ATHENA
| rush out as the wind slapson my face. Everything comes crashing down,
and | feel my heart pump even faster.
"How'd it go? Does he have it?" Zayan asks when | enter the car.
"Even if he does, he wouldn't admit it." | grind out as | hold back my tears.
He betrayed me.
My hands shake as | look at the photos on my phone. They're from the security footage, and in it is Ryan.
Walking into my apartment empty-handed and walking out with a damn box.
Anger surges throughin ways | didn't know was possible. How dare he do this
to me?
What did you expect, Athena? That the man had fallen head over heels for you?
A little voice tauntsin the worst way possible.
The car suddenly feels too small, and | feel like | can't breathe.
"You don't have to be strong with me, Athena. You can cry if you want to. You know I'm here for you." Zayan says,
but it does nothing to soothe my aching heart.
"Thank you for being here. Without your connection, | wouldn't have gotten that footage." | whisper with a small
smile.
Zayan doesn't smile back. He just watches me, his eyes filled with concern. One hand is gripping the steering
wheel while the other is clenched like he's holding himself back from doing something reckless.
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"I'd do worse than get footage if you askto," he mutters. "He shouldn't have touched that box. That was your
parents. That was your peace."
"Maybe he needed it. He is sick after all." | mumble.
Zayan turns to face me, "Alex is sick?"
| nod. "Heart failure. Though he's been fine all these years, | guess he wants to prevent it before it gets too late.
But for him to steal from me? That was so wrong." | shake my head as a bitter laugh escapes my lips, "You know
the funny thing is, all he had to tellwas he needed it, and | would have given it to him."
| swipe at my tears as they fall, helpless against the flood I've been holding in since | saw the video. Since |
walked into that office. Since he smiled atlike nothing was wrong.
| squeeze my eyes shut.
Zayan glances atagain, then quietly pulls the car into a side street and parks.
"You need to breathe," he says softly.
| don't argue. I'm running low on strength.
All my life, I've had to live on the edge. When | was young, | had to work hard at school, so | didn't end up
disappointing my family. They were geniuses making a difference.
| felt pressured to be the best so they'd be proud.
Then they died, and | found myself in the Kings family. The pressure beceven worse because | not only had
to strive, | had to be perfect and hidden at the stime.
But all that can't compare to how painful a shredded heart truly is. | should have listened the first time.
Isabelle was right.
"Maybe that's why he stole it. So he could be cured. Alex doesn't ask for permission or see the need to just does
things. | shouldn't have let you get close again." s
"It's fine. Maybe this was what | needed, a wake-up call."
The silence in the car is thick, broken
only by my unsteady breathing. My hands a still shaking as hold my
phone tighter, staring at Ryan's face
frozen in the still frame.
belongs to s
A reminder of who Alex really is.
Zayan pulls back onto the road without saying anything else. We drive in silence
until he pulls into the parking lot of a quiet outdoor café by the pier.
The place is nearly empty, the soft breeze carrying the scent of salt and roasted coffee beans.
He parks the car and looks at me.
"Con. You need something warm."
| don't argue. I'd settle for a shot of vodka, but | have to pick Rayen in the
morning, so coffee should be fine.
We order two coffees and sit on one
of the wooden benches facing the water. The waves crash gently against the shore, people walking their dogs in
the distance, the world moving on like nothing is breaking inside me. s
Zayan places the steaming cup in front of me, but | just wrap my fingers around it
for warmth.
A vibration cuts through my brain, makinglook down at my phone.
It flashes lan.
| press decline.
It vibrates again.
| press decline.
A moment later, a message flashes across the screen.
[Athena, please callback. It's about Alex, he...]
Without hesitation, | swipe left and delete it before even reading the rest.
Zayan watchesclosely.
"Why don't you take the call?"
| don't meet his gaze. | just stare out at the waves, letting the warmth of the cup
seep into my bones.
"It's not important," | whisper.
But something nags me, pulls at my heartstrings, and screams at me. Tellingsomething is wrong.
| push that feeling away and bury it so deep.
"Thank you, Zayan." | turn to face him, "You're one of the few people who have
never betrayed me."