The water felt so cold now, and after it closed over her face, she shut her eyes. Despite her desire to fight, her body could no longer resist the fury of the storm. Her lungs burned fiercely as she sank farther. Dots blurred her vision, but she could see her mother’s figure submerged just beyond arm’s reach. Erin was so beautiful, surrounded by a brilliant light that shone through the darkness. Mommy, Helena inwardly screamed, struggling earnestly to touch her mother’s extended hand…
Just as she made contact, the vision gripped her wrist and pulled her upwards. Terror shot through her as she remembered that her mother was dead, not in the sea with her. Surely not a shark! As her face breached the surface, she inhaled sharply and tried to yank her hand away from whatever had caught her, fighting with a well-spring of strength she didn’t know she had.
"Helena, it's me! Stop fighting!" She was astonished to hear his voice. She couldn’t believe her ears. It was Dimitris.
She hadn’t seen a boat approaching; she hadn’t heard anything either. Then again, how could she hear anything with the wind howling like this? She wrapped her arms around him and let him drag her to the boat. There, he climbed on and helped her aboard.
"Alex!" she shouted, and he dove back in the water. A few minutes later, he came back, dragging Alex onto the boat.
"There are some dry clothes downstairs," Dimitris yelled as he knelt over Alex, who was coughing violently and spitting water. Helena stood there, reluctant. "I said go downstairs; he’s all right," Dimitris shouted again, trying to be heard over the howling of the wind.
Helena didn’t wait any longer; she ran downstairs and took her wet clothes off. She rubbed herself with a towel she found and put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. They fitted her pretty well. They must be Sophie's, she thought, as she and Sophie were about the same size. Feeling a little bit warmer, she sat down on the bed. The boat was rocking violently, and the wind was blowing hard, but Helena felt safe. The thunderstorm was strong, but not as strong as that man up there on the deck.
A few minutes later, Alex came downstairs. She ran and put her arms around him. "I’m so glad you’re okay," she said.
Alex held her in his arms. "Helena, I’m so sorry."
"Sorry for what? It wasn’t your fault we got caught in a thunderstorm."
"I should have known better. I’m not that good with boats. As a matter of fact, I haven’t been sailing for a while, but I wanted to see you so much. I’m so sorry I put your life in danger. It was so stupid of me."
Helena squeezed him in her arms. "Be quiet. It wasn’t your fault, and I had a great time until the storm started."
They both sat down on the bed and waited.
"Shouldn't you go upstairs and help?" Helena asked.
"Are you kidding me?" he asked. "Dimitris would never trust me with the boat. And anyway, he’s so mad at me right now, I’d better stay out of his way."
"Nonsense, he’s not mad… just worried,” Helena said, but deep down inside, she knew he was right.
She felt so tired and edgy. Alex lay back on the bed and fell asleep. Helena glanced at him and smiled. She knew he was exhausted. She finally laid her head on his chest and fell asleep as well.
She was awakened by Dimitris’ voice, "The princess and her knight! Only this knight almost got her drowned instead of rescuing her."
Helena sat up and looked around, disoriented for a moment. Then her eyes rested on Dimitris, and everything came rushing back to her.
"Dimitris, don't be so hard on Alex,” she reprimanded him. "It wasn’t his fault."
"He had no business taking you out there in the first place. He can’t handle a boat and almost got both of you killed!" he yelled, giving Alex, who had just woken up, a hard look. Then he turned and walked upstairs, yelling over his shoulder, "Come on; we’re home."
Helena followed Dimitris outside the cabin, with Alex coming right behind her. As she reached the deck, she saw people running down the steps leading from the back yard of the house to the cove. They probably had seen the boat coming. Sophie and Martha were among the first ones to arrive on the beach.
Helena felt dizzy and weak and grabbed hold of the boat railing to steady herself.
Dimitris was beside her in a flash, wrapping a protective arm around her slender waist. "Let me help you," he said.
"Thanks, but I can manage," she whispered with as much dignity as she could muster, but as her knees went limp, she frantically grabbed for him. Dimitris swept her up in his arms and carried her off the boat, across the beach, and up the steps—climbing them two at a time. She felt safe in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she blissfully closed her eyes.
She could hear Sophie's voice, but right now, Helena didn’t care about anything. She was safe in his arms, and he was taking her home. That was all that mattered to her.
When they got inside the house, he took her upstairs to her room and laid her on her bed. He stood there for a second, staring at her, as though reluctant to leave. On a sudden impulse, Helena raised her hand, and he took it in his. Their eyes met, and time seemed to stop…
As they heard footsteps on the stairs, he let go of her hand and took a step back. Next thing, Sophie and Martha stormed inside the room, ordering him out.
***
Dimitris rushed downstairs and outside on the veranda. He grabbed hold of the railings and took some deep breaths. He’d almost lost her today. What if he hadn’t gotten there in time? What if Martha hadn’t called him to let him know where Helena was going? He squeezed the railings until his knuckles turned white.
I have to talk to her, he realized. I have to explain… she needs to know…
Chapter Nine
DIMITRIS’ THOUGHTS FLEW BACK to when, three years ago, he went to find Helena in England. It was a few months after his father passed away and Dimitris took over the company. Digging through the paperwork and consulting with the company’s attorneys, he found out about the trust fund Eleana had set up for Helena. That’s when he decided to go to England and talk to her, not sure whether she knew about it or not.
Preparing for his trip and working his way through the piles of legal stuff he had to worry about now, he came upon another interesting document—Angelos’ life insurance policy.
Consulting with the company’s attorneys, Dimitris was very puzzled to realize that even though a claim had been made against this policy, there was no evidence of Helena or her mother ever receiving any money.
This is weird. What happened to that money? Was there any paperwork missing? He had to go to England and find Helena. He needed to find out whether she knew about the trust fund or not, and whether she and her mother had received any money from Angelos’ life insurance policy.
However, there was another thing he needed to talk to her about, and that was far more important and harder to explain… Helena had grown up in England and hadn’t been exposed to Greek customs and traditions. How could Dimitris explain to her that their parents, wanting to unite their families and fortunes, had made a wedding arrangement for them many years ago when Helena was only seven and Dimitris fifteen years old?
Dimitris was ready to honor the promise his family had made to hers, but it was up to her to decide whether she would marry him or not. Either way though, he was determined to make sure she received what was rightfully hers.
Arriving in London, he went straight to her apartment, but she wasn’t there. Talking to one of her neighbors—a very nice old lady, who seemed to be very fond of Helena—he found out she was a freshman in college and went to see her at her school.
Dimitris sighed, remembering how his heart skipped a beat, seeing her after all those years. The cute little girl with the golden braids and the huge blue eyes had turned into a stunning beauty. He stood a few hundred feet away and watched her—more beautiful than he could ever imagine—talking to a young man. Who was that? Was he another student or someone closer to her? She was laughing and seemed really happy talki
ng to him.
Dimitris observed the tall, blond-haired, young man, who was obviously very fond of her. His body language, the way he was touching her, and his whole attitude indicated a familiarity between them.
Dimitris stood undecided, contemplating on whether to approach or not and introduce himself. Would she remember him after all those years? After a moment’s hesitation, he decided it would be better to wait and approach her when she would be alone.
He was getting ready to leave when he saw the man wrapping his arm around Helena’s waist as they turned to walk away, while at the same time brushing his mouth against her hair. Dimitris bit his lower lip and clenched his fists. The possessiveness of this gesture infuriated him. He swallowed hard and was astonished to feel an irrational wave of jealousy wash over him.
He stood still, fighting hard to control an urge to rush towards them and snatch her away from that man. Irritated, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, while keeping his eyes on the couple disappearing around the corner of the school building. Then he walked back to his rented Mercedes, got in, and drove away.
It was later on that same afternoon when he visited her apartment again. This time, things turned out even worse… Ringing the doorbell, the same man from this morning answered her door.
Dimitris stood dumbfounded for a second. The other man stared at him, inquiringly.
“Is Miss Sistakis here?” Dimitris asked, after a moment’s hesitation.
“Not right now,” the other man responded, clearly unwilling to give out any more information.
“I need to speak with her,” Dimitris went on. “Do you know when she’ll be back?”
“Not sure,” the man snapped. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“And who are you?”
“I’m her fiancé. You can tell me whatever it is that you want to talk to Helena about.”
“This is something I will discuss only with Miss Sistakis,” Dimitris responded coldly, and turning on his heel, he left.
Walking away from Helena’s apartment, Dimitris gritted his teeth angrily. It was obvious now that even if she knew about their marriage arrangement, she had no intention of going through with it…
That same afternoon, Dimitris flew back to Athens. The financial information could wait. He would find another occasion to talk to her about that, or even better, have one of his attorneys contact her and make sure she was aware of what she was entitled to.
He had to admit that his ego was bruised, having been rejected like this. But this is absurd, he tried to reason with himself. She probably doesn’t even know I exist… far more, that we’re supposed to get married…
***
Helena felt a lot better after she had a bath and a hot cup of soup. She lay down on her bed and closed her eyes, thinking over the events of the day. Hearing a soft knock on the door, her eyes flew open. "Come in," she said, and her heart started racing when she saw his handsome face picking from the door.
"Are you tired?" he asked. "If you are, I’ll leave you alone… I just wanted to make sure you’re all right."
"Yes, I’m fine, thanks to you," Helena replied softly and gave him a warm smile.
Dimitris let out a deep breath and smiled back.
“How is Alex?” she asked, concerned.
She saw him taking a deep breath.
"I hope you’re not still mad at him. He was just trying to show me a good time," she tried to smooth things out.
"He had no business taking you out there," he said. "You stay away from him from now on."
"But Dimitris, he’s my friend."
She saw the expression in his eyes and got alarmed. What now?
He pushed the door wide open and walked inside the room.
Her eyes were captured by his, and she couldn’t look away. Her pulse accelerated as he came towards the bed.
***
Dimitris sat at the edge of her bed, trying hard to control his emotions. How could he explain to her what was going on? How would she take it, and how would she react? He stared at her beautiful face with those amazing blue eyes. Her eyes—the color of the sea he loved so much—had haunted him for years. His gaze moved to the silky hair spread over the pillow and then lowered to the delicate figure he could see beneath the white lace nightgown. A jolt of desire shot right through him. He sighed and clenched his fists, trying hard to prevent himself from reaching for her. Oh, how he longed to take her in his arms and keep her there forever…
Taking a deep breath, he said as calmly as he could, “Helena, you’re not in England any more, and here people talk… it’s not acceptable for a woman to have male friends and go out on trips with them when she’s to be married to someone else…"
Seeing the shocked look on her face, Dimitris stopped, giving her time to absorb what he had just told her.
Helena kept quiet, staring at him with eyes wide open from astonishment.
Seeing her like this, Dimitris took her hand in his and moved closer.
"Helena," he said, "we’re supposed to get married. It was always meant to be. As you probably know, a lot of marriages on these islands are arranged by the parents, since the children are still very young. Our marriage was arranged by our families. Before your father left with his boat on the night he disappeared, he made me promise that I would always take care of you. It was as if he knew he wasn’t coming back… I was sixteen years old back then. The only thing I was thinking about was how badly I wanted to go to the Marine Academy and become a ship’s captain, like my father and grandfather. I wanted to travel, and I didn’t care much about marriage. I promised him though, because that was the right thing to do. Our marriage had been arranged, and I was going to honor that.”
He gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb, as he was holding her hand, and went on, “I left the island a few days after your father's accident and didn’t come back until years later. I was older and more mature then, and I could take care of you. At the time I left, you were only a child. When I came back, thinking that by now you would be a grown woman, I found out that you were gone. According to our tradition, you should have lived with your mother on the island, or if she wanted to leave, my family would have taken care of you until my return. However, your mother took you away…"
He took a deep breath and continued, "I thought of you a lot all these years and about my promise to your father. I even came to England, and saw you from far away… but you seemed happy with your life there, and I could never leave Greece… Besides, I met your fiancé and…”
“You met whom?” Helena interrupted him, puzzled.
“Your fiancé,” Dimitris repeated, and seeing the dumbfounded expression on her face, he realized he had been fooled by that young man. What an idiot! He reprimanded himself for taking that man’s words for granted and not trying to find a chance to talk to her.
Dimitris clenched his fists, realizing the young man was probably in love with Helena and was trying to keep every potential opponent away from her.
“I’m not engaged,” Helena replied. “I never was…” she continued and looked at him straight in the eyes, probably trying to figure out how he came to that conclusion.
“That young man,” Dimitris started, but stopped mid-sentence. “Never mind,” he went on. “It’s not important anymore...”
“I don’t understand,” Helena whispered. “This whole thing seems so unreal…”
“I know it’s hard for you to understand,” he responded and sighed. It was hard for him to find the right words. At first, it was the promise… but after he went looking for her and saw her again after all these years, something stirred up inside him. Meeting with the fiancé, though, threw him off balance. His ego forced him to rethink his decision to honor the promise and try to move on with his life. But then this stunning enchantress came back to the island and shattered his fragile equilibrium, stirring up a tidal wave of passion threatening to engulf him. Dimitris knew, though, he couldn’t possibly tell her about th
at. He didn’t want to scare her away, exposing the power of his emotions.
He suddenly realized Helena was waiting for him to go on.
“I’d given up on you,” he continued, “but then you came back, and I had a chance to make things right. However, you started behaving like this and being friendly with a man you’ve just met… I won’t allow that, Helena. You’re not in England any more. You’re on the island, in my world, and you have to live by our rules."
***
Helena couldn’t believe her ears. She lay there bewildered, staring at him. She didn’t know whether to believe him or not. He must be crazy, she thought. Things like that don't happen—not anymore. She knew about Greek customs and traditions, but that was in the past. People don’t live like that anymore—or do they? Is tradition still strong on this island? Am I really considered to be his fiancé, and is that the reason why Sophie told me I couldn’t leave? Does Sophie agree with all this? What’s happening to me? Helena wondered, not being able to comprehend everything she had just heard.
"Helena?" he said, and she saw the question in his eyes, but she couldn’t say a word.
"I realize this is too much for you right now… I’ll let you rest and think," he added and standing up, he walked out the door.
Helena looked around her in panic. What was happening to her? Was she crazy, or was everybody else around her? Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Sophie who came to see how she was doing, and if she was feeling any better. Helena said she was all right, and didn’t mention anything about Dimitris and what he had told her.
“Try to get some sleep, sweetie,” Sophie said, and left the room, softly closing the door behind her.
Helena realized she wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Her life had been turned upside down for one more time, and she didn’t know what to do. Of course, she could get up and leave the next morning. Then again, was that really what she wanted to do?