Chapter 96 – Athena Gave In
Athena sat motionless, her face growing paler with every passing second.
The room fell into silence.
After a long moment, tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. She lowered her head, trying to hide her emotions.
Byron watched her quietly.
“Did I force you?” he asked at last, his voice calm but carrying an unmistakable weight.
Athena’s eyelashes trembled.
She shook her head.
“Answer me.”
His tone remained steady.
“No,” she whispered.
Byron closed his eyes briefly, as if finally releasing the anger he had been holding onto.
The tension in the room eased slightly.
Athena moved closer and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Don’t be so angry,” she said softly. “You scared me.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The argument that had consumed them earlier seemed distant now, replaced by exhaustion and unspoken emotions.
Athena had been carrying too much for too long.
The emotional strain of the day finally caught up with her, and before long, she drifted into a deep sleep.
Byron remained awake.
His anger had faded, but his thoughts refused to settle.
Earlier that day, when he had seen the photograph and found Athena with Baxter, jealousy and fear had overwhelmed him.
It wasn’t merely anger.
It was panic.
The possibility of losing her had shaken him far more than he wanted to admit.
He looked down at the sleeping woman beside him.
“Athena…”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“What do I have to do to make you stay?”
He gently took her hand.
Only then did he notice a scar on the back of it.
His brows knitted together.
How had he never seen it before?
Memories surfaced one after another.
He remembered moments when Athena had seemed unusually afraid of pain, times when she appeared uncomfortable but never explained why.
Then he recalled the injury to her hand.
The broken glass.
The stitches.
The fear in her eyes.
Back then, he had never truly understood what she had been going through.
Now, for the first time, he began connecting the pieces.
Questions filled his mind.
Questions that refused to leave him alone.
That night, Byron barely slept.
Several times he woke and instinctively looked toward Athena, making sure she was still there.
Each time, relief washed over him.
Athena, on the other hand, slept soundly.
When she finally woke the next day, sunlight had already filled the room.
Byron was gone.
Instead of disappointment, she felt a strange sense of calm.
She remained in bed for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts before heading to the bathroom.
After her shower, she searched for her clothes.
To her surprise, the outfit she had worn the previous day was nowhere to be found.
With no better option, she opened Byron’s wardrobe and chose one of his shirts.
The oversized shirt hung loosely on her frame.
Just as she finished dressing, the door suddenly opened.
Byron stepped inside.
His expression was as unreadable as ever.
And the calm atmosphere instantly became tense once again.