Chapter 233 You Make Me Sick
Byron’s grip tightened on Athena’s arm as he saw the tears glisten in her eyes. He stared at her, his expression conflicted. There was pain in his gaze, but it was laced with frustration and anger. He had wanted to protect her, to keep her safe, but his actions had only pushed her further away.
“Tell me, Thea,” he said, his voice softer now, but still filled with intensity, “who had the car accident? You can’t just say these things and leave me in the dark.” His tone was almost pleading, though his pride kept him from showing it fully.
Athena pulled her arm away from him sharply, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. “I’m not telling you anything,” she snapped, her voice shaking with emotion. “Why should I? You’ve done enough already! George, my baby, Evie—all of them are suffering because of you! And I’m supposed to care about your feelings now?”
Byron winced at her words, as if they had struck him harder than anything she could have done physically. He stood there in silence for a moment, torn between the anger that had been building up inside him and the hurt that he tried to hide behind it.
“I didn’t mean for it to go this far,” he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. “You don’t understand. I—” Athena shook her head vehemently, tears still spilling down her cheeks. “No, you don’t get it, Byron. You never understood me. You’ve been so caught up in your own selfish world that you couldn’t even see what you were doing to us. To me. You tried to take everything I had, everything I cared about. And now, you want me to forgive you? To trust you again?”
Byron opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he clenched his fists in frustration and turned away from her. “I know I’ve made mistakes. But I love you, Thea. I swear I do.”
Athena felt her heart ache at his words, but she quickly shut the feeling down. “Love?” she scoffed, bitterness dripping from her voice. “You call that love? You tore apart everything we had. You destroyed George’s life, you put my baby at risk, and now you want to call it love? No. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”
Byron stood motionless, his face hardening as he processed her rejection. He knew he had pushed her to this point, but it didn’t make the pain any easier to bear. His mind raced, his thoughts spinning in a whirlwind of confusion and anger. But deep down, there was a part of him that knew the truth: he had lost her. And this time, there was no going back.
“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said softly, though the words felt hollow. “But I couldn’t stand seeing you with him… with George.”
Athena’s eyes flashed with a mix of disbelief and disgust. “You don’t own me, Byron. You never did. And you never will.” She wiped her tears away, her voice firm now. “Now leave. I don’t want to see you again.”
Byron hesitated for a moment, as if weighing his options. Then, with a final glance at Athena, he turned and walked out of the room, the door clicking shut behind him. Athena listened to his footsteps fade away, her heart pounding in her chest.
She finally allowed herself to collapse onto the bed, her body wracked with sobs. She had made the decision to leave him, to protect herself and her baby, but it didn’t make the pain any easier to bear. She felt broken, as though every part of her had been shattered.
But one thing was certain: she couldn’t go back. She had to move forward. For herself. For her children.
And as she lay there in the quiet room, Athena realized that this was the beginning of her new life—a life where she could finally be free of Byron’s control, a life where she could start over, no matter how difficult the journey might be.
“Everything will be okay,” she whispered to herself, her voice steady despite the tears still streaming down her face. “I’ll make sure of it.”