ATHENA

I rush out as the wind ps me on my face. Everythinges crashing down,

and I feel my heart pump even faster.

"How''d it go? Does he have it?" Zayan asks when I enter the car.

"Even if he does, he wouldn''t admit it." I grind out as I hold back my tears.

He betrayed me.

My hands shake as I 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 through me in ways I 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 taunts me in the worst way possible.

The car suddenly feels too small, and I feel like I 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.fn1d3b Updates are released by FιndＮovel/fn1d3b

"Thank you for being here. Without your connection, I wouldn''t have gotten that footage." I 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.

"I''d do worse than get footage if you ask me to," 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." I mumble.

Zayan turns to face me, "Alex is sick?"

I nod. "Heart failure. Though he''s been fine all these years, I guess he wants to prevent it before it gets toote. But for him to steal from me? That was so wrong." I shake my head as a bitterugh escapes my lips, "You know the funny thing is, all he had to tell me was he needed it, and I would have given it to him."

I swipe at my tears as they fall, helpless against the flood I''ve been holding in since I saw the video. Since I walked into that office. Since he smiled at me like nothing was wrong.

I squeeze my eyes shut.

Zayan nces at me again, then quietly pulls the car into a side street and parks.

"You need to breathe," he says softly.

I don''t argue. I''m running low on strength.

All my life, I''ve had to live on the edge. When I was young, I had to work hard at school, so I didn''t end up disappointing my family. They were geniuses making a difference.

I felt pressured to be the best so they''d be proud.

Then they died, and I found myself in the Kings family. The pressure became even worse because I not only had to strive, I had to be perfect and hidden at the same time.

But all that can''tpare to how painful a shredded heart truly is. I 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. I shouldn''t have let you get close again."  s

"It''s fine. Maybe this was what I 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 ce is nearly empty, the soft breeze carrying the scent of salt and roasted coffee beans.

He parks the car and looks at me.

"Come on. You need something warm."

I don''t argue. I''d settle for a shot of vodka, but I 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 ces the steaming cup in front of me, but I just wrap my fingers around it

for warmth.

A vibration cuts through my brain, making me look down at my phone.

It shesn.

I press decline.

It vibrates again.

I press decline.

A momentter, a message shes across the screen.

[Athena, please call me back. It''s about Alex, he...]

Without hesitation, I swipe left and delete it before even reading the rest.

Zayan watches me closely.

"Why don''t you take the call?"

I don''t meet his gaze. I just stare out at the waves, letting the warmth of the cup

seep into my bones.

"It''s not important," I whisper.

But something nags me, pulls at my heartstrings, and screams at me. Telling me something is wrong.

I push that feeling away and bury it so deep.

"Thank you, Zayan." I turn to face him, "You''re one of the few people who have

never betrayed me."