CONTENT WARNING: SENSITIVE THEMES AHEAD

"Mikhail, why did you ask me to come?"

A good-looking man approached Mikhail. Leo Bennett's dark brown eyes couldn't hide his curiosity. Why had this man sought him out? Leo, prominent for both his best-selling romance novels, had once been Mikhail's classmate. They weren't close friends, but one day, suddenly, Leo was asked to come to Mikhail's office by some gangster-looking men.

 With an unyielding face, Mikhail asked him a question:

 "Do you believe that something simple can transform a person so much?" Mikhail blank stared. His eyes, an open book.

Leo fell silent, his gaze on Mikhail. 

"You're a crazy man," he remarked while sitting on the couch. "Ordinary people would think twice before conversing with someone like you who only have good looks and wealth." Mikhail continued to stay calm while wearing his emotionless face in disguise to hide his rage. He wanted answers to his questions instead of shedding blood.

"What can I do to make them trust me?", he questioned. 

His eyes, hoping for a positive answer as if he didn't want her to avoid him any longer. He wanted her to see him in a positive light.

Leo was startled when he heard Mikhail's words. He quizzed,

" What? Are you in love?"

Mikhail startled when he heard the word 'love'. He had contradicted himself multiple times, saying he wasn't in love with Athena, but felt guilty towards her. But was he really guilty? He had killed countless people, so why was he feeling guilty only towards her, something he never felt while he had fresh blood on his hands several times . Leo, with an intense look, 

"Is it about your wife? Well, after all she went through such a horrible incident on that day at the charity party.... I'm sure no loving husband in this world would stay still while someone insulting their own wife." 

"You heard?" 

Mikhail asked him. 

Leo shrugged,

 "Of course, there was even a video available online."

 Mikhail felt his heart heavy with feelings. He didn't understand why had he hated seeing her sobbing, her being angry with him, her paying no attention toward him. Still, he was baffled by his own feelings. He had dated many women, but not one time had he felt this way. Every woman attempted to make him theirs. No woman had ignored him.

 Athena, was the only one who didn't even glance at him. He had never felt this unexplainable feeling towards any woman, but her. First time in his life, he felt like he was a fool. But Leo continued as if he didn't care about what Mikhail felt, 

" If you don't love her, why don't you just let her go? You see, being with someone who played a role in her trauma may affect her mental health and make it worse than it is now."

Mikhail's eyes widened. His gaze, turned to a nail, piercing Leo. With one hand, he choked Leo, eyes blazing, his hand gripping tightly around Leo's neck. Leo's eyes blurred, his lungs shouted for air. Mikhail, strangled him to near death and dropped him to the ground, as if discarding a used tissue. Staring at Leo mercilessly, he warned, 

"Just answer my questions and don't butt into my personal problems , if you do, you won't know how you died."

 The warning, announced a possessive vibe, his eyes, full of rage and insanity. Leo, lied there barely conscious. Without a hint of mercy, Mikhail disappeared from his view.

Athena, struggling to sleep, woke up with a dry throat and decided to get some water. Even in the dark, her feet instinctively aimed for the kitchen. She had to pass through the living room, and unexpectedly, she heard a noise. Curiosity piqued, she followed the sound to a nearby room. When she reached the door, she hesitated for a moment. Taking a deep breath to steady herself she slowly turned the knob and pushed the door open.

 The very next moment a bullet flew next to her. 

 "Aaahhh!"- a sharp, high-pitched sound echoed throughout the mansion. It wasn't Clara but someone else. Athena fell there, trembling, with no other ways to escape. But, when a sudden thought struck her, she squeezed her eyes tightly and just waited for them to finish her, to release her from this world of endless suffering. 

But, even after she waited for a while, nothing happened. She opened her eyes only to see those blue eyes that was glistening in the darkness, his eyes could follow their prey down to hell. Mikhail stood there, a gun in his hand, exuding a deadly calm. The dim light cast shadows against his chiseled features.

 "Why are you here ?" 

Rage gleaming in his eyes. 

 "I thought you were an assassin."

 He kept talking, but Athena wasn't listening to him, the picture of the gun, his merciless eyes, etched on to her mind like a seal stamping on a paper.

 A sibilant shiver ran down her spine. She hurriedly put herself on her feet and ran towards her room without looking back, panting heavily. Her throat felt dried, her hands felt numb. At that moment, she knew just how much she wanted to live, how much she didn't want to die. Her body screaming for a warm hug, embraced the cold pillow. Her eyes closed as tears made their way out.

From that day forward, Mikhail couldn't even see Athena's shadow anywhere near him. She ate in her room, slept in her room, read in her room, and like that spent her time alone and this went on for several days. Mikhail was displeased with Athena's actions. But he wasn't worried since  he knew, no one would be able to ran away from him as long as he set his eyes on them. His never fading devilish smile was a proof to that.

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