Semua Bab Athena: Bab 61 - Bab 70

“I want to stop at my dad’s,” Athena uttered, breaking the silence in the car. He shifted his gaze from his conscientious search for Rupert’s murder in the media. Azazel nodded, asking the driver to change direction. She brought some flowers to her dad, replacing the old ones with new ones. She glanced at her dad’s face. The man now had hollow and shrunken cheeks; his once prominent jawline looked blunt. Her eyes glistened with the lack of unspoken words. She remembered how she used to play with her dad’s smoothly-shaven jaw when they were watching TV. She missed all of it with him. “Hello, Dad,” she kissed her father’s forehead. She took his hands into hers, settling by his side, “I don’t know if you are counting days, but I am,” she had been praying, offering gifts to gods of different religions, asking them to wake her dad. “I don’t know if you are listening to me, Dad, but if you are, please come back. We all are waiting for your return,” she squeezed his fingers. They looked th

“So, I heard Theia is with Nev,” Tristan sat next to Azazel while throwing rocks into the lake. They both dipped their feet in the water and paddled with them. The little lake was their sanctuary whenever the brothers felt sad. “I know, but how do you know?” Azazel asked, ignoring the pain in his heart. “I just do,” Tris threw another stone, letting it bounce on the crisp fall lake. Silence prevailed between the brothers; it was peaceful. The starry night and thrum of crickets eased their tired minds. “Is it hard to let go?” Tristan’s low voice pierced Azazel’s ears. He was curious why his brother wanted to know this. Was he in pain? “It squeezes your heartstrings; you feel ashen and dead from the inside,” Azazel couldn’t put it into words. “Then why did you choose to have her in your heart and hurt yourself?” Tristan threw another rock into the lake. He didn’t know the entirety of his brother’s love for Athena, but looking at his brother’s state, it seems like the pain of love ha

Azazel was about to leave for the airport when his office door banged open, and Nevin barged in. He impassively threw his cigarette butt in the trash can “Who the fuck let you enter the building?” he didn’t even look at Nevin. He was collecting his papers from the desk when Nevin stalked closer. “Get out,” he was about to walk past Nevin when he grabbed Azazel by the collar and threw a punch at the sadist. Azazel, who didn’t expect Nevin to be this bold, stumbled back but prevented himself from falling by holding the table’s edge. It took him a moment to compose and understand what just happened and when he did, his eyes spilled blood and venom from them. Nevin didn’t give a chance for him to rile back from the surprise. “You sadistic bastard,” Nevin seethed. He couldn’t believe that this man raped his best friend and girlfriend, not once but many times, and got her pregnant. He pushed Azazel to the ground and jumped on him. As quick as Azazel’s refluxes were, he was surprised by Ne

Blanche was on the phone with Olivia. Since Olivia recovered, the woman didn’t get much time to talk to each other. “How is my son-in-law?” Blanche asked Olivia. Blanche was set to visit Azazel but couldn’t as she was still grieving. “He is fine. How are you?” Olivia sat by Azazel’s side, rubbing his forehead lovingly. “I am fine too, Livvy,” Blanche sat next to Rupert’s picture and cried. A moment of silence prevailed between the friends. “So…” Olivia trailed off. “How is your bitch doing?” Olivia scoffed. “Who are you asking about?” Blanche’s eyebrows creased in confusion. “Iris?” Olivia raised her brow. “Mind your tongue, Livvy. Iris is my sister. I will not have you disrespect her,” Blanche’s serious tone caught Olivia off-guard. She had never heard Blanche yell at her during their friendship years. “I thought….” Olivia went on about saying something, but Blanche cut her off. “I do not appreciate you saying mean things about my sister, Livvy,” Blanche hung up on her friend

The luxury room echoed with the sounds of IV drips and monitor beeps. Azazel slowly blinked his dry eyes, waking up as the effects of the drug gradually wore off. As soon as he opened his eyes, he searched for his doll, but she was nowhere to be found. His expression saddened, and his forest eyes dimmed. But who is he going to blame? None but him. A knock at the door grabbed his attention. The doctor walked in with an orthopedic and general surgeon, “How are you feeling, Mr. Black,” he asked, wiping his hands with sanitizer. “I want to be discharged ASAP, doc,” he adjusted himself on the pillow. “You will, Mr. Black. We need to make sure you are well-suited for travel,” he moved closer to Azazel and removed the IV drip. “This is Doctor Shawn, an orthopedic surgeon. He will check a few things to ensure you are safe during travel, and he will contact our branch in France to make sure you have physiotherapy as needed,” the doctor moved out of his way and let Shawn check a few things.