Chapter 6 Atena Spanos

• Atena Spanos
• I'm honestly surprised that Gaia never tried to run away from home to be with Arthur. I know that if I ever did something like that, he would have me hunted down until I was found, even if it meant dead.
• My father is a good man, but he clung to the idea that we should marry the people he chose for us back when we were just children. We didn’t realize then how much that would eventually drive us away from him.
• My cousin stays quiet beside me, and I head upstairs to my room with her. But before we get there, we're stopped by my uncle Demetrius, who narrows his eyes when he sees Matheus coming after us.
• "Behave yourselves, girls. I don’t need more gray hairs than your father already gives me, Atena." I start laughing.
• I tell him I’m just going to change clothes and call Alice to come help me. I run with her to my room and lock the door behind us as soon as we enter.
• "Now tell me, what did you think of his kiss?" She looks at me, confused.
• I start changing clothes again; I’d gotten a bit dirty during the conversation among the rosebushes. I keep my eyes on Alice, waiting for her reaction.
• "Aren’t you upset about kissing your fiancé?" she asks. I shake my head.
• "He was kind and even confessed his feelings, but he still didn’t know what to do to get out of this marriage that nobody wanted." I start laughing.
• "Our grandmother has a plan, and it might actually work if we all help. That way, each of us can be with the person we really love…" My cousin sits down and starts listening.
• I think Dona Maitê’s madness is contagious. I explain everything to Alice, and she agrees to help.
• "I’ll talk to Matheus later and ask him to speak with Thalles. The problem will be Joaquim," I say while fixing my hair.
• My only fear is that he’ll reject me. I can picture him throwing himself at my father's feet, saying we played with him.
• After changing, we go downstairs, and I wait for my sister to come down from her room to attend the council meeting and officially become Mrs. Garcia, wife of the lord of the Hill.
• I see her coming down in a white dress with indigo blue off-shoulder details that reflect the colors of our Greek house. My father meets her halfway up the stairs, takes her hand, and kisses her forehead.
• We see him whisper something to her, and although she shows no emotion, we catch the way his expression falters, sadness touching his features. As she walks past me, she squeezes my hand, and I lean in to kiss her delicate cheek. She gives me a faint smile in return.
• I know how deeply hurt Gaia is by all of this, but if our grandmother is right, I believe she’ll be smiling again very soon.
• "I love you, sister. I’ll be with you soon."
• Our mother also approaches and kisses both of her cheeks.
• "Smile, my love, please." But that only makes her lower her head more, revealing just how sad she truly is.
• We enter the family room, which was prepared for the ceremony in front of the council. The head of the council, Henrique, and beside him, my cousin Laís, sat at the head of the table. On one side was Zakhar Stepanov, and on the other, Miguel Carrillo, who had taken his father’s place. The only one missing was Marzio, who couldn’t come and sent his consigliere, Giovanni, in his place.
• Scattered around the room were others interested in this marriage, people quietly hoping that something might go wrong so we could all finally be happy.
• Arthur stood off to the side, head down, listening to something his parents were saying. Thalles sat beside his mother, Tânia, whose expression was far from friendly. Joaquim stood next to the council members, and his face was by far the worst of them all. He wore his anger openly, clearly resentful at being forced into this.
• I looked at Gaia and saw how unhappy she was. My heart shattered as I watched her, a tear slipping down as I took in her puffy, red eyes, still damp from crying.
• In that moment, I looked to my grandmother. She was elegantly dressed, nothing like the woman I’d spoken to just a while ago. I nodded subtly at her, agreeing to the plan. My sister doesn’t deserve to live with someone she doesn’t love.
• "I’m happy to witness the union of a Spanos. I’m sure that, in some way, the two of you will find balance together," Henrique said, glancing around the room.
• I watched as he turned the organization’s marriage registry book toward the bride and groom to sign. Our aunt Carolina stepped forward and received Henrique’s permission to say a few words.
• "Joaquim and Gaia, are you sure you want to be joined in matrimony?" our aunt Carolina asks.
• I see her glance at me and at Arthur. She’s always known something, especially inside our house, but now, it seems like she knows even more than my own father. Aunt Carol begins the ceremony.
• "Yes, Aunt," Joaquim says and takes a deep breath.
• She rolls her eyes and hands him the pen.
• "And you, sweet Gaia, do you want this marriage?" I notice the harsh look she gives my father.
• "Yes, Aunt," Gaia says, filled with sadness.
• My heart sinks at her response, and my mother lowers her head, realizing they've just sentenced the daughter they claim to love to a life of sorrow.
• "Alright, sign here, dear," Aunt Carol says, still glaring at my father.
• He narrows his eyes at her. Anyone paying attention would’ve noticed they were locked in a silent battle.
• "Carolina, Carol…" Henrique calls her back to the ceremony.
• "With everything ready here, before the council, we declare you husband and wife. I sincerely hope you find a way to fall in love and have a life, even if only a little, filled with happiness."
• My father lets out a heavy breath.
• "If you interrupt me again, I’ll forget the more than twenty years of friendship with you, Alex Spanos, and we’ll have a very ugly fight."
• "Don’t tell me what to do in my own family, Carolina Alcântara…" my father snaps back at my aunt.
• We’re left without knowing what to do, because once those two start arguing, it’s nearly impossible to stop them.
• "You two, that’s enough. Dad has already sentenced me to a miserable life, so I suggest we wrap up this farce," Gaia says, turning to Joaquim.
• "I assume you have a ring to put on my finger?"
• Joaquim looks at my sister. I notice him pulling a small box from his suit. He looks into her eyes again and hesitates for a moment. I imagine he’s thinking about what to do. But then, I watch as he gives up and puts the box back inside his jacket.
• "I do, but I’ll give it to you tomorrow at the ceremony."
• My sister nods, turns her back on him, and walks away. As she passes me, she grabs my hand and pulls me out of the room.
• We head to the garden in front of Aunt Selma’s house. I notice our cousins, Alice, Bruna, Isla, and Mia, following close behind. I sit down on the grass with her and hug my sister tightly.
• "What did I do to make our father hate me so much that he won’t let me be happy with the one I love, Atena?"
• I run my hand along her back, and our cousins gather around us.
• "Is everything ready for tomorrow?" Isla asks, and that immediately catches Gaia’s attention.
• "Depends on what you’re talking about," she says. The girls burst into laughter.
• "Don’t even try, Atena. We already know Grandma Maitê talked to you." I start laughing.
• "I agreed to the madness she proposed, but I just hope that when Joaquim finds out, he doesn’t throw me at Dad’s feet."
• I’m still worried about what the deceived groom might do to me.
• I feel for my sister, who still doesn’t fully understand what’s going on. We share with her all the wild ideas that our grandmother and others came up with to counter our father’s insanity.
• A smile appears on my sister’s face, which fills me with joy, it’s the first genuine smile I’ve seen from her in many months.
• I suddenly feel a pair of eyes on me. I look around, but there’s no one nearby. I let it go and go back to laughing with my cousins and my twin.