Tears began to fall again as Athena nodded. She clutched both of his strong arms that were still wrapped tightly around her body, taking a deep breath before fully turning to face the man before her.
"I’ve fallen so deeply in love with you too, prince," she said, her voice shaky as she tried to hold back the ache in her chest. "So deeply that I can’t stop thinking about you every single second of my life!"
With their foreheads pressed gently together, Athena and Arthur finally shared a kiss. It was soft and calming, surrounded by the beauty of the setting sun. Their silhouettes lingered at the edge of the ship, bathed in the golden glow of warm, fading light.
"I… I need to use the restroom!"
As the kiss turned hotter, Athena gently pulled away with her voice breathless. Arthur frowned slightly before finally letting out a small laugh.
"Again?"
&nbs
"Reyna—""You think you can take him from me? After everything I’ve done? I won’t let you, bitch!"Reyna kept getting closer, forcing Arthur—who had only just realized her presence—to instinctively shield Athena behind him. His eyes widened, just as shocked as Athena. He never imagined that someone he had always treated like a sister would do something so dangerous to the woman he loved."You’re not a killer, Reyna. Put the gun down!" he said, trying to bring her back to her senses, even though he was still torn between belief and disbelief."I won’t let her take you away from me again!" Reyna just gave a faint smile before her gaze turned sharp again. "I can’t lose you! Not after everything I’ve done for you!""Reyna—""Stay out of this!" she screamed. Her face was twisted in hatred and desperation. "You kept ignoring me while I kept falling more in love with you, Arthur! And now she’s pregnant, you’re just going to go back to her like nothing ever happened?!""Reyna, please..." Arth
"Wh–what?"Athena froze. Reyna’s words rang through the hallway like a bullet to the chest. Her breath caught. Her legs trembled. Her heart? Of course, shattered.Athena stared at Arthur, hoping—no, praying—that he’d deny it. That he’d scream it was a lie. But all she saw was confusion. Horror and silence."You... you really did this?" she whispered, barely able to form the words. "How could you—""I didn’t know what happened, dear. I swear! I don’t remember anything. She just..." Arthur stepped forward, reaching for her, but she pulled away.Athena’s tears, the ones she had tried so desperately to hold back, finally poured down her cheeks in torrents. Her body trembled with grief. Reyna, witnessing her pain, sneered with cruelty. Folding her arms across her chest, she stepped closer, her gaze sharp and arrogant."Believe it or not, but your perfect Arthur and I are closer than you think!""Reyna, stop it!""What? I’m just telling her the truth," she replied without a hint of guilt. "
"Hey!"Feeling the gentle caress on his strong jawline, Arthur tried to open his eyes. Still overwhelmed by sleepiness, he reached for the slender waist of the woman who seemed to be resting against his chest—only for his eyes to suddenly narrow sharply as he realized who was actually with him."What the hell is this?!"His heart stopped in an instant. Arthur woke with a pounding head and a mouth dry as ash. He blinked blearily, only to see Reyna lying beside him beneath the sheets, smiling like a cat that had just devoured the canary."You were amazing last night," she said casually, brushing her fingers through her hair. "I didn’t think you had it in you. I like it!"Shaking his head, Arthur then changed his position. With no clothes clinging to his body and the body of the woman beside him, he had expected it. But he quickly tried to deny it. "I don't understand. What are you talking about? How did you get here? And where are we now?!""You don’t remember?" Reyna asked with a tilt
Hearing those words, Arthur shook his head as if denying a truth too painful to accept. He took a step forward, reaching out to grab the wrist of the woman standing before him, but Athena had already stepped back, her eyes silently pleading with him—don’t."We’re over, Arthur. I’m sorry I never got to say goodbye back then. I just… I couldn’t bear to see you hurting and—""And falling apart!" Arthur cut her off sharply, running a hand over his face, overwhelmed. "Goodbye or not, I still felt it! Every inch of it! Don’t you see that?""I’m sorry. I just…""Why?" His voice cracked, raw with pain, as she struggled to find her words. "Why him? Why choose him over me? Hasn’t he done enough? Hasn’t he already broken you, made your life hell, and—""Enough! Please!"Arthur shook his head again, this time more desperately. His eyes locked onto the woman in front of him, her body trembling as she sobbed—just like him, if not even more heartbreakingly.How did it come to this? What made her giv
Throughout the ride, Arthur couldn’t shake his assistant’s words from his mind. Every part of them rang true. No matter how much time passed, Leon, Crystal, and Caroline would never let him or Athena live their lives in peace. They would never be satisfied, not even now when he and the woman he loved were already suffering under the weight of their cruelty.If they truly had joined forces to weave this trap around him, especially with Reyna relentlessly working to tear him away from Athena, he genuinely didn’t know what else he could do. If Athena were still by his side, none of this would feel so overwhelming. He wouldn’t be lost like this, drifting without direction, weak and broken, like a man abandoned for days in a barren, merciless desert."Sir... it seems your persistence has finally paid off."His assistant’s voice pulled him back from the chaos in his mind. Arthur snapped his gaze forward, eyes narrowing slightly at the sight of a woman stepping out of a taxi. Her face was h
"Mr. James! Did you just meet with Mrs. Athena inside? Has she returned? What’s your response to the rumors claiming that Mrs. Athena intentionally dropped her charges against Mr. Leon to reunite with her ex-husband?""Yes, Mr. James! As the person closest to her these past few months, surely you have something to say. Is the news true? Please, Mr. James, we've been struggling to reach her!""Yes, is your visit today connected to all this? Are you planning to cut ties and cancel your company's collaborations with hers out of disappointment? Rumor has it you only pursued the partnership to get close to her. Do you now feel betrayed, Mr. James? Played for a fool?"The flood of questions rained down without pause, each word sharpened by the blinding flash of camera lights. Stepping out of the Athena family’s corporate building, Arthur James hadn't anticipated the swarm of reporters that awaited him, hungry for a headline.Who had tipped them off? And how had the rumors spiraled so viciou