Bonus Shackle Angel.
The smell of eggs makes me gag, and I push away my plate of food. Stefan could have made something else for Alekos before leaving. Something that would not smell this strong.
“I thought the third trimester would be easier,” I sigh. Boy, was I wrong. Being pregnant is so exhausting.
Alekos spears another piece of mango with the fork. The idea of eating another fruit makes me sick. I stand before he can force me to eat anymore and step onto the beach.
“Get your ass back here and finish your food,” Alekos orders me.
Alekos’ need to control everything I do is driving me crazy. I flip him the bird and keep walking. More orders follow. I block Alekos’ voice, not wanting to hear him anymore. Reyes and Stefan aren’t this obnoxious.
The soft breeze helps with my nausea, making me forget why I got angry with Alekos in the first place. Maybe it’s because he keeps forcing me to eat like I have no say in the matter or because he didn’t let me go grocery shopping with Stefan and Reyes. I’m a grown-ass woman who can make her own decisions regardless of what Alekos thinks.
When I reach my favorite spot, I sit on the sand and watch the ocean. The waves slowly crash into the beach before retreating offshore. Every morning, I do my yoga routine while facing the ocean. Something about it always calms me.
The baby kicks, and I place a hand on my belly. The pregnancy is hard, but it will be worth it. Soon, I’ll get to hold my baby in my arms. If it’s really a girl, I’ll never let an asshole do to her what my guys did to me.
My guys. I snort. I should call them assholes. I don’t even know why I let them back into my life.
When we return to Veross City, I’ll have the Lair renamed Purgatory: home to Angel and her assholes.
They have yet to say how sorry they are for hurting me and for abandoning me when I most needed them. There are days when I wish I had stayed with Wasp. But then, I would not be as happy as I am right now. Despite no one taking accountability for my suffering, I am reminded each day how much I am loved. I no longer feel broken and empty. Plus, I got to learn about seeing Reyes when I was a child.
For all these years, I was convinced that all the times I was forced to go to the facility were because I had to get to know 919. But what if destiny had other plans for me, like meeting Reyes?
I wonder what happened to 919. Is he still trapped in that facility, or did he manage to get out? I told Wasp about the experiments, and she promised to find a way to get them out, but I have yet to ask her if she did so.
It doesn’t take long for a shadow to loom over me.
“What do you want?” I mutter without looking at him.
“To see how you are feeling,” Alekos says.
Like choking him with all the remaining fruits from my breakfast. The only reason Alekos is still alive is because murder is illegal, and I don’t want to end up in prison because of him.
I shrug. “Tired. My feet seem to be swollen all the time. I hate food. I can’t sleep. I’m horny all the time.” My palms cover my face. “I can’t do this anymore.” I want to curl up in bed, so no one will see me crying. “Not to mention the sand.”
“What about it?”
Tears escape my eyes. “It’s all over the place. In my hair, my eyes, between my butt checks,” I snort.
Alekos quickly sits next to me and pulls me into his lap. “How can I help?”
“I want this pregnancy to be over.” I’m not usually like this, but today is not a good day.
Alekos rubs my back and kisses my temple. “Maybe my blood-brothers and I wore you out too much, and this is why you are so tired. How about we have some fun on the main island?”
I lower my hands. “How will that make me feel better?”
Alekos cups my chin. “Even after all the times we told you how much we love you, you don’t seem to understand. If we remain here, you will spend the next few hours being stuffed by cocks. A change of scenery will help.” I’m not convinced, but even being stuck on this tiny island makes me tired. I nod slowly, and Alekos smiles. “How about you put on your red bikini?”
My shoulders drop. “I’ll look ridiculous in it.”
A crease appears between his brow. “Why do you say that?” I shrug, not wanting to have this discussion with him right now. “Angel,” he insists.
“I’m pregnant, which is the opposite of sexy. Not that I was sexy before.” I know I had this conversation before, but the words slip past my lips before I can stop them, “One day, you will wake up and realize what a mistake you made by marrying me and go back to partying and fucking beautiful women.”
Anger flashes in Alekos’ gaze. “If you think that I’ll ever leave my family for superficial women who have nothing else to offer than their pussies, you are dead wrong. Not because you are my soulmate but because you’ve been on my mind since the moment I met you. Because life without you is meaningless. As for you being sexy, do you think I’d want to see you naked all the time if I didn’t find you beautiful? Or Reyes? Or Stefan? We are fucking obsessed with you.”
His words calm my nerves.
I lean my head against his shoulder. “I hate how clingy I am.”
His hand keeps rubbing my back. “It’s normal for hellstars to be like this.”
“Why? So my soul gets shattered if I leave you and the others?” I huff.
Something ancient and evil lurks behind Alekos’ eyes. His free hand wraps around my neck. “If you ever think about leaving again, I’m going to shatter your legs and make sure you never walk again and are totally dependent on me. The months I spent looking for you have been the most agonizing time of my existence.”
Alekos might be one with his demon now, but I can’t help but think that the words are coming from his demon. Even if I want to leave, I can’t. I shackled myself to them that day in the office. Alekos may love and pamper me, but he will hurt me if he thinks I’m contemplating leaving him and the others. Reyes and Stefan will do the same. They will break my mind and even plant false memories in my head. Whatever it will take to keep me beside them.
“Even if I want to leave, I can’t. I love all of you too much,” I reassure Alekos. His grip on my neck loosens.“How unfortunate.”
His head dips until his lips caress mine. “How wonderful,” he murmurs before kissing me.
Being born into a world as dangerous as that of the Lords and the Dukes made me see things differently. My father had sheltered me all my life. He kept many things secret from me, and Alekos possesses the same tendency, but the gilded cage I’m in now is not as lonely as my former one.
“I know you control me because you are scared that I might get hurt again. I don’t mind it that much, but promise you will never be keeping things from me again,” I say.
Alekos strokes my cheek with his thumb. “I promise.”
His promise sounds fake.
Just like all the empty vows my father made to me.
“Let’s have some fun,” I finally agree.
“The red bikini,” he reminds me.
***
Alekos has always been a famous person. All the articles about him helped me keep track of him. But I never thought it would suddenly disrupt my simple, quiet life.
“Alekos Raptou?” a woman asks while Alekos and I are enjoying our ice creams on the terrace of a small restaurant. We turn our heads around and look at the woman. She is stunning. Tall, silky blonde hair, big boobs, great ass—Alekos’ type, even if he refuses to admit it. Her makeup, like her nails, is perfect. And more importantly, she is not pregnant and doesn’t have swollen feet like I do right now.
I knew I shouldn’t have worn the stupid red bikini. At least I took the time to do my makeup and hair and put on a nice skirt, but I still feel like a failure.
For some reason, my entire body tenses up. I never cared about Alekos’s past, mainly because I never thought I would be with him, so I forced myself to see him as a celebrity. After we started our more-than-toxic relationship, I refused to think of all the women he had been with. I even forgot about the phone he had in his office—until now. I have seen this woman before. More than once. She must have been one of Alekos’ preferred women because she used to appear in many photos next to him.
Alekos frowns, pretending not to remember her. “Christine?” he tries to guess her name.
“Viviane,” she corrects him and sits at the table with us.
“Right,” he says.
I turn my attention to the beach and watch the happy couples, not wanting to see how Alekos lusts over Viviane.
She keeps talking. I want to dislike her, but even her voice is soft and soothing. “How have you been?” she asks Alekos.
“Good.” His arm wraps around my shoulders and pulls me closer to him. “Let me introduce you to my beautiful wife. Angel, this is Viviane. She is an,” he pauses as he probably thinks of the right word, “old acquaintance. Viviane, this is the love of my life, Angel.”
My head whips in his direction. My gaze doesn't land on Alekos but on Viviane. She is clearly not happy with the entire situation but puts on a fake smile. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.” I’m not that excited to have a woman fawn all over my husband, but what choice do I have? They will start talking about the past, and Alekos will remember how great it is to be single, find an excuse to catch up with her, and send me to the bungalow alone.
I pause for a second.
Why am I being so insecure about Alekos? He never once tried to hide me from the world. He didn’t make a big announcement to the press that I was his wife, but he never denied it when asked. He already promised that he would never leave me. For our marriage to work, I need to trust him.
The tension I initially felt slowly evaporates, and I lean into Alekos’ touch.
Viviane’s gaze lingers on my face. “How did you manage to trap the playboy of Veross City?”
Playboy.
Alekos definitely was one.
The ice cream slowly starts to melt, and I push it around with the spoon while I try to think of an answer. Before I can come up with something, because I don’t plan to tell Viviane how the relationship between my husband and I started, Alekos says, “It was the other way around,” making me look at him. His free hand covers my belly, “I trapped her. There was no way I would let her walk away from me.” A grin spreads on his face. “Now, she is stuck with me forever.”
Viviane’s eyes grow wide. “I never thought you wanted a family. You never seemed the type interested in that sort of thing. All you were interested in was sharing women with your two friends.”
She is not the only one who had that impression. Alekos and his blood-brothers never missed a party.
Realizing that she might have let out a secret that I was not supposed to know, Viviane says to me, “Maybe I’ve spoken more than I should have.”
Alekos strokes my belly with his thumb. “Angel knows about Stefan and Reyes. They love her deeply and will do anything to protect her while remembering that my wife has my last name.” The cautious way in which he speaks makes me think that Viviane knows nothing about Lords and Dukes. She has no idea how lucky she is.
Viviane smiles again, and this time, it’s not fake. “In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never seen you so happy. It really seems that you found your person.”
Alekos turns my face to him. “Angel is more than my person. She is my anchor, my light, my everything.” There’s a tenderness in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. “She is the only woman I’ve ever loved.” He ends by kissing my forehead.
Viviane’s long fingernails drum on the table for a few seconds. “You left many women heartbroken in Veross City. Some don’t even know that you got married. It’s like you’re hiding your wife from the world.”
Not from the world, only from Carlos.
Alekos doesn’t hesitate to say, “While I don’t owe anyone an explanation, you are not wrong in thinking that I’m trying to hide Angel from the world.” Is he? Why is he bothering to tell me how beautiful he finds me if he plans to keep me hidden?
Viviane laughs softly. “I understand. To be frank, I’d do the same.”
Maybe my father was not wrong in keeping me locked in my room. When the honeymoon ends and we return home, I’ll never leave the Lair. If Alekos is ashamed of me, I’ll make things easy for him and never show my face in public again.
I put my hands in my lap and wait for this day to end.
“Are you still feeling tired?” Alekos asks. He sounds concerned, but I don’t know if he’s genuine or not. I hate this turmoil inside me and how it’s affecting me, but what I hate the most is how I need to be told daily how much I’m loved. I thought I was over it when I was in the Sanctuary, but ever since the Piercing Ceremony, I’ve become even needier.
“I’m sorry,” I say, not wanting to ruin the date, but deep down, I want to return to the bungalow.
Alekos kisses the top of my head. “It’s my duty, as your husband, to take care of you, and it’s your duty to let me know when you are not feeling right.” To Viviane, he says, “It was lovely to see you again.”
“Same,” Viviane says back.
We stand, and I wrap my hand around Alekos’ arm. The baby finds the right moment to move around and find a new place to sit. “I need to go to the bathroom,” I excuse myself before leaving Alekos and Viviane alone.
It takes me a few minutes to locate the bathroom and a few more minutes to be done with my business. When I’m washing my hands, I refuse to look in the mirror because I don’t need a reminder of how horrible I look. Once I’m freshened up, I return to Alekos. He is still talking to Viviane and doesn’t notice me, but I do notice the number exchange between them. My stomach drops. Why does he need the contact info of an ex when he is married?
*Because he is already tired of you.*
It feels like my heart is breaking all over again.
I need to be a better wife, or else I’ll lose him. Reyes and Stefan, as well. I’m not worried about money since I still have my account, but I can’t do this without them. With that in mind, I go to the table. Alekos quickly puts his phone in his pocket. I pretend not to notice.
“I’m feeling better,” I lie.
Alekos stands. “You don’t look better. I should have never insisted on going out.”
Is it me, or does he sound irritated?
“I love spending time with you,” I say.
“Your health comes first,” Alekos lets me know he is done talking about this matter. To Viviane, he says, “I’ll be in touch.”
He’s not even trying to hide that he still wants to talk to her. I keep silent because if a man wants to cheat, nothing will stop him. Besides, I don’t plan to be snoopy with my husband. If he wants to be with me, it’s because he loves me, not because I’m his hellstar and whatever other bullshit he comes up with. At least I still have Stefan and Reyes.
***
The trip back to our island has been quiet. I take advantage of the silence to come up with an excuse as to why Alekos and Viviane exchanged contact info, but no matter how much I think, I can’t come up with anything.
Part of why I asked Alekos for his help last year was because I knew he would not think twice about letting me go once he had fucked me. Clearly, I was wrong about that. Putting his past behind us was easy because he never gave me reasons to doubt him. Except for the incident with Giselle. But he explained more than once that he wasn’t the one who initiated the kiss.
For a man who was surrounded only by beautiful women, being with someone like me must be tedious. I don’t blame him for wanting something new and exciting. He must be tired of having to make sure that I eat or sleep enough. No wonder he wants to keep in touch with Viviane. However, I won’t give him any reason to look in other places for what he’s missing at home.
It might be wrong of me to think this way, but I need all my mates to be well.
“Go lie down,” Alekos instructs me the moment we step inside the bungalow.
I don’t protest because what man likes a nagging wife? “I’m sorry for ruining the day for you,” I excuse myself again.
Alekos grabs my face between his palms. “You’ve been down ever since the restaurant. Is there something I need to worry about?”
“I’m just tired.” It’s not entirely a lie, but I don’t want Alekos to know how I’m really feeling. The bond will give away that I’m not well, but it doesn’t mean he can read my mind.
He looks into my eyes. “I love you with all my heart.”
Does he really, or is his love conditional?
“I love you too,” I say before going to the bedroom. After I take off my clothes, I get in the bed. My eyes feel heavy. Maybe I am more tired than I realized.
I drift to sleep.
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