love of her life in Henrique.
• "Gaia, look at this, my love. What do you think?" My mother held up a black lace lingerie set.
• It was a beautiful piece, and I couldn’t help but imagine Arthur taking it off me. I felt a little embarrassed thinking about it.
• "Choose whatever you think is best, Mom. I don’t mind." I turned my back and walked out of the store.
• Outside, I started walking around, looking for something that might catch my attention. I noticed that my security guards were walking a little farther behind me when I suddenly felt a hand holding mine.
• "Your grandmother told me where to find you." Arthur was wearing jeans, a blue shirt, a baseball cap, and sunglasses, looking even more handsome than usual.
• "What are you doing out here, my ruby?" I took a deep breath, and he glanced toward the guards who were approaching.
• "My mother decided to shop for lingerie I have no intention of ever wearing." I rolled my eyes and continued walking down the sidewalks.
• A handbag in a store window caught my eye, and I pointed toward the entrance. I tried to look at Arthur without drawing too much attention, but I knew that if someone snapped a photo, it would be a feast for the press, which was already buzzing about my upcoming wedding.
• "Gaia, you know you have to accept your fate, don’t you, my love?" I pretended not to hear him as I continued checking the prices on the handbags and picked one at random.
• How could I ever accept marrying another man? Sometimes I wonder if Arthur is even sane, considering he keeps encouraging me to marry his best friend.
• "Don’t bother ignoring me. We’re having this conversation, Gaia." He insisted.
• I noticed the guards coming closer, nearly entering the store. Arthur signaled for them to back off again. The last thing I wanted now was to go back to my family and accept this arranged marriage.
• As soon as we paid for the bag, we left the store. Arthur held my hand and led me to the car parked a bit farther away. Since we looked more casual, no one noticed us among the many tourists wandering through the center of Santorini.
• I thanked the gods we hadn’t drawn too much attention; otherwise, my father would kill me for being photographed with a man who wasn’t my fiancé. In the car, we remained silent while Arthur drove us to some unknown place.
• "Come on, let’s sit over there by the trees, Gaia." Arthur parked in front of a small lookout point.
• He got out of the car, and I waited for him to open the door. I saw him walking around with that mischievous smile on his face. Arthur opened the door and held out his strong hand, which I took without hesitation.
• We walked slowly until he showed me the spot he had picked.
• "My Ruby, do you remember when you went to Brazil? When you turned sixteen, to seal the engagement with Joaquim?"
• How could I ever forget that day, the day that has haunted my life ever since? It all came rushing back to me.
• FIVE YEARS EARLIER
• "Please, daughter, try to be reasonable about this." My father had already exhausted his arsenal of explanations.
• I had no tears left to cry, no more strength to keep begging him not to go through with it. All of my grandparents had tried to reason with him about this matter, but nothing could change his mind. Like a good daughter, I eventually started accepting everything without complaining.
• But from that day on, a deep bitterness grew inside me, and I began speaking to my father only when absolutely necessary. All the affection and love I once felt for him turned into hurt and deep resentment. Whenever I needed something, I turned to my grandfather, Marius.
• "Gaia, I’m talking to you." I looked at my father, his beautiful blue eyes and that deep crease in his forehead, probably irritated that I was ignoring him on the plane.
• "Yes, I heard you," I replied with disdain.
• I didn’t care about anything anymore, least of all whether I was disrespecting the head of the Greek mafia. I turned back to my original position, and from time to time, Atena would help me by responding to whatever my father said.
• After hours, we arrived in Rio and went straight to our apartment without stopping anywhere else.
• The next day, we went to Uncle Júlio’s house and were greeted by Aunt Tânia, who hugged everyone and called out for her sons. But only Thalles appeared, and he hugged me warmly before joking around with Atena.
• "Where’s your brother?" his father asked. Thalles just shrugged, clearly having no idea where his brother might be. "I’m going to kill that boy one day, Tânia."
• I wanted to laugh but held it in. I knew we were going to be trouble for those two, who insisted on marrying us off.
• "Alex, I’m sorry about this. I’ll go find him; he’ll be here soon." I approached Thalles and asked him to come for a walk.
• "And where do you think you're going?" For the first time, I decided to stand up to my father.
• "I’m going to Aunt Carol’s house. Because even though you keep pushing this madness, he’s not going to show up. And just like he doesn’t want me, I don’t want him either." I replied.
• I turned my back and walked out of the Garcias’ house with my head held high, even knowing my father would punish me until the day of the wedding.