Emmett went quiet for a moment. After a long pause, he shrugged casually.
“What choice do I have? She’s an orphan, desperate for affection. Athena is completely smitten with me. If I show her a little kindness now, it’ll be easier to keep her in check when everything falls apart later.”
Athena froze, her face tightening, her body shaking as though a cold wind had pierced her.
She didn’t hear much more of their conversation, but soon, Emmett’s laughter echoed through the air.
“In front of me, Athena is like a dog. With one wave of my hand, she comes running. Don’t worry, I won’t screw this up.”
With a sharp "thud," the drink in Athena’s hand nearly slipped away, but she caught it just in time. Hearing footsteps approaching from downstairs, she quickly grabbed her drink and fled, praying they hadn’t noticed her.
She had been wrong. Emmett hadn’t torn his heart in two. It had always belonged to Aliana, and Athena had been nothing more than a tool in his hands.
Throwing her drink into the trash, Athena leaned against the wall, gasping for air, her chest tightening as though it were being squeezed by invisible hands.
Emmett had been right. She had been nothing more than a loyal dog, responding to his every command, leaving whenever he dismissed her.
Her chest ached as she pressed her palm against it, trying to steady her breath, but her vision blurred with the tears she refused to let fall. At least now, she could finally see through the lies. No longer would she debase herself in front of Emmett.
Wiping her eyes, Athena walked back as if nothing had changed. She had no memory of how she had left the scene, but her heart felt as if it had been shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.
All she knew was that she couldn’t go back to him. There was nothing left between them. She could never forgive him.
Whenever she thought back to that day, it felt like reopening old wounds, each memory a fresh cut that stung anew. But as the days slipped by, she had grown numb to the pain. At least now, she no longer cried herself to sleep as she had done in the beginning.
Eventually, Athena took matters into her own hands and dug into Aliana’s past. What she uncovered was both shocking and heartbreaking. Aliana was Emmett’s first love, an unforgotten piece of his heart, a connection that had never truly faded.