Chapter 2 Naive

Leonidas interrupted Melina, his voice was soft, but his face was cold.

"Melina, I thought we had already talked about this, what we had was a mistake, a moment of weakness simply, Ariadna is my future." Melina's eyes filled with tears upon hearing him.

"But you told me you loved me, that you would leave Ariadna for me."

Leonidas let out a low, cruel laugh.

"Oh Melina, sweet, naive Melina, did you really think that? Look at yourself and look at your sister. Who do you think I have a better future with?" His words hit Melina hard, she stepped back as her face turned pale.

"You... you are a monster," he whispered.

Leonidas leaned towards her, his smile had turned into a ruthless sneer.

"No, Melina, I am a businessman, and this one" he gestured with his arm towards the party, towards Ariadna. "It's the best deal of my life, now if you'll excuse me, my fiancée is waiting for me." And with that, Leonidas walked away, leaving Melina trembling in the corner.

She watched him return with Ariadna, saw them kiss with apparent adoration, saw everyone praise them as the perfect couple, and something inside her broke.

Without anyone noticing, she went up the stairs to her room, closed the door behind her, and dropped to the floor as sobs shook her body, she couldn't take the pain anymore.

Melina slowly stood up and went to her desk, took out a paper and a pen and began to write. Tears stained the page as she wrote her feelings, she was ready to tell what happened between her and Leonidas.

Downstairs the party continued, Ariadna and Leonidas danced, posed for photos and received congratulations from all the other guests, realizing that Melina was not there, Athena began to discreetly look for her among the guests.

"Nikolaos," she whispered to her husband, "have you seen Melina?"

Nikolaos, busy in a debate with a local politician, barely glanced at her.

"She must be around somewhere, you know how she is at parties." He replied without giving importance to the whereabouts of his daughter.

Athena frowned, she had a feeling that was bothering her, so she decided to go up to look for her.

Melina finished her letter, folded it carefully and left it on her bed, then, she took her bag and the car keys, before leaving, she took a last look at her room.

She left by the service stairs to avoid being seen, reached the garage, and started her car, the sound of the engine was lost among the music and laughter of the party, Melina got out, her vision clouded by tears as she accelerated down the driveway.

Leonidas took advantage of a moment of distraction from Ariadne to sneak away, he went up to Melina's room, upon entering, he realized that she was not there, he immediately noticed the letter on the bed.

He read it quickly, paled when he realized what it implied, immediately put it in his pocket, when he was about to leave, he met Athena.

"Leonidas, what are you doing here?" She asked surprised.

Leonidas kept his charming smile.

"Athena, I was looking for Melina to thank her for her congratulations, have you seen her?"

Athena denied it, it was evident that she was worried about her daughter.

"No, I have been looking for her, I don't know where she could be, this is not like her."

"She will appear soon, I am sure." Leonidas said, accompanying Athena out of the room. "Let's go back to the party, we don't want Ariadna to worry."

While they returned to the party, Melina drove through the streets, aimlessly, she could not stop thinking if they had already found her letter, she felt ashamed and hurt.

Due to her distraction she didn't see when the traffic light turned red, the screeching of the brakes, and the loud impact of hitting another car, were heard in the night.

At the Kallistos mansion, they continued celebrating, oblivious to the tragedy that had occurred, Ariadna laughed with her friends, Leonidas talked with potential partners, and Nikolaos continued toasting the future.

Athena continued looking for her daughter, a strong oppression inside her chest seemed to indicate that something was wrong, at that moment her phone rang, she paled when she heard the voice on the other end of the line.

The phone fell from her hands, as she began to cry inconsolably, Nikolaos, seeing the state his wife was in, immediately approached.

"Athena, what happened?"

Athena looked up, brought her hand to her mouth, trying to get the words out.

"Our daughter, Nikolaos, Melina... has been in an accident."

Nikolaos dropped his glass as he tried to process what his wife had said.

Ariadne, seeing the commotion, came closer, more upset than worried.

"What is going on?"

Her mother, wrapped in tears, with great difficulty managed to answer.

"Your sister, Melina... has died."

Ariadne did not know how to react, she stood there staring at her mother, unable to process the news, the word she had said so many times to her sister, echoed inside her head, whale, that was what she had called her, mockingly.

Leonidas, hearing the news, felt relief, enjoying that Melina was dead, so he would take the secret of his affair with her to the grave.

He approached Ariadne, hugging her, the gesture of comfort was more acting than genuine.

"I am so sorry, love."

Ariadne leaned against his chest, sobbing, guilt and remorse for how he had always treated his sister, consumed her.

"I... I was always so cruel to her, and now I can never ask her forgiveness."

Nikolaos, recovering from the shock of the terrible news, began to give orders.

"The party is cancelled, everyone must leave, right now."

The guests who had remained silent, completely shocked by what had happened, quietly left, the place soon empty.

Athena dropped into a chair, sobbing inconsolably, Nikolaos stood beside her, his face reflecting the pain he felt.

Leonidas, seeing the opportunity to see if there was any other evidence of her sin left in Melina's car, offered to take charge.

"I'll go to the police to get information about what happened, stay here, I know how difficult this is for you, if you allow me, I'll take care of everything."

Nikolaos nodded weakly, without questioning his son-in-law's offer, Leonidas quickly left, determined to get to the scene of the accident, and thus eliminate any evidence that would compromise him.

For Ariadna the reality check was hard, looking at her engagement ring, she realized that her perfect night now felt so empty.

"Mom, do you think Melina ever knew how much she loved her?"

Athena looked at her daughter, for the first time in a long time she saw her vulnerable and weak, far from the facade of perfection she always had.

"Oh Ariadne, sometimes the love between sisters can be complicated, but I'm sure Melina knew that."

Nikolaos, not used to showing his emotions, retreated to his study, under the pretext of making some calls.

Meanwhile, at the scene of the accident, Leonidas arrived just as the police cordoned off the area, with his usual charm, and ease of speech, he managed to gain access to Melina's wrecked vehicle.

He searched the interior of the car meticulously, looking for anything that could incriminate him, he was relieved to find nothing, he remembered the letter in his pocket, remembering how close he had been to losing everything.

In the mansion, Ariadne sat on a sofa, her gaze lost.

"I should be the one who died," she said almost in a whisper. "Melina was the good one, the kind one, I'm just... this." He made a dismissive gesture towards her dress, her ring, realizing how arrogant he had been.

Athena approached her, taking her hands.

"Don't say that, daughter, every life is valuable in itself." Athena said it to reassure her, but she felt guilty for always having focused all her attention on her, leaving Melina aside.

Ariadna turned to look at her mother, paying attention for the first time to the love and concern that reflected her eyes.

Leonidas returned shortly after, on his face there was a look of studied regret and affliction.

"I have spoken to the police, it seems it was an accident, Melina did not respect the stop sign, and due to the speed, she lost control of the vehicle." He said in a tone that seemed to be difficult for him to say.

Athena sobbed again, Nikolaos who had returned, nodded weakly.

"Thank you, Leonidas, you have been of great help in this difficult moment, I... could not have."

Leonidas bowed his head, immersed in his role as the perfect and compassionate son-in-law, a strategy that he was sure would help him gain points in the Kallistos family, and put him closer to his fortune.

The night that should have been one of total celebration, was now gloomy, the members of the Kallistos family, each one immersed in their thoughts, and regrets, at that moment the future no longer seemed so bright and safe.