Chapter 170 She Would Rather Die
Athena stood frozen, her pulse pounding in her ears as Erik’s steps echoed in the room. His gaze was predatory, his eyes sweeping over her like a vulture circling its prey. Every inch of his behavior made her skin crawl, but she refused to show fear. If she did, she’d lose the only power she had left in this suffocating room.
“Is the dress beautiful?” Erik asked, his voice dripping with condescension. “I think it suits you very well.”
Athena barely suppressed a shudder. The dress—if you could even call it that—clung to her body in the most uncomfortable, exposing way. But she refused to let Erik see any weakness in her. She stood tall, chin lifted, eyes narrowing.
“Not that you’d know anything about beauty,” she retorted, her voice ice-cold, her words cutting through the air like a blade.
Erik paused for a moment, taken aback by her defiance. His lips curled into a tight smile, but there was something dangerous in his eyes. “You’re brave, Athena. But bravery won’t save you now.”
Athena swallowed hard, her mind working in overdrive. She couldn’t afford to back down. She couldn’t afford to let Erik think for a second that she would comply with his twisted desires.
Her fingers curled around the scissors hidden in her sleeve, the cold metal a reassuring weight. She could make a move, but the timing had to be perfect. The slightest misstep, and she’d end up worse than before.
Erik stepped closer, his hand outstretched as if to touch her, but Athena stepped back sharply, her eyes flashing with a mix of disgust and defiance. “Stay the hell away from me,” she spat.
Erik’s smile faltered for a moment, the arrogance slipping from his face as his eyes darkened. He had expected her to cower, to give in, but Athena wasn’t like the others he’d taken before.
“You think you can fight me?” he sneered, his voice low and dangerous. “You’ll break before I do.”
Athena didn’t flinch. “You’re wrong,” she replied, her voice steady despite the fear gnawing at her insides. “I won’t break.”
She could hear his breath hitch slightly, a flicker of something unpredictable passing through his expression. For a brief moment, it seemed like he was reconsidering his approach, but that moment was fleeting.
The silence stretched between them like a taut rope, and Athena could feel the tension crackling in the air. She needed to act quickly—before he got any closer, before he thought she was just another victim to dominate.
With a sharp breath, Athena lunged, her hand darting from her sleeve, the scissors glinting in the dim light. She aimed for the nearest thing she could reach—his hand, the one that had been reaching for her.
Erik hissed in surprise as the scissors nicked his skin, and he recoiled, stepping back in shock. “You crazy—” Athena didn’t wait for him to finish. She dashed toward the door, the adrenaline coursing through her veins. Every step felt like it took a thousand pounds of weight, but she couldn’t stop. Not now. She had to keep moving.
She reached the door, her fingers trembling as she fumbled with the handle. Her heart raced in her chest, each beat thundering louder than the last. But just as she was about to open it, a sharp, cold voice stopped her.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Athena’s heart sank. Erik’s voice was right behind her. She could feel him closing in, the space between them shrinking with every passing second. She knew if she didn’t act now, she wouldn’t get another chance.
Her fingers tightened around the door handle, her mind screaming to escape, to get away, to do whatever it took.
But before she could make a move, the door slammed shut with a deafening bang.
“Stay where you are, Athena,” Erik’s voice was ice-cold, his tone final.
Athena’s breath hitched as she turned around to face him, her back pressed against the door, her mind racing for a way out.
Erik slowly advanced, a smile creeping back onto his lips. “You don’t get to leave until I say so.”
The last shred of hope inside Athena flickered, but she didn’t let it die completely. She still had her wits, and with those, she could fight back. It wasn’t over yet.