As John sipped his way through only half of his small glass of a fruity rioja, I was greedily filling up my third; I needed some Dutch courage to get through the night despite Cora's previous warnings about irrational use of alcohol to deal with my problems—she was adamant it would only lead to trouble. I laughed quietly. I was already in trouble and secretly, I longed to escape the constant emotional limbo I was forced to dwindle in.
"I think you should probably ease off the wine for a bit France," John advised coyly.
"They are late," I noted, ignoring his attempt to chastise me as I eyed the clock on the wall before guzzling the entire glass. He held my arm and removed the glass from my grip, setting it down on the coffee table.
I was about to kick off my heels to relieve the pressure on my feet when three controlled knocks thumped on the wood of the door. John leapt up like an excited puppy, quickly putting on his mask before jogging over to the entrance to our humble abode to welcome in the Greeks.
Tobias entered first, his calm eyes and rested confidence changing the bitter atmosphere in the room into a warm one. His eyes glittered with friendly intent through his plain white mask, and I rose as majestically as I could from my seat in order to appear relatively poised.
"Frances! You look as stunning as a rose!" he boomed gleefully, capturing me in an embrace as he kissed my right cheek.
"You look rather dashing yourself," I said with a genuine toothy smile.
"Are we all ready to go? My son is waiting in the car."
"Yes, of course," John said, "Lead the way."
By this point I could feel the heaviness of the wine seeping into my system and polluting my blood with an alluring self-confidence. I followed the men as they walked down the hall, my heels clicking along the floor. My pulse had risen and was throbbing in my veins as I mentally primed myself for another face to face meeting with the risque Adonis.
Parked against the curb in the middle of my neighbours' cars, a glossy black car was like a diamond in amongst a bag of rocks. The engine purred softly, and it put my father's—or John's—car to shame. I was never a woman to judge a man by his car, but I could not help but be impressed by such a striking vehicle.
"After you." Tobias grinned, allowing me to slip into the back of the car first. "John can have, what is it you call it here... shotgun? Yes, he may have the front seat."
I climbed in, avoiding eye contact with the perverted Greek in the front and sat against the soft leather seats. Tobias sat beside me as John got into the passenger seat. My eyes glued to the black curls of the driver as he pulled the car out on to the road. He had not even looked at me yet. A strange feeling thawed at my insides. Disappointment? No. No way. I turned to Tobias, who was staring at me.
"So how is the restaurant doing, Mr Krieos?" I asked, my lips feeling numb. I could not have been that drunk after only three glasses.
"Just Toby, we need no formalities between us. I am good friends with your father, you are practically family!" He beamed honestly, patting me on the shoulder. "You should come to Ouránios more often! Dimitri will let you eat for free and have the best table reserved for you and any friends you bring, won't he Alec?"
Alec? Our driver looked into the rear view mirror and his young eyes stared back at me. He had the same dark eyes that seemed to resonate in the Krieos family, but they were not those that belonged to the man who I had found in the restaurant toilets. He was not here. I found myself instantly relax and the smouldering in my blood promptly extinguished. From the small window of vision the mirror allowed, I could make out his similar tan skin and curly hair but his was not as short as Dimitri's and instead curled around his ears and down the nape of his neck. He looked my age if not only a few years older.
"Forgive me, you have not been introduced. This is my youngest son, Alec. He was still in Crete when it was Ouránios' opening night," Tobias said.
"It's nice to meet you," I said.
The young man flicked his eyes over me for a moment, before abruptly nodding. "You too."
"Alec is not the most talkative man." Tobias said, "Don't be offended by his lack of conversation."
"I understand." I smiled, my eyes wandering back to our dismissive driver before I quickly confirmed my hopes that I would not be meeting with the perverse Greek as I had previously thought. "Is Dimitri still coming to the ball or is he busy?"
"Dimitri is... difficult." was the word Tobias settled for, though his creased brow told me he had more to say on the matter.
"Difficult, how?" I probed. I needed to know every dirty little secret this man had, if I were to have any chance in manipulating him into leaving me alone. Tobias smiled at me, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles.
"It's nothing you need to take upon your shoulders," he said. "You can trust my son, Frances. He is not the man you think he is."
"And what do I think of him?" I raised a brow, but Tobias only grinned and shook his head.
"We are here. Your father will be waiting for us." He avoided the question but the look in his eyes made it clear he knew the answer, clasping my hand in his own as he helped me out of the car.
Music vibrated from the office building and I was surprised at how alive the usually cold, almost sterilised building looked. There were multicoloured lights that cast vibrant shadows and shapes along the black tiled floor and clusters of people were already beginning to form in the front lobby—I was surprised at how many of them actually indulged in the dress code to their fullest capacity; most women were with exotic masks that held feathers at either side, glitter around their eyes and sporting daring dresses that made catwalk models look conservative. The men were, as expected, less enthusiastic, with many in the same repetitive black suits and black masks.
"Derek!" Tobias shouted over the music when he spotted my father, who was alongside none other than the angelic blonde, Charlotte.
My father cracked a wide smile which was eerie for me to witness, as all I had been graced with recently was glares and judgemental looks. "Glad you could make it Toby! I see you brought your other son along, I assume?"
Alec stood beside Tobias with his arms behind him and his back as straight as a ruler. He seemed just as unapproachable to my father as he muttered "Lovely to meet you." which was barely heard over the music and I was thankful that his aloof attitude was nothing personal to me.
"He was just a lad when I first saw him. Got his looks from his mother I see." My dad joked, hitting Tobias on the back.
Tobias nodded. "Is it that obvious? You can talk, Frances looks nothing like you. Her beauty is clearly inherited from her mother's side."
Fuck. He mentioned her. Ever since I was a child, I had constantly interrogated my father for his lack of explanation on my mother's disappearance. I willed him to tell me why I had no female figure in my life but he never told me. In adulthood, her whereabouts were still a mystery to me and I never forgave him for that. If I were to mention her, he would instantaneously change the subject or outright refuse to talk about it but when someone else did, he seemed to shut down completely, so you can imagine my surprise when his smile grew even wider and he laughed.
"Of course! Do you think such a gem could come from my side of the family? You met my mother, she makes the Wicked Witch of the West look like Madonna!" My father chuckled.
Everyone but Alec and I began to laugh. A gem? He had never treated me as such. I was just another pawn in the business game. I remembered when he truly cared for me, before that night... Before I became the unexplained murderer that lived under his roof. He detested me.
"I'd make this young lad to put a ring on her finger today if it were up to me!" my Dad said proudly as he pulled John towards him so he could sling an arm around his shoulder like a man to his son. "But you know, she's a stallion at heart. It'll be hard to tame her John."
John laughed along. "I know."
I could feel my heart blistering with bitter helplessness, as it always did in these types of situations. Yet this time I found it impossible to sheathe my anger and remain indifferent or trivialise his comment. Why? Why did I have to be a part of their domestic game? Why couldn't I have a mind of my own without being classed as a wild animal?
"Why should I be tamed?" I asked, my pupils dilating with rage as I spat the word out as if it were poison.
"Frances, you know it was not meant in that context." My father said.
"Do you think I am an animal? Is that what you think of me?" I hissed, the fury swirling up through my centre and stretching its way through my body.
I could feel myself brimming with hatred and the air constricted around me. No one else understood what it was like to feel like a constant time bomb. To be locked up in your house because your father was afraid of what people may think of him at work for having a psycho daughter. Even my grandmother thought I was insane so she refused to visit.
"You—" I started to speak but a soft hand took hold of my wrist. Alec stared at me, his eyes full of warning.
A memory I had buried so deep in my head I had almost lost it completely was hauled to the front of my mind. My father had taken me to a beach in Australia when he had a business deal in Sydney and the sand was soft beneath my feet. I remember the innocent happiness I had felt for simply being able to spend time with my father; it was the first and last time we ever went to the beach together. The image went by so fast I could barely process my feelings before I was brought back to reality.
My anger had dissipated for but a moment, yet as soon as I was faced with the arrogant man my father was today, it grew once again. Alec had panic in his eyes and went to grab my wrist once more but I recoiled as if he were acid and turned to Tobias.
"Please excuse me."
The sky through the window had began to fill with grey clouds as I manoeuvred through the bustling crowd to find somewhere quiet to think. I clocked the dark empty corner in the lively room, it was a perfect spot for me to hide and keep myself calm. I pushed my back against the cold wall as if I were trying to sink and disappear through the bricks.
Why did I think of that memory when Alec touched my arm? Who was he?
I touched my arm, and closed my eyes for a moment as I began to slowly breathe in and out like Cora had told me. Cora. She could tell me if there was a pressure point in my arm that could incapacitate me for a short amount of time. I quickly looked through my contacts until I reached her number and it began to dial.
"Hello, tifó̱na." A silky tone greeted and I almost dropped my phone in shock. Cora had begun to speak, but I was transfixed on the insanely tall Adonis who was leaning over me, his large hand placed on my hip. "Missed me?"