Page 16 of This Bitter Sweet Temptation
It’s worse than I imagined—and this nail-eating assignment startstoday.
So much for any hope that he’d tie things up neatly and send me on my merry way.
So much for hoping I’d never have to deal with Nile and her bullshit again.
3
TREASURE MAP (CLEO)
Welp.
I’m so confused I can hardly breathe.
PopPop loved his mysteries growing up. He was a master of puzzles and he made it his personal mission to send us on complex scavenger hunts along the beach, the backyard, or sometimes when we’d visit that adorable little cabin upstate.
But this?
This feels a little like finding out my adoring, whimsical grandfather pulled the legendary sword from the stone, and he’s just been sitting on it for my entire life.
My head keeps whirling well over an hour later, though it feels like ten minutes. Maybe three lifetimes.
Who knows.
His crumpled letter hangs from my hand, the ink slightly smudged from the sweat on my palms. I’ve read it so many times I can probably recite the words in my sleep, but I still don’t grasp what it’s saying.
I mean, I understand the literal message. But the reality where he left this egg forme?
I can’t.
I can’t believe he chose me over Ethan and Margot and everybody in the world who’s more qualified. He decided to givemethe Hera Egg no one knew he had.
I bring the letter to my chest, inhaling it.
I swear there’s the faintest hint of his smell.
Old books and muted cologne. Leather and leaves. A lifetime of celebrations and regrets from Maine to New York to Athens and Cairo.
He called me his granddaughter, and I believed him. But if I had any doubts when inheritance time came… I wonder if this is how he’s decided to prove it.
Reading his words lets me hear him from the Great Beyond. Something I never thought I’d experience again.
My dearest Cleopatra.
Despite everything, I smile.
He’s probably the only person alive who’d call me by my full name.
Definitely the only person who didn’t make me feel ridiculous for being named after an ancient Egyptian queen.
We can thank my parents for that. A grandma on my mom’s side who shared the name was all it took to get Dad on board. He loved how pretentious it sounded and swore it made me destined for greatness.
Too bad I never fit the bill.
But now that I’m a little older and past the high school teasing, I’ve grown into it, I guess. Cleo suits me because it’s familiar.
And partly because PopPop made it more tolerable with his stories and old history books. He made me realize being a badass, strong woman is actually a bit of a humble brag.
Big shoes to fill after a queen who had Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony wrapped around her finger, but sometimes there’s a little placebo effect. Channeled energy.
