96 The Black Sheep Of The Family [1]
[Trigger Warning: Mentions of domestic abuse. Please read with care.]
“Athena!” Elias reprimanded strongly with a disappointed look. “Not another word from you.”
Athena pushed to her feet, grabbed a bottle of wine, and stumbled out in a hurry.
She’s drunk.
When Ares attempted to move, I was already up on my feet and scurried out.
“Athena!” I called as I chased after her, but she was quick on her heels until I could no longer see her.
“Athena!” I swirled around the hallway, holding my head momentarily.
I have had too much to drink.
I shook it off and continued my search until I finally found her. Athena was outside, seated close to the water fountain, the soft sounds‘ of the running water filling the air.
I sighed, going down the stairs, careful so that I don’t trip.
What am I even doing here?
I don’t have an answer to that question; all I knew was I wanted to be here, and I had a feeling she needed someone.
I sat next to her, silence taking over us. It took a moment before I glanced her way.
She wasn’t crying. Okay… maybe this could be a lot easier.
“That’s by far the worst dinner I’ve ever had,” I began. “Just when I thought staying here wouldn’t get any worse, this night proves me otherwise.”
It was utter chaos. The woman my ex cheated with was here, and tried to warp the whole story and humiliate me in front of everyone, not just anyone, the Kings.
This was all Agatha’s doing, and she clearly had it out for me, I knew that now.
“I’m a fool, aren’t I?” Athena said, tilting her head to the side. “There I was seeking daddy’s support when he didn’t even care if I existed anymore.”
“You’re not a fool. Everyone seeks their dad’s support. It’s totally normal.”
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96 The Black Sheep Of The Family [1]
“It wasn’t always like this, you know… when mom was still alive, daddy cherished me in a way. At least I was treated like his daughter and not a stranger.”
Athena glanced at the statue, and I did too. “He made this statue for her after she died.”
No wonder it wasn’t a common angelic figure. It was beautiful, and the details reflected that it was an image of someone. That was the reason why Ares eyed it the day we arrived.
It must have unlocked memories.
“That witch probably glares at it all the time.” She drank from the bottle of wine.
Witch? Was she talking about Agatha?
“Finally, a suitable tag.”
Athena snorted.
“Athena…” I began in a serious tone. “Do you wanna talk or…”
“Why? I thought you hated me.”
“I don’t hate you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t?” she questioned, almost in disbelief, and then in joy. “Really?!”
“I don’t hate hate you. That’s on a whole different level.”
“So you hate me.”
“You’re a handful,” I summarise. “And you get under my skin and forcefully insert yourself into my life. Your dedication is unmatched.”
“You hate me,” she pouted.
“Okay, enough with that… I didn’t follow you out here to talk about how much hate
there is…”
Athena sighed. “Then what do you wanna talk about?”
“Tell me about you, Athena. I wanna understand why your parents treat you like an unwanted.”
“Really?”
“You spoke up for me back there. The situation mortified Tori. And me? I was just
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96 The Black Sheep Of The Family [1]
gonna sit there and take all that shit like a pro. I should have spoken up for myself, but
I didn’t… then Ares…” I smiled. “He held the gun, and you pulled the trigger.”
She giggled, and I did too.
“So
you wanna know about the black sheep of the family. I honestly think you were gonna tell me I deserve what happened there.”
“No… no one deserves to be called out like that.”
“As do you.”
“Thank you!”
Silence fell between us, but it wasn’t for long.
“I was married once, a few years back.”
“I know that. The media carried it in waves. They called it the wedding of the century.”
She shrugged. “It was. Daddy married me off and made sure I had the wedding worthy of a princess.”
My expression fell. He pushed her into an arranged marriage? The hell?!
When she caught my reaction, she added, “It’s a normal thing. Partnership brings more connections for the family, and if you happen to be a girl, you become the key to those things.”
“It’s not fair.”
“But I fell in love.”
“Athena?” I said softly as her face grew pained.
“Is it true when someone loves you, they don’t beat you?”
My heart dropped. “W–What?”
“Mine did, and he always said he loves me. It was really odd.”
My mouth hung open, and I was speechless.
“Until I realized it wasn’t supposed to be like that, but I stayed because I loved him. It never stopped, no matter how much I tried. Every time he would shower me with gifts to apologise, and I’d forgive him. It was an endless cycle. He isolated me until I had no one to turn to. To Midnight, we were a perfect couple anyone would kill to be like.”
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The more she said, the heavier my heart grew, because I recalled scrolling through public photos at random and sighing at them and wishing for something like that.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what hell she went through or the thoughts in her head when she thought everything would turn for the best, only to be a shattered
illusion.
“I should have opened up to Ares.”
“You were scared.”
“I should have. It wouldn’t have ended the way it did if I had. I got pregnant, and thought everything was gonna change, but I was so wrong.”
I shook my head slowly, praying that what she was about to say wasn’t what I thought.
“He got so mad one day, and the next thing I knew was… I woke up in the hospital.”
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