Chapter 57

Athena had known that just going out for a stroll could cause so much trouble; she would never have gone.

Michael’s words once again put Athena on the spot. All three pairs of eyes were fixed intently on Athena. Willow’s gaze, brimming with both reproach and resentment, made Athena extremely uneasy. Instead of confronting Michael, the one who started all this, Willow kept shooting accusing glances at Athena. Even the warmth in Nicolas’s eyes faded. He had been trying hard to mediate between them. However, with just a single remark from Michael, the fragile peace between them shattered, plunging their relationship right back to freezing point.

Nicolas took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Michael, you must be mistaken. Athena doesn’t care for rabbit decorations. That’s Willow’s favorite.”

Willow nodded meekly in agreement, her voice barely above a whisper as she pleaded, “Michael, it’s me who likes the rabbit lantern. Please don’t embarrass Athena anymore…”

But Michael acted as if he hadn’t heard a word, his stubborn gaze still locked on Athena. He demanded, “Athena, tell me, which one do you actually like?”

Ferris' expression darkened. Michael’s repeated provocations had finally pushed him past his breaking point. He fixed Michael with an icy stare and declared, “What Athena likes is my concern. Michael, stop coveting what’s not yours. My betrothed is mine.”

With that, Ferris wrapped a possessive arm around Athena’s shoulders and pulled her firmly into his embrace, marking his territory. Though frail, Ferris was still a man. His tight grip made Athena wince, her brows knitting together in discomfort.

Athena met Michael’s burning gaze head-on, her voice icy as she declared, “Michael, you are indeed mistaken. I never liked rabbit decorations, not in the past, not now, and I never will.”

Michael’s gaze darkened as he stared at Athena. “So you truly don’t like it at all?”

Michael was utterly disappointed in Athena at that moment. He thought, "Just for the title, she’s throwing herself into this marriage, fully aware she’ll be left a widow. Since when did Athena become so status-obsessed?"

“Michael,” Willow said, unable to bear the way Michael kept looking at Athena. She gently tugged at his sleeve, her eyes brimming with tears.

A few muffled coughs finally made Michael tear his eyes away from Athena. Before Michael could cause another scene, Nicolas quickly dragged him away. “Hurry up, the stalls are packing up soon.”

Dragged away by Nicolas and Willow, Michael followed them to a vendor’s stall and bought two decorations. But just as he was about to pay, Nicolas beat him to it.

To avoid further trouble, Nicolas picked up a rabbit lantern and approached Athena with an ingratiating smile. “Look, Athena, isn’t this rabbit lantern adorable?”

Nicolas extended the lantern in front of Athena with a gentle smile. “Here, Athena, this is from me.”

Athena didn’t take the lantern, her expression indifferent as she stated flatly, “I don’t like it.”

“How could you not like it?" Nicolas forced a smile, deliberately falling back a couple of steps to walk alongside Athena. Trying to lighten the mood, he brought up a childhood memory. “Remember when you were little? You cried your eyes out over that rabbit lantern?”

When Athena was eight, Nicolas bought her a lantern, only for Willow to demand it. But back then, there was only one rabbit lantern left.

Without waiting for Athena’s response, Nicolas unceremoniously handed the lantern to Willow. Nicolas promised Athena, “You can have it back once Willow’s had her fun with it.”

Athena waited, but even when dawn broke, her little rabbit lantern was nowhere to be found. When Athena went to ask Willow for her precious rabbit lantern back, she found it had been trampled into pieces. At that moment, Athena’s heart ached terribly as tears streamed down her cheeks.

Willow was so frightened that tears streamed down her face. Eloise gathered her into her arms and softly comforted her.

Seeing Athena persisting, Eloise’s expression turned frosty as she scolded her, “It’s just a lantern. Why must you reduce your sister to tears?”

Even her three brothers took Willow’s side, scolding Athena and calling her so childish. In the end, Athena was punished and made to stand facing the wall in reflection, while everyone doted on Willow because she was sick.

While everyone doted on Willow, not a single person spared a glance for Athena, who spent the whole night clutching her broken rabbit lantern and sobbing.

What Nicolas saw as a lighthearted childhood story was, for Athena, a painful memory she’d rather forget. It took her years to finally let go of that memory. Little did she expect that the old wound she thought had finally healed would be cruelly reopened by Nicolas.

Athena looked up at Nicolas, her voice calm yet strained. “You think this is funny?”

Athena’s sudden shift in mood left Nicolas at a loss. He gave her a forced smile and said, “It’s just a silly childhood story. Why take it so seriously?”

“To you, Lord Nicolas, it’s just an amusing childhood tale. But to me… it was a nightmare,” Athena said quietly.

Nicolas’ smile faded as he sighed, “Athena, you always take things too seriously. If you’d just lower your pride a bit, you could have what you want, like this lantern.”

Nicolas extended the lantern toward Athena once more. “Athena, you’re a smart girl; surely you understand what I am trying to do.”

Athena thought to herself, "How could I not see it? Nicolas is trying to make peace, but at the same time, he’s issuing a warning. Even if she married into the McGee family, her true support would still come from the Monson family. If Ferris were to die someday, as a widow, I’d still need my natal family’s support, the Monson family, wouldn’t I?"

Nicolas was extending an olive branch, but Athena was never one to compromise. She would rather walk her path to the bitter end. Athena gently pushed away the lantern Nicolas was holding, her smile laced with quiet irony. “No means no, Lord Nicolas. Why force what can’t be forced?”

Ahead, Ferris watched the two of them with a puzzled look. Athena smiled at him and said, “Coming.”

Just as Athena was about to rejoin Ferris, a sudden surge of the crowd swept between them, instantly separating the two.

At that moment, Willow was with Michael. As the crowd surged toward them, she instinctively reached out for his hand, only to grasp at empty air. She saw Michael being swept away by the surging crowd, carried farther and farther into the distance.

“Michael!” Willow called out, her voice tinged with urgency.

Just as Willow stood frozen in panic, a strong hand suddenly yanked her by the arm. Willow turned and found herself face to face with Nicolas’s worried expression. He gently pulled her close and said, “Don’t be scared, I’m here.”

Nicolas quickly pulled Willow to a corner against the wall, shielding her tightly behind him to keep her safe from harm. Athena found herself jostled onto the bridge, helplessly swept along and pushed back and forth by the surging crowd.

Athena frantically scanned the sea of faces for any sign of Ferris, but the crowd was so dense she couldn’t make out a thing. More and more people crammed onto the bridge, making the wooden structure sway gently. The railings groaned and creaked under the strain.

The bridge was already at its breaking point, on the verge of collapse at any moment. Athena was pushed to the edge of the bridge, trapped and unable to move. Then came a loud crack, suddenly her body went weightless, plunging uncontrollably downward.