"Good evening, Mother." Stefan stared in the icy depths of his mother's
blue eyes, the irises filled now with detached surprise.

"What are you doing here?" were the first words out of her mouth.

Stefan settled himself in. He hadn't done this in a long time. He finally focused his attention back on Helena. He, of course, couldn't tell her the truth. That he had come on the chance that he might see his brother's wife. He avoided the question instead. "I see Father failed to inform you of my arrival."

"Apparently," Helena said, looking at Mikkos, who had the same impassive look on his face.

"It's a shame you didn't announce yourself earlier, you could have met Stavros'... wife," Helena nearly choked on the word.

"We've met," Stefan said. "Briefly. It would have been nice to have known about my brother's wedding firsthand and not from the international news section."

"If you spent more time in serious matters, like the family business, you would be more informed," Mikkos decided to join in the conversation.

"My presence nor absence seems to have mattered, in either case."

Helena smiled coldly. "My dear boy, it never has."

Stefan felt the hot sting of her words, but said nothing. He had learned long ago not to let his mother know how her words still affected him. "Where is the happy couple?"

Helena's face was filled with disgust. "Stavros decided to take Lasha out for the evening."

"As he should," Stefan said.

Clearly, that was not what Helena wanted to hear.

The rest of the evening was spent in silence.

*****

Laura woke up, a frown marring her face as it took her a second to remember where she was. She had been living there for months now, but it still didn't quite feel like home. She wondered if it ever would. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to face what she already knew. Her hand slowly made its way to the place her husband should be.

But there was nothing there but empty space. He was gone. She rolled to the side, sinking her head into the pillow, waiting for sleep to find her again.

But a single thought came racing through her mind, keeping her from the sweet escape. This was her life?

She sat up, wiping the tears from her face. Her eyes took a minute to adjust to the dim light. She squinted to make out the time. Four o'clock in the morning.

She got out of bed, slipping on her robe. She walked over to the balcony, a gust of wind refreshing her as she opened the doors that led to it. She breathed in the cool breeze, as her bare feet walked on the gravel surface.

The view was breathtaking, there was no denying that. It was like the fairy tales she had heard when she was a little girl with the Vinings. She smiled ruefully. Almost. She had married a Prince, dashing and handsome. And here they were, living in his castle.

Only this Cinderella was alone.

She had a sudden need to get out of the house, to feel the soft grass under her feet. She walked through the barely-lit halls and stairways, feeling as though she were sneaking out.

As the first blades of cool grass tickled her feet, she wondered why she'd never done this before.

She walked slowly, taking in every inch of sensation. Stavros had shown her around their first day here, their first day as husband and wife. Tears once again welled in her eyes, and she could do nothing to stop them.

"I miss you," she whispered, tightening her robe around her figure, suddenly cold.

There was a soft rustling of leaves behind her, not the kind of sound made by the wind. She turned around, seeing the figure of a man, the soft light of the coming sunrise catching the color in his hair.

Stefan.

He was reading, she noticed. In a few seconds he would walk past her, never knowing she was there. For some reason, the thought bothered her. "There's barely any light," Laura called out.

Stefan stopped, looking up. Was he hearing things? He looked around until finally his eyes fell upon a bemused Laura.

"Enough," Stefan replied. Even with her face shadowed, he could still see the streaks from her crying. He focused on his book, trying to ignore the feelings she was once again eliciting in him.

It was hard to do when she was walking closer to him, subtly demanding his attention. "Do you do this often?"

"Walk?" He responded to Laura's nod with his own. "Ever since I can remember."

"Did you and Stavros take walks together when you were kids?"

"Stavros... and I never spent that much time together. But I am sure he would be glad to do so with his wife," Stefan answered diplomatically.

Laura looked away, her face distorting for a second. "He's not here." She looked back at him, a fake smile in place.

"He must be very busy working," Stefan said, glancing at her before again staring intently at the opened pages. "I heard my father and him discussing important business earlier."

Laura almost smiled. Another difference from Stavros. He couldn't lie worth a damn. "I know he cheats on me," she said quietly.

Stefan closed his book. So she knew. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Why do you stay with him?" Stefan had to know.

Laura short laugh was hollow. "And do what instead, exactly? Go back home and face my family and friends? Tell them that my husband cheated on me not even a week after we got married? A WEEK," her voice trembled. "What did I do wrong?" Her eyes pleaded with him to give her an answer.

He wouldn't let her go down that road. He let the book fall to the ground in a muted thud. Closing the space between them, he took her by the arms gently, making sure to avoid the place where Stavros had grabbed her. He looked at her intently, forcing her to look at him. "Listen to me. Stavros is my brother, but he is the in the wrong here, not you. Laura," he took a deep breath. "You deserve better."

She looked at him with disbelieving eyes. "No, I don't, she whispered. "You don't know me. You don't know what I've done. I'm not innocent."

"None of us are. Including--."

"Please, don't," Laura said, pushing his arms away from her. "I know he's not perfect. But I do... I do love him. He's my husband, and I'm going to make this marriage work." She paused. "And I'm sorry I keep dragging you into this, dumping all my problems on you. It's not fair to you."

"We're family now," Stefan answered. "And I'd like for us to be friends, Laura."

Laura smiled. "I'd like that, too, Stefan." She impulsively hugged him. "Thank you."

He knew he shouldn't, but he returned her embrace. "You're welcome."

"I should go back to my room and get ready. I must look a mess." She smoothed back her hair, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"You look beautiful," Stefan murmured, before he realized how that sounded.

A light blush tinted Laura's cheeks. "See you at breakfast?"

Stefan nodded, "I'll be there."

A tiny voice inside him told him the logical thing to do would be to leave the Island, as planned. To put as much distance between himself and his brother's wife, and forget about what he felt when he was with her. But he ignored it.

He would stay.