At that moment, Emmett held her from behind, his voice persistent as he teased about having a child together. He was insistent it had to be a boy.
When Athena saw the notification of foreign text flashing on the screen, Emmett furrowed his brow. “What’s this?”
Athena, with practiced calm, turned off the screen and casually replied, “A few foreign poems. I’m preparing my wedding vows for tomorrow.”
Emmett, hearing her words, relaxed at once, his grip tightening as he pulled her into his arms with a soft smile. “Wife, you really love me, don’t you?”
He lifted her gently, laying her on the bed, his eyes gleaming as he leaned over her. “From now on, you have to keep loving me like this, okay?”
Athena’s gaze lingered on him, and with a teasing smile, she asked, “What if I fall out of love?”
“You won’t,” he murmured, kissing her eyelids tenderly.
“Neither will I,” he added, his voice lowering. “Remember what we said before: whoever falls out of love first will be struck by lightning.”
Athena let out a soft laugh, the sound like music in the quiet room.
For the first time, she reached up and gently ruffled his hair, her touch tender. “Yes, struck by lightning.”
For some reason, Emmett felt a stirring unease, an instinctive sense that Athena had uncovered something, something he had hoped she wouldn’t.
But it didn’t matter, not anymore. He only had to endure a little longer.
Once they were married, Aliana’s baby arrived, and he could bring the child home and pass it off as his and Athena’s. After securing the Davidson family’s legacy, everything would fall into place. He could do whatever he wanted, no longer tethered to this charade.
Yet, in that moment, a strange pang of heartache tugged at him.
The silence stretched between them as they lay side by side, closer than ever yet worlds apart in their thoughts. Neither spoke, both wrapped in their own worlds, the weight of unspoken words pressing down on them.
Just as sleep threatened to take over, Emmett’s phone rang, the sound sharp in the stillness of the night. He hurriedly left, his footsteps echoing in the quiet.
In the dark, Athena’s eyes flickered open, her gaze following his retreating figure.
“Emmett, where are you going?” she asked.
Emmett paused mid-step, his expression momentarily betraying a flicker of hesitation. But in the end, he chose to lie.
“There’s an urgent matter at work, and I need to handle it.”