Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Her scowl grew worse as she swept past him. “What are you thinking, Isidore?” she snarled in Greek.
“Excuse me,” Isidore gasped as he followed her in, trying to sound surprised as he closed the door behind them. He could guess at the speech he was going to hear only because he’d been subjected to it at least three other times.
“How could you be so reckless? Wasting the family money. First on this house. Your mother decorated this house herself and now you’re wasting money on needless changes. Just wiping away her memory. And how much of the family money have you wasted on that man?”
Isidore clenched his teeth, fighting back his temper. He wanted to shout at her over her false indignation. She was lamenting his erasure of the sister she supposedly disowned when she inherited all the farms from their grandmother and then a second time when the same sister didn’t put her in her will but rather gave everything to her children.
And of course, he could not forget that it was always the family money. Never his money or his inheritance that he was wasting, but the family money as if they were all just counting down the days until they finally got access to what they considered theirs.
And the idea of erasing the memory of either of his parents was laughable. His mother redecorated constantly. The tone and feel of the Santorini house wasn’t her signature style. She didn’t have one. She loved experimenting. If Isidore told her that he planned to preserve what she’d done for the rest of his life, she would be horrified. The decorations on Santorini were just a representation of her last whim.
Besides, nothing at the family home in Athens had been changed. Did they all expect him to leave everything untouched for the rest of his life as a shrine to his dead parents? The same people they regularly bad-mouthed at every opportunity?
Finally, Soren—anyone he dated, for that matter—was none of her fucking business.
But he’d been trained to be diplomatic. To not burn bridges. To value family ties no matter how strained they became.
“Thank you for your kind concern, Aunt Maria, but the changes are not big. I’m not wasting money, but continuing my mother’s legacy of experimenting with new styles. Please remember that what I do with my money is my concern. I don’t inquire after your spending habits. I hope that you can give me the same respect.”
“Fuck her!” Kairo roared in his ear so that he nearly winced. “I’m ready to shoot her.”
“Isidore, you’re family,” Maria continued, her tone becoming so condescending the corner of Isidore’s eye had begun to twitch. “I’m just looking out for what is best for you and your sister. It is what your mother would have wanted. I don’t think that man truly cares about you.”
“You spoke to him for less than two minutes. How could you possibly know that?”
“It took me only two minutes to see that he’s a gold digger and nothing more. He is only interested in what you can buy him.” She sighed heavily and plopped her fists on her lumpy hips wrapped in a black skirt that was simply too tight. “You are nearly thirty years old and the heir to your father’s businesses. You need to be more responsible and make better decisions.”
“Isidore—incoming. Charlie is gonna add pressure,” Kairo said tightly in his ear. It sounded like he was ready to march in there himself and tell his aunt off.
“Aunt Maria, I—”
The brisk knock on the door saved him from needing to make up more false and patient words. He was officially out of them.
Charlie opened the door before he could answer and poked his head inside. “There you are! Sorry to interrupt, but Soren is fighting with Ed again and I can’t calm him down. Can you come talk some sense into your fiancé?”
“Fiancé!” Maria gasped.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Maria. I need to handle this.” Isidore quickly ducked out the door with Charlie, dodging her latest issue.
As Isidore stepped into the hall, Charlie clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You are doing great. Just great. You are following the script perfectly.”
“Am I good enough to be a spy?” Isidore inquired with a smirk.
“I think you could be with a little more training.”
Isidore stopped dead in the middle of the hall. “Are you being serious or just nice?” Isidore asked.
“Charlie isn’t nice just to be nice,” Will immediately interjected.
“I’m serious. You keep calm, level-headed even when provoked, improvise well on your feet, and you stick to the plan far better than Soren ever did,” Charlie replied.
“Fuck you, Charlie,” Soren whispered in a creepy singsong voice.
“We are going to have a long talk about you recruiting my boyfriend and what kind of danger you’re allowed to put him in,” Kairo added, sounding very pissed. “But get moving. You’ve got two aunts hurrying toward the music room with Maria. She sent a text the moment you left. Apparently, she’s called in reinforcements.”