CHAPTER 4

" Kathy, this is the former president of the Alcolytes Triad, Helios Jake Andreadis. " - Yuri kept his gaze on his fianceé as he spoke. All but one officer of the Alcolytes Triad was present to greet them, the three pairs forming a half circle in the private hallway that only high-ranking members of their club had access to. " Helios, this is my fianceé Kathy. " - Yuri managed to keep his tone polite, but his form was rigid with tension as he kept an eye for any sign of discomfort from Kathy. If it had been up to him, he would have taken her straight to her room. The introductions could have waited. She was his first priority, and knowing how sheltered her existence had been, he had wanted to give her time to adjust to her new life. But when he had broached the idea. " Are you ashamed of me? " - Kathy ask when she only blinked. And so here they were now. Kathy was gazing at Helios pensively. He was about to ask her when he heard her murmur. " He really does look like the sun god? " - Kathy, murmur to Yuri A giggle escape MJ while Helios lifted one sardonic brow. The other officers did their best to maintain straight faces. " You're absolutely right. " - Yuri's lips twitched even as he told Kathy solemnly. The sun god turned to look at him, and the message in his golden gaze was readily decipherable. Fuck You! Yuri wisely ignored this, concentrating instead on his delightful bundle of honesty. " You have nothing to be afraid of with him, sweetheart. He's a lot like tigger. " - Yuri said in a ludicrous analogy, but he did it anyway because one, the cabin crew had told him of Kathy's obsession with Winnie the Pooh and, second, because he liked yanking Helios chain. When Yuri turned to Kathy, he saw that she was now looking at Helios like he was a god. Helios meanwhile looked like he wanted to kill Yuri. " I am honored to meet you, Mr. Helios Jake Andreadis. " - Kathy offered her hand. The formal tone had the near-seven-foot biker blinking. " It's my honor, " - Helios voice was gentle when he returned the greeting. They shook hands. " And as we don't stand on formalities here, I shall call you Kathy, if that's okay to you? " - Helios, added. " Anything from someone who is as adorable as Tigger. " - Kathy Sudden coughs filled the room while another giggle slipped past MJ's lips. After shooting everyone deadly looks. Helios curved an arm around the tiny brunette beside him, pulling her closer. " This is Mary Jane (MJ) Cole- Andreadis. " - Helios, said. " Hi, Kathy! " - Mj's voice had just a trace of shyness in it. " I'm Helios wife. " - Mj, added. Her words had a dreamy quality to it, like she still found the fact surreal. " It's a pleasure to meet you too. I am Kathryn Ice, but you may also call me Kathy. I am the girl Yuri loves. " - Kathy shook hands with MJ. It was Helios turn to smirk as a familiar, stoic look fell over Yuri's too-pretty face. But more than amusement, Helios privately felt relief. Whatever doubts he had over the rightness of having someone like Kathryn Ice Rewis engaged to the club's vice president, it had been eliminated by the way the Greek heiress so easily kept Yuri Daniel Athanas on his toes. He needs someone like that, Helios thought. Yuri had lived too long behind his self-imposed cage. Even Yuri's sister hadn't managed to completely penetrate Yuri's rigid control over his emotions, but may Kathy was the key. Hallie Daena Athanas harbored the same hopes. She watched her brother shake his head in exasperation and held her breath. With anyone else, she was sure he would be ruthlessly polite and use his beautiful manners to put the woman in her place. But he didn't. " You don't have to say that all the time, sweetheart. " - Hallie heard Yuri say this. To which his fianceé replied in a perplexed tone. " Why shouldn't I? " Yuri's jaw clamped shut. How the hell did he answer that without possibly offending Kathy? But as it turned out, he didn't have to worry about it at all. " I like it saying it, Yuri. " - Kathy, said with grave look that accompanied her words was beginning to be familiar, a sign that she was about to drop another oh-so-truthful bombshell. " I'm proud someone like you loves me. " - Kathy, added. And that was that. Seven words and it threw his entire world off tangent. I'm proud someone like you loves me.. Yuri ran a hand over his face. Sweet beautiful Kathy. How did she keep doing it? How did she keep breaking his heart when it didn't even exist?. Yuri thought. Kathy was left alone with a small group of girls when Yuri temporarily excused himself to take a call. The other men, sensing Kathy's discomfort at being alone with too many strangers, moved away as well. Kathy found her face to face with Hallie Daena Athanas. She was a smaller and more feminine version of Yuri, with her dark hair held back by a lace band and her slim body draped in a pastel-colored dress. She recognized the girl through her photos on the internet, and Kathy told her so. " I tried researching you, too, but I found nothing. " - Hallie said with a rueful smile touched the girl's lips. " You're not supposed to," - Kathy answered matter-of-factly paused. " There's a company of my grandmother pays to keep photos of me off the internet. " - Kathy, added. " Oh. "- Hallie grinned. " Well, they did a good job. " - Hallie, added. She hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and surprising Kathy with a quick, tight hug. " I'm really glad to have finally met you, Kathy. I think you'll be good to my brother. " - Hallie, said. She was about to say something more when she realized the other girl had become stiff in her arms. Mortified, she released Kathy right away, stammering. " I'm sorry. I... " - Hallie, apologized. Kathy just shook her head. " There is nothing to apologize for, " - Kathy, paused. " I'm not used to being hugged, " - Kathy, another paused. " But I think I like it... If you really mean it? " - Kathy, said. Hallie's chest tightened when she realized Yuri's fianceé wasn't joking. What kind of life had Kathryn Ice Rewis led that she would have to ask something like it? Unable to help it. " I don't just mean it. I also want you to know that I think of you as a sister already. " - Hallie said, and give Kathy another hugged. Just when Hallie thought the other girl wouldn't answer. " Thank you, Hallie Daena Athanas. " - Kathy said while awkwardly hug Hallie. Kathy's quiet, serious voice caused Hallie to have a ridiculous urge to cry. " From now on, I will look upon you as my sister too. " - Kathy, added. When they stepped away from each other, the first thing they saw was Kellion's girlfriend, Aria Denice Redfield with her compact whiteboard up, a message written on it in uppercase letters. " YOU GUYS ARE SO EMOTIONAL. " - Aria, written in whiteboard. Kathy blinked while Hallie rolled her eyes. MJ laughed, but in truth the odd exchange betweemd Yuri's sister and fianceé had left her a little teary-eyed. She didn't know much about Kathryn Ice Rewis but there was something so powerfully innocent about the other girl that tugged at her heartstrings. It reminded her of how she had been, when all she knew of life was pain, and this had MJ closing her eyes to send a quick prayer to God, Please let Yuri be gentle with her. When she opened her eyes, it was to see all three girls looking at her. " YOU'RE DAYDREAMING AGAIN. " - Aria write in a board again. " I am not! " - MJ said, but couldn't help blushing because she knew Aria had every reason to think so. Clearing her throat, she changed the subject by making the introductions for Kellion's girlfriend. " Kathy, this is Aria Denice Redfield. She lives her too, and she's the girlfriend of our president Kellion Mico Argyros." - MJ said. " NICE TO MEET YOU. " - Aria said, The curvy beautiful raised her board. Kathy frowned. Aria erased her message and wrote a new one. " WE'LL GIVE YOU A TOUR NOW. IF WE LEAVE IT TO THE MEN, THEY'LL ONLY SHOW YOU THEIR WORK LAB. " - Aria wrote again. " Why don't you speak? " - Kathy asked without preamble, When Aria put her board down. Yuri was about to join Kathy when he found himself coming to a halt at his fianceé's question. Damn. Of all the things to ask. A second later and Kellion had come to stand beside him, his grim face telling Yuri he had heard the same thing. " I'm sorry. " - Yuri said under his breath. He knew how it still hurt Aria to speak of her past. " You don't have anything to be sorry about. " - Kellion said while shook his head. Following his friend's gaze, Yuri saw that Aria had her whiteboard up in answer. " I HAD A CHILHOOD TRAUMA. " - Aria write on her whiteboard. Kathy only stared to Aria. " IT'S RUDE TO STARE. " - Aria wrote another message. But Kathy keep staring. Aria raised a brow. Then finally Kathy spoke. " We will never be able to forget it, will we? " - Kathy voice was sad. Both Yuri and Kellion breathed hard simultaneously at the words. Aria's face had turned white. Knowing how quick-tempered she was, Yuri half-expected the president's girlfriend to simply walk away and curse Kathy for her rudeness. But she didn't. Instead she answered Out loud. " No, Kathy. "- Aria with rusty quality of her voice couldn't mar its lovely cadence, nor could it drown the sadness that underscored her words. " I don't think we can ever forget it. I'm not sure we even should. " - Aria, added with her ghost of a smile flitted over her lips. " You see, those memories... make us strong. They make us appreciate... " Kathy gaze drifted to Kellion. " What we have now. " - Kathy, added. Then Aria bent her head and hastily started scrawling on her board. It went up after another moment. " ALSO, I HATE BEING EMOTIONAL, SO STOP WITH THE EMOTIONAL QUESTIONS. " - Aria wrote in a whiteboard. MJ burst into laughter, and even Kathy cracked a smile. But when they left, it took a while for the men to break the silence between them. " Well, that was something. As always, the king of understatement. " - Helios said finally. But Kellion's smile didn't reach his eyes. Andreus clapped a hand over Yuri's back. " We will do our best to make her feel comfortable and safe here. " - Andreus, said. " Thank you. " - Yuri said. He mean it, knowing that other people wouldn't have been as easily accepting of Kathy's "different" ways. He was about to tell them of Dr. Corba's call, wanting their opinion, when he caught sight of Hallie heading their way. Yuri excused himself instead and met his sister halfway. " We'll be waiting for you downstairs. " - Helios told to Yuri before stepping inside the elevator. Yuri waited for the others to leave before telling Hallie. " Thank you for doing what you did for Kathy. " - Yuri said. " How can I not? She's the reason why we're free. " - Hallie said while shook her head. Yuri stiffened, like he always did when Hallie brought up the past. If it were up to him, he would have done everything possible to wipe the terrible memories from his sister's mind. But he could not. " Yuri? " - Hallie, asked with suddenly worried tone made him frown. " What is it? " - Yuri, asked. " Y-you will love her, won't you? " - Hallie, added. " Of course. " - Yuri answered. He uttered the lie without hesitation and saw that he was so good at pretending to be the nice guy he even had his younger sister fooled. Apparently, he could fool everyone but himself.