Chapter 10
Michael’s voice snapped like a whip. “Athena, don’t be ungrateful.”
That ointment hadn’t come easy–he’d gone out of his way to get it. Sure, he’d given it to Willow, but hadn’t it ended up in Athena’s hands anyway?
He thought, Willow is thoughtful and well-mannered—why can’t Athena take a page from her book? What exactly is she being so difficult about?
“That was a gift from Lord Osborne to his fiancée,” Athena said, a cold smile playing at her lips. “Since it was meant for Willow, it would be beneath me–as her sister–to take what doesn’t belong to me.”
Her rejection was clean, sharp, and left no room for argument.
Michael’s face darkened. It felt as if she’d crushed both his pride and his sincerity underfoot.
Willow shot him a timid glance, then murmured softly, “But… it was a kind gesture from Michael. How could you treat it so lightly, Athena?”
“He’s your fiancé now, isn’t he?” Athena said with a quiet edge. “Wasn’t the engagement switch something you two arranged yourselves? So why are you playing the pitiful victim now? Who exactly are you performing for?”
Willow’s expression froze, her carefully maintained smile beginning to slip.
Michael instinctively turned to look at her.
Willow looked like she’d just been gravely wronged. She shook her head quickly, panic in her eyes. “No–Michael, that’s not true. I didn’t know anything about the engagement being changed."
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll go ask my parents to clarify everything right now. And if you still don’t trust me… I’ll leave the duke’s estate.”
Her frantic effort to prove her innocence struck Athena as laughable.
To Athena, the teary eyes, trembling voice, and self-sacrificing were nothing but performance. She thought, ‘So familiar. So empty.’
The scorn and cold indifference in her gaze made something twist in Michael’s chest. He thought, ‘Does she really hate me that much? Is she that desperate to cut ties with me? Even our engagement–she can throw it away without hesitation. Am I really that easy to discard?’
“This is your home,” he said to Willow, voice low. “There’s no need for you to leave. Don’t blame yourself.”
Willow’s heart leapt with quiet joy. She thought, ‘Is that… confirmation?’
She glanced shyly at Michael, only to see his gaze still fixed on Athena, waiting for her reaction.
Athena felt it.
Three years ago, a look like that would’ve made her heart flutter. Now, it only made her sick.
“Lord Osborne,” she said, voice calm but cutting, “you’d best stop looking at me like that. Someone might get the wrong idea.”
Outside, thunder rolled, and the wind picked up.
Still, Michael didn’t move. Athena finally said, voice cool and measured, “It’s late. Don’t you think it’s inappropriate for Lord Osborne to linger here any longer?”
Michael shot her one last look–dark and heavy with warning–then turned without a word, opened the door, and stepped straight into the storm.
Outside, thunder boomed and the rain poured down in sheets.
Willow looked anxiously out the window, “Athena, if Michael stays out in the rain like this, he’ll get sick. You should go talk to him.”
“He’s your fiancé,” Athena replied evenly “If someone should go after him, it ought to be you.”
Though Willow felt a flicker of delight, her face remained sweet and demure. “Athena, are you blaming me? I didn’t come to take him away–I only wanted to be part of what you two have."
“If you still care about the engagement,” she added gently, “I could ask Father and Mother to let us marry him together. But… two sisters sharing one husband–what would that do to both our families’ reputations?”
Athena looked up sharply, her gaze turning ice-cold. The chill in her eyes made Willow instinctively shrink back, and her tears began to fall in steady streams. “I… Did I say something wrong?”
Her soft, pitiful demeanor only made Athena’s stomach turn. She thought, ‘How could she say something as shameless as two sisters marrying the same man?’
Athena drew in a slow, steadying breath, forcing back the disgust rising in her chest. Her voice was calm, but laced with exhaustion.
“Your engagement to Lord Osborne is already set. Nothing’s going to change that. But if you keep showing up just to make me sick, do you really want to see whether I’ll take it back by force?”
Willow’s eyes flew wide in shock. She hadn’t expected Athena to speak so harshly. She stood frozen, stunned into silence.
Athena was pleased by the reaction. Her tone remained level as she added, “He’s probably still nearby. So? Are you going after him or not?”
Aliza stepped forward and handed Willow an umbrella. Her expression was strained with awkwardness. Willow hesitated, then accepted it with tear-filled eyes.
Just before leaving, she turned back to Athena, her voice catching with emotion. “No matter how badly you misunderstand me, Athena… I’ll never hold it against you. After all, you’re my family.”
With that, Aliza opened the umbrella and gently led her out to chase after Michael.
Siena glanced out the door, then turned and gave Athena a polite curtsey.
“I’ll go fetch a cloak for the Lady Willow.”
She didn’t wait for a reply–she was already gone.
Athena looked around the suddenly empty room and couldn’t help a dry laugh. She wondered, ‘What is it about Willow that makes the whole household revolve around her?’
That night, Athena fell into nightmares once again.
“Just beg me, and I’ll give you a hot meal. No more beatings, no more hunger.”
“So what if you were once a noble lady? So what if the whole Pidence City knew your name? In here, we can do whatever we want with you.”
“You like begging so much? Then beg until we say stop.”
A strangled scream tore from her throat as she jolted awake.
She sat upright, gasping for breath, her eyes wide with fear. But as the familiar surroundings came into view, the panic slowly ebbed from her face.
She thought, ‘Just a dream. Just a dream! She wasn’t in the camp anymore.’
Right then, Aliza’s frantic voice rang out from the hallway, “My lady–it’s bad, it’s really bad! Lady Willow is gone!”