Chapter 7
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His mind spiraled as the reality of his situation continued to settle over him. He wasn’t the man he used to be. His body, once strong and invincible, now betrayed him at every turn. Every inch of his body screamed for attention every bruise, every fracture, a testament to the accident that had torn his world apart.
He closed his eyes, his mind racing through his options, none of them good. His company, Calloway Enterprises, the very thing that had defined him, was slipping through his fingers. The doctors, the lawyers none of them had answers, none of them could tell him how long this would last. Would he ever walk again? Would he ever be able to reclaim the power he’d once held?
He could feel the cold emptiness inside, his identity shattered like glass, and for the first time in his life, he didn’t know who he was.
The weight of betrayal hit him harder now, as the memories of that night became sharper, more vivid. Victor. Charlotte. How could they have abandoned him so easily? His closest friend, his fiancée both of them had turned their backs on him. Was it the accident? Or had there been something more? The more Ares thought about it, the more he realized he had been blind.
Was it their fault? Had they engineered his downfall? Or had they simply seen his weakness and used it to their advantage?
His body ached, but it was his mind that burned. He wanted answers. He needed to know what had happened.
You’re nothing now, he thought bitterly, staring at the ceiling as if it might provide some kind of solace. They’ve all left you. You have no control. No power.
His chest tightened at the thought. The man who had conquered every obstacle, the man who had built a billion–dollar empire, was now reduced to a mere shell. What was he supposed to do now? How could he survive this?
The door opened softly, and Selene stepped back into the room. Her gaze softened when she saw him, but the mask of professionalism remained. She wasn’t the same as the others, and yet, Ares couldn’t shake the feeling that she was playing him.
“Are you alright?” she asked, her voice low, concerned, but there was something… measured about it.
Ares turned his head to look at her, his anger bubbling beneath the surface, threatening to spill over. “No,” he replied, his voice rasping. “I’m not. None of this is right. What happened to me, Selene? Why am I here? Why you?”
Her eyes flickered slightly, and for the first time, Ares saw something something that resembled uncertainty in her gaze. But it vanished quickly, replaced by a calm demeanor once more.
“I’m here because you need help,” she said simply, her voice level. “And because I promised to help you recover.”
But Ares wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t convinced by her calm. He wasn’t convinced by her perfect words.
“Are you really here to help me, or is this all part of your plan?” he demanded, the frustration, the anger, the helplessness pouring into his voice. “What’s your agenda, Selene?”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she walked toward the window, her back to him.
When she spoke, her voice was soft but firm. “Everyone has an agenda, Ares. Yours is just harder to see right now.”
Ares felt his heart skip a beat as he processed her words. He couldn’t tell if she was mocking him or if she truly knew something he
didn’t.
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11:57 Sun, Oct 12
Chapter 7
His pulse quickened as the weight of her words sank in. And for the first time since he woke up, Ares wondered if he had misjudged everything, every person who had been in his life. Selene’s cryptic words lingered in the air like smoke, something he couldn’t quite grasp but could feel settling deep in his chest. Everyone has an agenda. The idea, simple and disturbing, echoed in his mind.
His world, once defined by clarity and control, was slipping further into murky waters. Was Selene just another player in a game he no longer understood? Or was she truly there to help him?
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to clear the fog of frustration. But it was hard to focus when his thoughts were so clouded by anger, betrayal, and confusion. The shadows of the past week the crash, Victor’s evasions, Charlotte’s coldness still loomed large. They were too real, too close to ignore.
But there was something about Selene. Something he couldn’t ignore. Despite the doubts swirling around her, there was an undeniable calmness in her presence that grounded him, even if just for a moment. He hated how it made him feel vulnerable.
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