C3 CHAPTER 1

FOUR YEARS LATER...

ATHENS, GREECE

If only she could be a food.

Food didn't lie. Food smelled good when it was edible. Food smelled bad when it was rotten. If only everyone could be food, maybe she wouldn't be so confused. Somewhere in the room, Doc Simon Corba continued to talk in a pompous-sounding voice. The thin-haired, bespectacled man had appointed himself as her guardian since her grandmother had died, and everyone in the estate as well as the lawyers hadn't questioned it. Or atleast everyone except her.

" Are you listening to me, Ms. Rewis? " - Doc Simon, wrestled with irritation and infatuation as he gazed at his future wife.

Whose profile was turned towards the expansive windows. Kathryn Ice meant 'beautiful' in their language, and the Rewis heiress was indeed the embodiment of physical pefection. Her long, shiny hair was like ebony silk, providing a mesmerizing contrast against her skin, which was an unusual ivory shade when most Greek girls had sun-kissed complexions. Tall, slim, and long- legged, Kathryn Ice also had an equally perfect figure, the kind that any dress would end up flattering. 'Perfect', Doc Simon thought, and if his plans would proceed without fail, this goddess and all her money would be his. Straightening, he walked towards Kathryn, and in what he hope was a hard.

" I asked you a question, Ms. Rewis. " - Simon, authoritative voice.

Kathryn slowly turned towards him, and her large, violet, all seeing eyes focused on his face. Doc Simon could feel himself flushing under the girl's gaze. It was as if she knew exactly what he was planning. Which was rubbish, the doctor told himself. He had been exceptionally careful, and never once had he slipped in the presence of Kristina Rewis when she was still alive. No one knew that he had unintenionally learned the truth while listening to the old woman's maudling ramblings whe she was under the power of heavy sedatives. From there, it had been ludicrously easy to confirm the facts. Although all files about Kathryn's past and her medical history had been destroyed, people's memories remained, and those memories could always be bought. Doc Simon grimaced at the thought of how much he had paid for those memories. 'Half of his life savings blown away, but he had to think of it as an investment he could recoup, the doctor comforted himself. When his gaze returned to Kathryn Ice, the 18 year old girl.

" No. " - Kathy, said in an exquisite lilting voice.

" No, what? " - Doc Simon was confused having forgotten what he had asked.

Her violet eyes unblinking and steady on his face.

" No, I wasn't listening to you. I don't like listening to foolish talk. " - Kathryn Ice, clearly. Her voice took on a patient note.

" I told you that already, didn't I, Dr. Corba? " - Kathy

" Y-You musn't speak to me that way. " - Doc Simon, could feel himself flushing at the heiress words. He managed to bluster even though he was more humiliated than furious.

There was just something about the way Kathryn Ice Rewis looked and talked that made one feel like he was facing an angel. A real angel, one that hadn't sinned and never would, how could anyone lie to an angel?

The heiress head inclined to a side, a puzzled look on her face.

" In what way, Doc Simon? " - Kathy

'She really was mad', Doc Simon told himself. She had no sense of propriety, no sense of right and wrong. If he didn't do his duty by intervening, she could be completely out of touch with reality and maybe even end up killing herself or someone else. Ultimately, he would be doing Kathryn Ice and a world the great favor by taking her under his wings. The thought made the doctor unconciously puff his chest out and condescencion turn his voice oily when he said.

" Never mind that. " - Doc Simon, smiled at Kathryn

" Even though your grandmother has unfortunately departed this world, I want you to know you are not completely alone." - Doc Simon, added.

Kathryn's violet eyes blinked once.

" How can I be alone when I have entire staff with me, Doc Simon? " - Kathy

" I don't mean just physical companionship, Ms. Rewis. I meant that will Kristina Rewis gone, who will be there to take care of you?" - Doc Simon, has pause before sliding the first knife into her back, saying.

" The staff is paid to cater to your needs, but they don't love you. " - Doc Simon, word was calculated to poison, the way only people born with the capacity to be treacherous could.

" I hope you didn't fool yourself into thinking they have gradually come to care for you just because of the years you've spent together? " - Doc Simon, added.

Kathryn didn't speak, but Doc Simon observed in satisfaction that the young woman now sat tensely on the sofa, her back ramrod straight and her elegant fingers curled into fists on her lap.

" You're an exceptionally intelligent girl, " - Doc Simon, murmured.

" You know I'm saying the truth, don't you, Kathryn Ice? May I call you that --- " - Doc Simon, added..

" No. " - Kathy, answered.

The doctor started at the girl's cold voice and when he glanced at her, he almost found himself rearing back at the fierce intensity in her violet eyes. A shiver ran through him, and he suddenly realized that this girl would be more than happy to dance on his grave. 'She disliked him that much', Doc Simon thought, and this angered and offended Doc Simon's great pride so that it pushed him to reveal his inner emotions for the first time.

" Don't start putting on airs, " - Doc Simon said nastily.

" When we both know who you were before Kristina Rewis dressed you in jewels and furs. " - Doc Simon, added.

Kathryn Ice's expressionless face didn't alter at the doctor's outburst, and her voice was mild when she said.

" I don't own any jewelry or fur, Doc Corba. " - Kathryn had only meant to correct the doctor's misassumption about her wardrobe but it only seemed to goad him further.

" You think you don't deserved someone like me, don't you? " - Doc Simon accused.

" Yes. " - Kathryn couldn't lie, she said simply. This time, the doctor looked like he wanted to kill her.

Throughout his years of being a physician to Greece's rich and famous, Doc Simon had struggled with insecurities fed by his greed and envy. The more he saw of their wealth, the deeper his sense of injustice became. He had every right to be as rich and powerful as all of them were. The only difference between them was that his parents had been truer than with Kathryn Ice. 'If not for Rewis blood running through her', Doc Simon thought angrily, she would have remained the slave of a lunatic and maybe starved to death in a couple of years. She was nothing without her name but because she was an Rewis, she was everything that Doc Simon, despite all his hard work, was not. In his self-righteous anger, the doctor failed to realized that he was completely wrong about the Rewis heiress in one sense. Kathryn Ice, whose years with Madame Antonia had taught her perspicacity beyond her years, had never been fooled by the doctor's obsequious manners. A such, she did not dislike Doc Simon Corba. She simply did not trust him. And because she did not trust him, she did not believe she deserved him. 'How could she when she didn't know him yet?'

" I'm afraid you have no choice, Kathryn Ice. " - Doc Simon used the girl's given name with relish.

Again, Kathryn Ice only cocked her head to the side in silent question.

" You are too young and sick to live alone. I will request the courts to put you under my care as you have no one ... " - Doc Simon

" But Doctor Corba, " - Kathryn interrupted quietly,

" Did't I tell you? I am not alone. " - Kathryn, added.

" The staff doesn't count, " - Doc Simon said impatiently.

" But I'm not talking about the staff. " - Kathryn said.

" Then who? An imaginary friend? " - Doc Simon, snide remark came out before he could stop himself.

And Doc Simon flushed guiltily at how childishly petty he had become. 'But it was all her fault', he told himself. She had insulted him first! But when Kathryn Ice spoke, it was obvious she hadn't taken offense at all.

" No, Doctor Corba. " - Kathryn beautiful face remained serene, her voice unruffled.

It was as if he had no power at all to affect her, and the doctor perceived this as another slight to his pride. Insecurities fed his hatred, and all his good intentions were forgotten as he said coldly,

" I wonder, Ms. Rewis. " - Doc Simon spat her name out.

" Maybe with your grandmother dead, you realized you've been living a lie all along? The greatest lie of all. Maybe you've come to know that without Kristina Rewis, you are nothing and you have to go back to Madame--- " - Doc Simon said.

A flicker in those violet eyes and Doc Simon wanted to laugh triumphantly at it.

" Yes, " - Doc Simon gloated.

" I know everything about Madame Antonia, and if you ask me, I think she had it right on how to handle someone like you. " - Doc Simon, added.

He looked at Kathryn Ice, and this time he didn't bother hiding behind a wall of professionalism. This time, he looked at her with all the lust he felt in his body ever since he saw her. He wanted to fuck her, but not as a woman to care for. He wanted to fuck her as his sex slave. Kathryn Ice's face remained expressionless, but there was no hiding the sudden pallor of her skin, no disguising the way her body had become stiff as a corpse. 'He had gotten to her', Doc Simon observed in cruel satisfaction. And he had. Names had power, one either brought by fear or love. For Kathryn, she had unthinkingly given Madame Antonia's name power over her by steadfastly refusing to think of it, much less say it. For Kathryn, the name Madame Antonia didn't exist and by thinking so, she had turned the name into a "bogeyman" that lived under her skin. And when the doctors had spoken the name, it was as if he had claimed ownership. In her eyes, in her mind and heart, Doc Simon Corba was Madame Antonia's reincarnate. She believed this even if her logic, her much-lauded MENSA-level IQ, told Kathryn vehemently she was wrong. A hungry, obsessed smile spread on Simon's lips. He started to speak about his plans, and oh, how glorious they looked now, when the Rewis butler interrupted them, coming forward and bowing before announcing,.

" Ms. Rewis, you have a guest. " - Rewis Butler

Doc Simon wanted to strangle the butler. The web of influence he had weaved around the girl disappeared in a flash. He saw it happen right before his eyes, with the way Kathryn Ice Rewis shook her head, as if she was brushing off the power he had started to wield over her, with dear old Madame Antonia's help.

'No.' Doc Simon wanted to howl. Taking out his anger on the butler, he snapped.

" She's still in mourning, Carlos. You should--- " - Doc Simon stopped when Kathryn came to her feet and walked out of the drawing room.

" Stop, Kathryn! " - Doc Simon

And she did stop, turning towards him with burning violet eyes that made him recoil.

" You are not to call me that, Doctor Corba. " - Kathryn's voice was quiet, cold, and almost menacing, and Doc Simon bitterly realized that he had been too hasty.

He shouldn't have showed his true colors right away. Kathryn Ice Rewis would never trust him now, and if he wanted to have her, it would not be with the girl's voluntary support. Doc Simon fists clenched against his sides. So be it. Whatever it took, he would make sure that Kathryn and her fortune would be his. 'It was fate, he told himself, God's way of giving him what he truly deserved.' When Kathryn walked away again, Doc Simon and the butler followed her to the mansion's receiving hallway. One of the front doors was open, and Doc Simon slowed down when he saw a tall, black-haired man standing outside, his back to them. 'Who the hell was that?'

He watched Kathryn halt by the door. As if sensing her presence, the man turned around, and to Doc Simon's disappointment, the stranger turned out to be a lot worse than he thought. The man was not only younger than he was but also exceedingly handsome. Worse than that, this man wore a cloak of power and strength as if he was born to it. Watching Kathryn and the stranger gazing at each other like long-lost lovers, Doc Simon experienced a crushing sense of fear.

" Kathryn! " - Doc Simon voice was sharp.

The doctor wanting to tear his future wife away from the stranger but sheer cowardice making him powerless to do so. Kathryn didn't turn around. Swallowing back his anger, he walked towards the couple.

" Ms. Rewis--- " - Doc Simon tried to reach the girl.

But the way the stranger's brilliantly blue gaze pierced him with blatant warning made the doctor's hand fall back. Jealous anger made him grind his teeth as he watched Kathryn move closer towards the stranger before facing him. Her violet eyes rested on him, and a sense of foreboding washed over him at the way the girl looked so damn 'Peaceful'. 'Who the hell was this interloper?', Doc Simon wondered furiously. As if hearing his thoughts, the stranger offered his hand, his voice deep and strong as he murmured in flawless English,

" My name is Yuri Daniel Athanas. " - Yuri

Doc Simon foreboding worsened. 'Athanas..' as someone related to the billionaire Nathaniel Athanas?

" Doctor Simon Corba, and I am acting as Ms. Rewis guardian, in Loco parentis while we request the court--- " - Doc Simon reluctantly shook hands with the stranger.

He was forced to stop when the younger man shook his head.

" That is no longer necessary, " - Yuri murmured politely.

" As her fiance, Ms. Rewis is now under my care. " - Yuri, added.