Chapter 2 ENEMIES' REUNION

13 hours later... 

Athena found herself, standing in a massive crowd at NY airport, her very own hometown. Feeling lightheaded due to her jetlag, she shut her eyes for a brief moment to eliminate her dizziness before she began to walk slowly with unsteady steps.

A deep sigh escaped from her lips as she dragged her suitcase towards the exit but unfortunately, due to her unstable footing, she stumbled along the way. She almost fell on the ground but she was lucky that someone managed to catch her befall on time or she would've been the center of attraction  upon her arrival.

A pair of strong arms appeared out of nowhere holding her slender waist, saving her from falling heavily on the ground as well as the embarrassment from all the people around her. She sighed in relief, feeling genuinely thankful yet after a few seconds...

"Ouch..." she winced as she felt that those hands were gripping her tight and its fingers were roughly penetrating into her delicate flesh producing a dull pain in that certain area.

With her head hung low, she struggled to stand up, clutching the stranger's shirt tightly to steady herself on...

"How clumsy!" A man's deep and mocking voice coldly berated in her ears as he loosened his hold on her waist after making sure that she could fully standstill before he shoved them back inside his pocket trousers. 

Totally oblivious to who had saved her, she evokes a pleasant smile before she looks up. She planned to thank the person for saving her but her smile gradually faded followed by her darkened eyes when she recognized the stranger. Her body momentarily froze, turning at a loss for words.

'TERRENCE ADAMS!' Her inner self growled annoyingly. 'What sort of misfortune is this?' She could hardly refrain herself from cursing out but those only remained in her mind as she couldn't voice them out. She prefers to be silent rather than to nag, argue or explain herself as being a 'talking bird' has never been in her vocabulary ever since and that character of hers alone caused a lot of misunderstanding towards her but she didn't give a damn to it.

'But out of thousands of people in this airport, why do I have to stumble in front of the man that I refused to even meet? Why does it have to be him? Why not another person instead?' She couldn't help complaining to herself silently. 

At a first glance, she immediately noticed how his features developed, looking more prominent during those years of her absence. His short black hair, chiseled face and firm jawlines showcased his thick knitted brows, high-bridge nose and thin lips yet his bluish eyes looked extremely cold as it stabbed right through her depths. Compared to before, he seemed to have gained a lot of muscles now as she noticed his broad shoulders as well as his muscular torso wrapped in his crisp black shirt with three buttons down along with his long muscular legs wrapped in his black jeans. His tanned complexion made a real deal of how he appeared to look similar to a Greek god molded into perfection of manliness. All in all, he looked strikingly bewitching to any woman's eyes but definitely not hers!

"Like what you see?" he sneered above her head.

Snapping out of her silent manifestation,  she gripped her suitcase handle, dragging it leisurely to a certain direction to hail a taxi cab. With her blood starting to simmer, she didn't want to ride in his damned car and breathe the same air as his as it only infuriates her further. 

'Keep calm Athena. Breathe in, breathe out. Don't bother listening to his bullshits… The asshole was just trying to get you out of your restricted zone…' she reminded herself repeatedly.

"Where the hell are you going?" Terrence muttered coldly, narrowing his darkening eyes on her back as he trailed behind her. 

"Home," Athena muttered curtly, taking another step refusing to spare a glance at him.

Terrence gritted his teeth, suppressing his annoyance. "Athena!" He called out impatiently. "Get in my car!". 

She waved her hand dismissively in response. "Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood to fight with you."

"I said, get in my car!" He repeated. This time his voice was getting louder.

"Haven't I told you to not bother picking me up?" She hissed, gritting her teeth in irritation as she continued to move forward, ignoring his rants. 

He sneered as he followed. "Do you think I volunteer to pick you up, huh? This is our fathers' order!". 

"You could have sent someone to pick me up rather than coming in person." She retorted, pursing her lips.

"Huh!" He scoffed. "If only I had another choice to make, I wouldn't even want to see you. How much more to be around you?" He remarked harshly.

His harsh words successfully sent Athena into a fit of rage. She stopped, tilted her head and glared at him. "Then why not give me a goddamn favor? Get the hell out of my face because I don't want to see you either!" She spat.

Terrence gazed at her darkly. Having been aware of his father's temper, he was certainly sure that he would gain another earshots if he failed to bring the woman to her specific destination, thus, even if he was reluctant, he gave her an ultimatum. "Don't make me lose my patience, woman!" He warned, gritting his teeth. "You have two choices to make. Either you come with me voluntarily or I'll carry you out of here…"

The thought of him carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of rice made her horrified. Indeed, her stubbornness needed to end at this hour before everything turned out to be an embarrassing mess. She has to admit defeat in the meantime…

Taking a deep breath, she uttered calmly. "Fine. Lead the way please..."

Athena chucked herself and made a sharp turn. Her insides were twisting into knots much ready to lash out her anger to him but after thinking for a short while, she realized that this wasn't the right time to explode. She still had a long way to go, to torture him in the future. 

He stared at her suspiciously trying to read her mind but after a few seconds he shook his head and shrugged. 

"Follow me,"  He urged her coldly as he strode forward in large strides, heading straight to his car.

Releasing a strangled breath, Athena shook her head and rolled her eyes in annoyance. She lifted her suitcase helplessly as she trailed behind him in difficulty. 

Getting closer to the parking lot, a familiar voice suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Athena, is that you?" A woman's confused voice sounded from her behind. 

Athena froze on her current spot and so did Terrence. Her eyes rammed on his face as he made a sharp tilt over his shoulder. Their gazes locked for a few seconds before she cut it off leaving him inexplicably uneasy.

Her eyes brightened slyly and her lips lifted up forming a mischievous smile while waving her hand to the woman's direction. She seized the latter's appearance from head to toe and made a distasteful remark to herself as she came closer. 'Your outfit was undeniably worth a lot of money compared to mine yet nobody knows that you're cheaper than those rugs sold on the streets for being such a good schemer…' 

"Hi, Hannah," She greeted the latter merrily.

The woman lifted her heels and strode forward gracefully, staring at her in a daze. You… You're back?" She seemed nervous as her voice came out faltering.

"Yes, I'm back." Athena muttered curtly as she met her gaze with different thoughts swirling in her mind.

Hannah darted her gaze at the man just a meter away from Athena and asked curiously, "Terrence, you're here too?"

The man gathered himself together in a snap. Displaying a nonchalant expression as he strides forward and kisses the woman's lips under Athena's gaze. Instead of answering her inquiry, he asked her instead. "Hannah, what are you doing here, love?"

It was then that Athena concluded something hearing such an affectionate endearment... Hannah has become Terrence's girlfriend during her absence! 

She darted her eyes away and rolled them secretly. 'So she finally got what she worked hard for, huh?' she thought.

"Ah, I'm here to pick up my friend…" Hannah muttered softly. She darted her gaze back and forth to Athena and Terence then she began to ask with uncertainty, showcasing a curious and anxious look. "Why are you guys… together?" 

"It's just a coin—..." Terrence wanted to hide the fact that he was specifically here to pick Athena up but the woman herself beat him without further ado leaving him completely at a loss for words.

Athena was fast to chime in. Flashing a devious smirk, she cast a casual glance at the man, determined to pull down his leg. "He's actually here to pick me up..." She muttered, sounding undisturbed.

Hannah glared at Athena sinisterly whilst clenching her fists under her pockets as she asked. "What do you mean?"

"He was ordered to pick me up," Athena explained briefly, ignoring Hannah's sharp stares.

"Love..." Terrence tried to interject looking anxious. 

He glared at Athena silently motioning her to shut her mouth and stop spatting nonsense but Athena has a stubborn nature therefore, she permits nobody to control her especially those who seemed irrelevant to her. She was having none of his shits as she was determined to drag him into trouble in any possible way she could! This time she won't just sit back and let them stomp her with their filthy feet. She was determined to counter and fight heads on!

"Oh, okay..." Hannah nodded her head in understanding but deep inside she felt suspicious as she recalled that her boyfriend had hated Athena down to his every fiber because she made sure of that. 'Why does it have to be Terrence? Why not one of her family?'

"Are you here for good?" She added attentively. 

How she wished that Athena would say no as she feared that all of her efforts back then would go to waste if the woman chose to stay for good. 

She barely catches Terrence's attention before thus she treats the latter as a huge threat to her relationship with him. Athena was after all the only person that she saw, surrounding him even if they merely talked to each other therefore she made a mental note for that…

Recalling what she did before, she realized how tricky it was to plot against her thus doing it again would be trickier than before as she wasn't sure if the woman would remain tolerant just like before. Her silence put her at ease but now, she was starting to doubt it… It made her feel edgy and anxious…

"Yeah... Perhaps…" Athena murmured, seemingly unsure. "I really don't know... Family related matters can't be avoided, you know..." She added, shrugging her shoulders.

Hannah's face fell, turning paler whilst Terrence was silent listening to their brief conversation when he heard a man's voice berating behind them.

"Hannah..? Athena..?"

The three jerked their heads to the voice's direction as their faces displayed various expressions. Hannah was first to roll her eyes upon seeing the man as she recognized him as Athena's close friend, Sam. She ignored him and even refused to utter a single word but her ears are prickly focused on their conversation.

"Guys, what a coincidence!" The man squealed, aiming his bewildered gaze at one of them. He marched briskly to their position and asked. "Athena, you're finally back?" He sounds genuinely excited, completely ignoring the couple.

Terrence's face turned terribly ashen. 'What was he doing here?' He thought, suddenly feeling irritated. "What a bad coincidence I must say…" he said without bothering to hide his displeasure towards the guy.

Opposite to Terrence's expression, Athena's eyes lit up as she grinned, "I missed you so much, bud!" She huffed, throwing a fierce slap on the man's arm. Since Hannah, her terrible eyesore appeared, she decided to leave the couple alone and go with her newly arrived friend hence she pouted, "Since you're here, can I hitch a ride?" She added jokingly while clicking her tongue. 

"Sure!" Sam chuckled excitedly and added, "You don't have any idea how much I missed you. I love to send you off, my dear Athena…"

Terrence balled his fist inside his pocket and grunted in disapproval. "No, you can't!"