Warning: Sexual content and violence. As usual the sexual scenes will be encased within two sets of X's. There's important information before and after it that you cannot miss.

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(Eros' POV)

After the knife punctures the leather of the sofa, Addy pushes herself away from her unconscious mother and lets out an agonizing scream that echoes off the tall walls. The pain in her wail was so tangible on my very skin that it has the hair on my body standing erect.

Athena remains still, ghostly pale in shock due to the event that almost took place. A shaky, choked breath leaves her mouth as if she never inhaled air in her life while relief washes over her body and unknots her tense muscles.

Addy turns around slowly to look at her older sister in sheer pain that has her shaking uncontrollably. "Athena," she cries, taking baby-like steps forward. "I can't do it."

Athena opens her arms and ushers her sister closer in a low whisper. "Come here."

Addy falls weak to the embrace that Athena blankets her in. With each sob, Addy trembles furiously in her sister's arms as her knees betray her, forcing them both to the floor. "I c-can't kill her."

"It's okay." Athena sighs, her hands stroking Addy's back in a comforting manner. "Just calm down."

          Addy nuzzles her face further into her sister's neck, tightening her arms around the woman in a fierce attempt to save herself from all the pain she's burning in so vividly that sweat breaks out on my forehead itself. The distress and anger in the air have my heart shattering for the two sisters who only have each other at this point for the comfort only they can ease their suffering with.

"I'm so sorry, Athena." Addy's voice comes out in a brittle whisper. "I'm so sorry for what he did to you."

          "Don't be," Athena reassures her calmly, pulling away to look at her. "You couldn't do anything about it." She wipes away her sister's tears before pulling her back to her chest. Her distressed hazel green eyes glance at me in silence but they say a lot at the same time. She flickers them to her mother then back to me, and I know what to do.

Lifting up their mother in my arms, I carry the woman to her room and gently tuck her under the covers. I don't know if I should hate her for putting her daughters through such hell. Her mistakes ultimately led to their suffering that continues to this day. But I cannot ignore the fact that she was a victim of Fabian's abuse too and still is.

Despite everything, Athena and Addy still have some love for Edith. She's their mother, after all, not some random person on the street. It's the reason that's stopping me from ending it all; ending the woman who tipped off the first piece and caused a domino effect that went shredding through her daughters, especially Athena.

With a defeated exhale, I walk back to the living room and notice the sisters standing and talking softly. "He's tied up in the gym if you're itching to do something," Athena informs Addy with a cunning yet soft smile.

Addy nods, tucking her damp hair behind her ears. "Thank you. And don't worry, I won't kill either one."

Athena squeezes Addy's hand gingerly. "You sure you'll be fine?"

"I'll ask Rome to drop his dog off to keep me company," Addy says after clearing her throat.

"I'll ask him to stay with you too if you're okay with that?" Athena asks, pulling out her phone at once.

"Sure." Addy nods her head and releases a heavy breath before sitting down on the sofa solemnly. "You can go now."

          Athena bends down and kisses the top of her sister's head. "I'll return as soon as I can." She looks at me and motions me to leave with her.

          As the elevator doors close on us, it begins descending below. We're both eerily quiet, no sounds to make, nothing to say. I mean, what can I possibly say after all that fiasco to make her feel better when I don't even know what this silence means. Life has been undeniably insane and unfair to her. She hasn't gotten a moment to rest for the past couple of days itself. Almost lost her mom in the last few minutes. Pathetic father showed up and raped her sister while we were having the best night of our lives.

No wonder she doesn't want to do anything with me, but that shouldn't stop her from being happy. And I'll tell her that and exactly how much she means to me because I don't see myself walking away from this woman or the sensation that shoots through me every time we touch, kiss, or the addicting moment when our eyes meet from across the room. This connection between us feels like a drug already. It has me trapped in her clutches, and I don't want to lose her. I can't lose her. Nor do I want to recover from the effects she has over me. Negative, positive, I don't fucking care.

I continue to stare at the back of Athena's head as she looks straight ahead. Suddenly, she scans her hand on the screen and presses something to stop the elevator from moving any further. Turning to the side, her fingers wrap around the metal bars lining the steel walls before she lowers herself to the floor shakily.

          "Just give me a minute," she whispers, the quiver in her voice screaming her despair. Respecting her wishes, I give her exactly that. Although I want to kneel and hug her to my chest, I refrain and watch her hands turn white. My fingers reach over and stroke her hand softly, brushing over each bump and dip of her knuckles. She accepts my touch without resistance and inarguably eases into it by loosening her grip on the metal bar.

          Forcing out air through her teeth, she stands back up and shakes off the uneasiness. As she stretches her hand to touch the scanner again, I grab it and pivot her around to face me. The anguish in her eyes darts an arrow right through my heart mercilessly. She tries to act tough as usual and pushes my hands away that cup her warm cheeks.

          I sigh in defeat to her defiance and ask, "You okay?"

          "I'm fine, Mr. Azallion." She rolls her eyes and turns back around to face the elevator doors. With a scan of her hand and another push of a button, we begin descending once again.

          "The biggest lie every woman tells," I declare in response to her overused answer, leaning against the cold metal wall and exhaling.

          "I don't care what you think, so keep entertaining yourself," she snaps but doesn't look at me.

          A chuckle escapes my mouth. "You do care."

          She doesn't respond and crosses her arms, leaving me to stare at her brown, caramel highlighted locks. Her shoulders are notably tense under that cream colored blouse of hers and the rigidness of her spine says it all.

          With a smirk, I place the tip of my index finger right at the waistband of her gray pants where it meets the shirt. I begin dragging it up the ridges of her spine painfully slow as she silently accepts my touch and rolls her shoulders back. "You can't keep pushing me away every time something bad happens, peaches."

          Stepping closer, I press my lips against her head and take a whiff of the soft smell of chocolate and fruits coming off her silky strands. My fingers slide down her sides, diving in the curve of her waist and extending out at her hips. I then let my hand pull back her hair from one side to reveal her pierced ear and beautiful, slender neck.

          "I love you, Athena," I profess my love for the beautiful woman, the words leaving my mouth like a serene stream. She stiffens ever so slightly at the utterance of my words which allows me to peck the spot under her ear to ease her muscles, but she tenses even more. "I don't expect you to say anything back and you shouldn't expect me to leave you anytime soon either 'cause I won't."

          "I hate you," she mumbles under her breath, urging a chuckle out of me before stopping the elevator once again. She turns around slowly and gazes at me in annoyance with a sigh slipping past her luscious lips. "I can't stand you at times."

"I've heard that one before," I smile cockily.

"Mhm," she hums, wrapping her arms around my torso under the suit jacket and trailing her nails up and down my back. The softest smile pulls on her lips and melts my heart instantly. Before I could kiss the shit out of this woman, she hugs me warmly, her face nuzzling in my neck. "I adore you, Mr. Azallion."

Burying one hand in her hair, I jerk her closer and tighter by the other. "We both know it's more than that, Ms. Estle."

She groans against me, slapping my back. "Shh! Let me enjoy this, cocky man."

I laugh, kissing the side of her head. "We're a match made in heaven, cocky woman."

She lets out a scoff. "There's no heaven."

          "I'll make one for you," I counter her statement. "Where there's only you and me, nobody else."

          Lifting her head, she finally looks at me with an arched brow. "Is that so?"

          I nod, twirling her strands between my fingers. "You already have the materialistic heaven, but I promise to give you the emotional, physical, and mental heaven." After tucking her hair away, I trace my thumb over her lips. "I may be an amateur at the emotional and mental part, but I'm willing to work on it for you and with you."

          A little giggle swivels out of her smart mouth. "Perhaps you should work on physical too."

          "You and I both know how good I am at the physical." I dip down to her ear and whisper huskily. "I can bring that heaven to you every night and all night long." Her gaze remains intact on me as I pull back with a sly smirk. "Jokes aside, I mean what I'm saying. We'll create our personal heaven."

"And what will it have?" she questions with scrunched brows.

"Well," I smile and pull her closer to me by her waist. "It'll be our safe zone where we lay everything clear. No false pretenses. No lies. No keeping things to yourself. No bullshit. You tell me the truth about everything and I'll do the same. We'll lay our souls naked for each other." I lean forward and kiss the side of her mouth. "I'm willing to give you anything you want, sweetheart. All that I can and as much as I can. We can be assholes to the world together. Put up a show for them, but we'll be true to each other without them around."

Yet another gorgeous smile from her makes me weak. "Watch the world burn to the ground together?"

"While we chug down vodka," I add with a grin. "And roll around in a bed all night kissing, touching, and everything you want to do."

"You had me at vodka," she snickers, pulling away from me and turning around to resume the ride of the elevator.

"Vodka is your second love after me," I claim playfully as I slide my hands into my pockets.

She laughs. "Nothing and no one will ever replace vodka, not even you."

Snorting, I let out a huff of air. "We shall see about that."

Our conversation comes to an end when the elevator doors open to reveal Jackson standing right outside with an expression of guilt sitting heavy on his bruised face. "Athena," he acknowledges, straightening his posture.

Athena steps out of the elevator and glares at him as I stand beside her. "I think I told you to never show me your face again," she snaps but keeps her voice low so that no one else in the lobby notices the rising tension.

He glances at me. "You told him that too."

"He wasn't the one who let a stranger in my damn house," she steps forward in my defense.

He releases a sigh. "You don't know how sorry I am. It was a bad call on my end."

She violently punches his chest, forcing him back as her men gather around us to shield the situation from other patrons. "I trusted you with the highest power around here and you failed me after three years of doing the same thing."

"It'll never happen again, I promise you," he pleads.

"You're right. It won't!" She rams her fist into his side, forcing him to crouch in pain. "Because you will leave and never come back. Am I clear?"

          "Stop, please!" He grunts in pain, gazing right at her. "You know I'd never let anyone hurt you. It was an honest mistake."

          "I almost lost my entire family because of you, you bloody idiot!" she snarls at him before lifting a hand to dismiss her men who drew attention to us.

"I made a terrible decision, I know." He lowers his eyes in shame. "But you're my best friend, Athena. I'd never do anything on purpose to hurt you."

Even though I want to punch the shit out of Jackson for his stupid decision, I can't deny the fact that it really was an honest mistake on his part. A terrible one, though.

          Athena's gaze softens slightly as she sighs. "You lost my trust there, Jackson."

          "I'll do anything to make it up to you," he states in a desperate effort to win back her trust.

          Her finger jabs his chest back. "When Leo finds out about this, he'll rip you apart, and I won't stop him, so I'm giving you a way out right now. If you stay, I won't make it easy for you."

          "A moment doesn't go by when I don't think about him killing me, Athena, and you've never made it easy for me anyway, so why run now?" He stares at her blankly with no intention to take her up on her kind offer to beat it while he can.

          But another defeated sigh from Athena says it all. "It's your funeral then."

***

          After posing for some photographs for the new line of suits, I quickly change into my own clothes and bid farewell to the other models and stylists working in this particular studio. Can't forget Lorenzo who winks at me on my way out.

          "All done, Eros?" Janet glances up at me from the file in her hand.

          I stretch a bit, shaking my head. "Nah. Just came in."

          Rolling her eyes, she sends her assistant away with the file. "Sarcasm isn't flattering."

          "And here I thought it was supposed to be," I tease her with a cheeky smile.

          "Ha!" She throws me a glare before stopping a fidgety intern rushing past us. "Waste of space!" she addresses the young man by his personal nickname assigned by her. She has one for mostly every intern. Cocksucker, skank, thotty, abomination are just a few I can personally think of right now. "Be useful and get me a cup of coffee with two creamers and one low-calorie sugar."

"Yes, ma'am!" He hurriedly paces away on Janet's command.

"Where's Ms. Estle?" I ask her.

"She left hours ago with the footballer," she informs me with an unusual smile. Well, Athena did promise Addy to be back soon. "Did she ditch you here?"

"I actually told her to go home and wait for me there," I smirk. "Long story short, Ms. Estle and I will be having a very exciting night, unlike you."

          She laughs, swatting my arm. "Asshole."

          After sharing a chuckle, I leave the building and hail a cab to get back to my apartment in the cold, snowy night. I run up to my room to change into something more comfortable before heading up to her penthouse. To my surprise, it's eerily quiet with no sign of life in there. The first thought in my mind is a haunting one before my vibrating phone reassures me.

Bitchy Estle: Get to the ballroom when you come home.

Me: Be right there.

          Blaring music swarms me whole as soon as the elevator doors open to the ballroom right below Athena's penthouse. The lights are low with people dancing around the place, drinking and smoking. I saunter further in and notice Addy downing shots after shots next to Ashton Noelle, the Giants' quarterback, who is clearly having a hard time keeping up.

(Taylor Lautner as Ashton Noelle)

          "Ah, you made it!" Athena's unusually chirpy voice filters my ears over the music as I watch her walking toward me in a short flowy dress with a glass of liquor and a cigarette between her fingers.

          "Yeah, made it to the secret party I wasn't invited to." I chuckle, pushing past a few people blocking my path.

          She reaches up and places a gentle smooch on my cheek. "Don't be a baby now, Mr. Azallion."

I roll my eyes at her and hum, looking around the place packed with sweaty bodies grinding on each other. Business tycoons, models, and other famous celebrities prance around in casual clothes, so thankfully, my basketball shorts don't stick out. "What's this party for?"

"To cheer Addy up." She gazes at her sister lovingly who now jumps around in celebration before slamming her lips against Rome's then Cornelia's. What...

"Um?" My brows ram together perplexingly. "I don't know how I feel about your sister kissing my brother and my ex-girlfriend."

"I don't know how I feel about your ex-girlfriend being here at all." Athena shrugs, drinking the liquid in her glass before handing it to a waiter. "I'm not her biggest fan, but I guess I'll put up with her for Addy."

"It was weird enough that my brother was screwing my ex, but now my girl's sister is doing them both." I blink my eyes awkwardly, turning back to Athena. "Anyways, it's nice of you to have the elites of New York gathered only to cheer up your sister."

"She always liked partying, and this is the least I can do." She pulls a long one from the cigarette in her hands before pressing her body against mine and blowing the smoke in my face.

Putting the cigarette to my lips, she urges me to take a drag on it too. "How drunk are you?" I ask after puffing out the smoke.

Curling her lower lip into her mouth, she bites down and palms my crotch subtly, whispering in my ear. "Very much."

"Clearly!" I carefully push her hand away. "Stop before someone takes pictures and sells them to newspapers. The title would be along the lines of, 'Athena Estle grabbing them by the dicks'. Not very flattering if you ask me."

She giggles, slapping my chest playfully. "Talking about pictures." She pulls out her phone and shows me a post that reads 'Even A-listers don't mind using the New York subway, not even on dates' with a picture of us hugging on the subway train and dancing in Times Square. "This is only one of the hundreds Jay showed me today. There are more photos out there of us together. My disguise clearly didn't work."

"This is a cute photo of us," I remark before she snatches the phone back.

"Just stay away from the press and paparazzi for your own sake," she suggests, motioning me to follow her toward the crowd gathered around her sister.

"Line up six more shots for me and Ashton!" Addy orders a waiter loudly before tapping the footballer's thigh in sheer exhilaration.

"Nah," Ashton refuses Addy's offer with a notable slur in his voice. "My sister will kill me if she finds out that I'm drinking this much."

"But you're already drunk, man," Rome shouts out, encouraging Ashton. "You got nothing to lose now."

"You're right." Ashton laughs before grabbing a shot glass filled with tequila. "Fuck it!" He throws down six shots one after another just like Addy who clearly has a high alcohol tolerance compared to him, because the next thing we know, he passes out cold.

"Well, that's not what I had planned," Athena groans next to me in aggravation, ordering Jackson to take Ashton to her penthouse. "Just let him sleep it off on the couch."

"You sure about that?" I question her decision considering what happened last night.

"Trust me." She brushes her hand over my chest. "He's harmless."

The ringing of her phone distracts her, forcing her away from me while I grab a drink and sit down next to Addy. Her eyes fall on me delightedly as she kisses my cheek. "How are you doing, Enrique?"

"Not too bad, Ena." I return her smile with a bigger one before I look at her knuckles that are a bit bruised. "Who got beat up?"

"Daddy dearest." She purses her lips together before stretching them into a wide smile. "I cut his fingers off, then stitched them back on. Break then heal, you know. It was so fun. You should tag along with me sometime. I'll teach you my torture techniques."

I can't help but laugh at her enthusiasm. "I think I'll pass on that."

We all chat and drink carelessly. Rome cracks jokes as usual and wins people over with little effort while I make small talk with the models hovering around me when Athena shoos them away. "Bitches," she mumbles under her breath as I laugh. "Come with me."

Dragging me to the elevator, she doesn't allow me to say another word until we get inside. "You seriously want to ditch your party for a quickie?"

Her eyes gaze at me with mischief swirling within them. "A quickie sounds good." She sighs breathlessly. "But I got work to do and you're my driver."

I let out a low growl in frustration. "Where are we going?"

"To one of Leo's estates." After the elevator opens, we head toward one of her cars that she unlocks with her voice alone. All of her vehicles are high tech, luxurious, and absolutely gorgeous. This is the only department where I'm jealous of her. "Drive."

Getting behind the wheel, I start the car, roaring the engine to life. The inside of the vehicle lights up with the buttons as Athena puts our destination into the GPS for me to follow for an hour drive. We get onto the street and leave Manhattan immediately. The first few minutes are spent in absolute silence, enjoying the calmness away from the city. Glancing over to my right, I notice Athena relaxing back in her seat with her legs casually propped on the dashboard and eyes shut, which puts a massive smile on my face. Thankfully, I only had one glass of flavored martini. If it was hard liquor, I'd be a fool to drive.

Athena's fingers suddenly brush over my jaw in a gentle stroke. "Have I ever told you how much I love this scruff on your face?"

I chuckle at her drunk behavior. "You just did."

She moans to herself. "It makes you look very sexy."

"Is this the first time you've ever complimented me?" I glance at her, a fake gasp escaping my mouth.

"The drunk part of me did," she states firmly and falls silent once again. Although I can still feel her eyes burning holes in me, I focus on the road instead. She then fidgets with the screen at the front and giggles after a few seconds.

"What are you doing?"

Shushing me, she cups my crotch and squeezes gently. "I really want you right now."

"Fucking shit." Grasping her hand, I place it back on her lap. "But I'm driving, sweetheart." Like a rebel, she situates her leg to the other side of me and straddles my lap before I could say anything. "Are you trying to get us both killed?"

I try to push her to the side a bit so that I don't crash into something, but she doesn't budge and looks down at me with a pout. "But I'm not wearing any panties." She reclines the seat a bit to give herself some room for her head that was literally pinned against the top roof of the car.

My dick swells at her confession at once, but I'll gladly sit this one out if it means we'll live and can fuck for the rest of our lives. There's no point if we die having sex right now. "As much as I like the idea of car sex, I don't want us to get killed in the process. Alcohol is clouding your judgment."

"I may be drunk, but I'm still in my senses." Rolling her eyes, she grabs my biceps in a reassuring manner as I try to look at the road and drive. "Just trust me and let go of the wheel."

"I hope you realize that 'Jesus, take the wheel' is just a fucking phrase. He isn't actually going to come down and be like, 'Procreate in the car, my horny children. Add another one to the overpopulation of the world while I learn how to fucking drive for you and get you both killed instead'."

Her eyes narrow on me stoically before she forcefully rips my hands off the steering wheel. "The car can drive itself, Mr. Azallion. I've placed it on auto. Focus on me now."

Exhaling against her lips that brush mine, I relax and buck my hips up a bit. "Well, you could've said that before instead of giving me a mini heart attack."

"Where's the fun in that?" She smiles wickedly, her fingers rubbing against my stubble while my hands travel up her legs and under her dress. "Are you up for an adventure, Mr. Azallion?"

Squeezing her bare asscheeks, I grind her down onto my erection. "You damn well know I am, Ms. Estle."

❌XXXXXXXXX❌
(Skip to the next set of X's)

We don't allow another second to pass by before our tingling lips find each other in a lustful burst. The embrace of our mouths is fiery, wet, and painful in the best way possible. She reclines my seat further back to the point I'm basically laying down before she lifts herself a little to pull out my dick from my shorts.

          With a vicious smile on her lips, she strokes my cock awfully slow, forcing me to beg her to stop her teasing manners. "Baby, stop playing around."

          Her grin widens even more as she feigns innocence. "What?" Her thumb feathers over the tip softly. "You don't like this?"

"You want me to tease you and see how it feels?" I wrap my fingers around her wrist and hold her hand away from my hard-on.

Raising her dress in the front, she flashes her naked pussy that glistens from the little lights illuminating the gearshift lever. "Why don't you try?" she challenges me like a sexy vixen.

With a mind of their own, my fingers go ahead and stretch her wet pussy lips apart. "You're fucking dripping." She hums in titillation as I run my fingers up and down her slit before lapping her juice onto her own lips that I kiss. I grunt lowly at the heavenly taste she produces while she moans.

"Make me cum," she whispers against my lips whilst directing my hand to her pussy again.

Obliging without a second thought, I force my fingers inside of her. So hot, tight, and wet. Absolute perfection. I dive them in and out swiftly as my thumb plays with her clit. Her moans get louder by each second as I curl my fingers and rub her G-spot repeatedly.

          "I'm close!" she declares in a breathy tone, her chest heaving in anticipation of the orgasm that I don't give her by pulling my fingers out. Her eyes glare at me as her nails dig into my shoulders. "Really?"

          I remove her hands and shrug. "Now you know how it feels."

          "Asshole!" she exclaims before dipping down to bite my lower lip. "I hate you so much right now."

"I know," I smirk.

Before her built up orgasm can fade away completely, she keeps my cock in place and slides it inside her with ease. I groan in pleasure while she grinds and comes undone, shaking and struggling to hold onto me with everything she has.

"That was quick," I remark as a bead of sweat trickles down the side of her forehead.

"I'm not done."

She begins moving in slow grinds, gripping the leathered seat tightly. Her lips kiss mine as if they've been starving while my hands slip up to her breasts and squeeze them hard before pulling the dress down to reveal those taut nipples of hers. Sucking one into my mouth, I pinch and play with the other one between my fingers. A low wince erupts from her mouth as she quickens the pace and bounces on my cock a bit faster.

"You're so good, baby!" I sigh in pleasure, kissing and biting her breasts to leave marks that have my name written all over them.

"Fuck me, please!" she begs in a sexual frenzy, forcing me to hold her still while I ram my cock up into her. The sound of my pelvis slamming against her ass resonates in the vehicle that gets hotter by the minute. "Harder!" she pleads.

"As you wish."

          Blanketing my arms around her torso, I crush her down against my body and plow her harder, faster, and deeper at her request. She screams and chants my name like a prayer on a Sunday morning as I fuck her without remorse. When I feel her vagina tightening around my cock, I know she's getting closer to her climax and so am I. My breathing get shallow along with hers before she loses herself to an orgasm as I grunt and shoot my load inside her.

❌XXXXXXXXXX❌
(Innocent children may continue here.)

"Mmph." The sound vibrates against my lips as she kisses me slow and passionately, sucking on my lips tenderly. "You didn't pull out this time."

Chuckling, I move her strands away from her sweaty forehead and look at her longingly. "I got carried away."

She hums with a lazy smile on her face, her nail trailing up and down my jaw. "What if I get pregnant?"

"What if you do?" I throw the question back at her with a sly smirk.

Taking a minute, she thinks in silence and fixes her dress at the top, then laughs. "Don't worry. You won't become a daddy. At least not with me." She retrieves some tissue papers and cleans herself and me before carefully crawling back to the passenger seat.

Adjusting myself and the seat, I get back to driving the car as Athena switches the controls back to manual. Minutes pass by as questions swarm me, urging me to break the silence. "Have you ever thought about having kids?"

Turning her head toward me, she forces out a long sigh. "I did once. That was years ago though."

"Tell me about it," I encourage her, passing several cars on the slow lane.

"You really want to know?" I hear the surprise in her voice as I nod. "Well, when I was pregnant, I really wanted a little girl. A little mini me." She giggles softly reminiscing about those times. "I was ready to be a teenage mom, but I was also scared of what Fabian might do if I had a girl. Thankfully, he beat me until I lost the kid and made sure I never get pregnant again. I wouldn't want my kid to go through his abuse. So basically, that was the first and last time I thought of having a kid."

I frown at all the hardships she has faced in her life that squeezes my heart every time I think about it. "Come here." My right arm reaches over to haul her closer to me and let her lay her head on my shoulder. "Did you ever think of a name for the baby?"

"Don't laugh," she warns me then giggles herself. "Genesis."

With a smile, I peck the top of her head. "I like that."

The rest of the ride fades away with us singing "I Want It That Way" by Backstreet Boys and other nineties classics. I would've never taken Athena to be a fan of boy bands, but she keeps surprising me and I love it. I'm scratching the surface of her heart right now, and I can't wait until I know her inside out. Beautiful hopes and dreams are all I have for the future that includes the two of us.

Pressing down on the brakes in front of large gates, Athena advises me to wait before they open up after a minute, permitting me to drive down the longest driveway in history. I finally come to a stop by the large mansion and fountain roundabout in front of it. "Wow!" I exclaim when I exit the vehicle into the cold night. Who the fuck wouldn't want to live in this luxury?

Heading over to the other side, I open the door for Athena and help her out. We walk into the mansion past a few men and out the back doors into the cold again before entering the large warehouse looking building in the backyard.

"About time!" Vince saunters over to us, wiping the blood from his hands onto a piece of cloth before throwing it over to a man standing to the side.

"Still nothing?" Athena asks.

"Nope, she won't talk," he answers her, glancing at me, then looking back at her. "I ran her face through the system. She's an assassin to hire. She actually trained under our organization. And guess who was her trainer?"

"Me?" she guesses.

"Ding. Ding. Ding." Vince puts his finger in the air. "Which explains why she isn't talking. You know the rule of not revealing the contractor and all. I tried to bribe her to talk, but nothing works."

Athena crosses her hands above her chest and exhales. "Have you tried the pets?"

Vince grins maliciously. "I'm saving that for the finale."

"It's time for the finale then." Athena strides past Vince toward the bleeding woman who is tied to a chair. Her face is swollen, blood dripping from her mouth, nose, and hands, as her head hangs low.

Athena unties the assassin, drags her to the wall, and slams her against it. She grabs her by the throat and holds on tight. "Sweetheart, I'm gonna give you one last chance to tell me who gave you the contract to come after me."

The assassin spits in Athena's face which makes me scrunch my nose in disgust along with Vince. "I was taught not to open my mouth."

Athena wipes the bloody spit from her face and laughs. "And I also taught you never to get caught, but you got thrown in a filthy dumpster like the trash you are. Shame on me for not being a better teacher."

The assassin coughs up blood and agrees. "Indeed."

Athena slaps the girl across her face, throwing her to the ground. Gripping her hair, she hauls the woman across the floor toward the door in the back corner as Vince and I follow her. A man opens the door and moves aside for us to enter. A steel structure stands in front of us which houses a jungle within it. Looks like a large cage that is typically seen at a zoo, but this one seems to be twenty times larger with the moon being the only source of light.

"Hades! Satan!" Athena calls out which makes me snicker to myself. Guess someone is a devil worshiper. But my jokes come to a disruptive halt when I see two white tigers crawl out into the light shining from inside of the warehouse. My jaw falls open as the large cats purr, taking slow, calculated steps forward. Spiked collars adorn their massive necks, canines long and sharp, ready to rip into flesh, and their paws almost the size of my foot. By the bulkiness in their bodies and muscles moving with each advancement, it's quite clear that they're well fed to the point they can rip us all apart within a minute if they want to. Thankfully, they're behind a cage for now.

          "Fancy being their meal?" Athena jerks the assassin to her feet, showing her the hungry predators whose mouths salivate at the smell of their prey's blood.

          The assassin stands her ground, but the fear in her eyes is still visible. "I'm not telling you anything."

          A sigh leaves Athena's mouth before she motions Vince to open the cage's door right by me. I hurriedly get to the other side and watch from a distance instead. Athena drags the assassin inside fearlessly with her clenched fist in the air. "Stay, boys!" She forces the woman to kneel before the animals who stare at their fresh piece of meat. "Got something to say now?"

          The assassin shakes her head, trembling and crying in fear, but not disclosing the name. I admire her resistance and the need of confidentiality, but I would've definitely babbled by now. She was clearly taught well by Athena, even though it isn't working well in either of their favors.

          Athena takes a step back and unfolds her fist which indicated the tigers to pounce on the woman. The woman's cries and agonized wails echo piercingly loud through the cold night as I watch one rip off her arm while the other one digs its canines into her thigh. The content in my stomach churns at the sight, forcing me to look away immediately.

          "Holy fuck!" I exclaim, shaking my head to get rid of the imagery in my head, but the effort is to no avail. It has already been burnt well into my brain for eternity.

          "You okay?" Athena giggles as I hear the cage being locked up again.

          The first question that pops out my mouth is, "Why the fuck are there tigers here?"

          "They're Leo's babies," she informs me as we all walk back into the warehouse leisurely as if we didn't just witness a woman getting eaten by five-hundred pound tigers. "He got them when they were babies. I used to feed them milk from baby bottles too. But now they're fully grown. Hades is six-years-old and so is Satan."

          "What's wrong with having normal pets?" I question her.

          "We aren't normal at all," Vince chimes into the conversation as we step outside. "We like exotic stuff. Exotic lifestyle, exotic women, exotic animals."

          "No kidding," I snort, pulling Athena closer to me when I see her shivering from the cold.

          "Well, she took the name to Hades and Satan's stomach." Vince scratches his head in distress. "What do we do now?"

          Athena shrugs nonchalantly as we enter the mansion and embrace the warmth of it. "I'm too tired and drunk to ponder about it right now. I'll get to the bottom of it in the morning."

          "Sleep it off in your old room here and we can work on it in the morning," Vince suggests whilst stretching his tired body. "No one from the family is here anyway."

          "Sounds good."

Athena says goodnight to the man and takes me to a beautiful room on the ground floor that screams her dark taste in the bedding and walls itself. She disappears into the walk-in closet and changes into a nightwear before asking me to fall asleep with her. We both pass out almost immediately because two hours of sleep from today wasn't enough at all.

***

The loud ringing of a phone forces my eyes to open painfully and look at the woman laying next to me. She sleepily reaches under her pillow and pulls out the device, putting it to her ear. "What?" she speaks into it groggily. "Me? Ask her what she wants." With a yawn, I turn away from the sunlight penetrating the large windows as Athena continues talking. "I'll be there."

After hanging up, Athena rushes to the bathroom and quickly freshens up before forcing me to do the same. Without a word about what the hell is going on, she drives us back to the city and to our place. We make our way to the lobby of her building and see Jackson standing next to a girl who's clearly in a worried state.

"Look who crawled out of her little hole!" Athena puts on a fake smile for the girl as we near them. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Arie?"

(Shay Mitchell as Arie Noelle.)

The girl returns the smile with the same amount of fakeness. "I believe my brother had a meeting with you yesterday. He hasn't returned my calls after that. I just need to know where he is."

"He drank too much at my party last night and passed out, hence the reason he didn't get back to you." Athena crosses her arms over her chest and shrugs. "He's sleeping up in my penthouse if you'd like to see him."

Arie cocks a brow, pinching her lips into a fine line. "How nice of you!"

"I have my nice moments."

          Athena leads the way to her private elevator before we all ascend up to the top floor. When the doors slide open, my heart picks up the pace to see the place in absolute chaos with things shattered on the floor as if a brawl took place right in the foyer and all throughout the area ahead.

          Athena's eyes scan the surrounding as her hands ball up at once. "Give me a fucking break."

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This chapter was a long one. I apologize for the delay in the updating too. Some unexpected shit pushed me way back and demotivated me from writing for a while but I think I'm good now. Yay or nay?

Who enjoyed this chapter? Especially Athena and Eros' bits of confession.

Do you think Addy did the right thing by not killing her mother?

Did Athena do the right thing by forgiving Jackson?

Who was expecting Rome, Addy, and Cornelia to be a thing?

What must have happened at the end there? 👀

AND ARIE IS HERE!!! Who's excited?!

Instagram: reetilicious

Much love ❤️
~Reet