"Hello, Athena, are you free tonight? Can you co over for dinner? I want to celebrate the success of the Product Launch with you. Ashton will join us as an advance celebration for his upcoming birthday." Sasha invited her over the phone.
Athena smiled since Sasha was becoming more friendly toward her. She could sense that Sasha was trying to pair her up with Ashton.
"Sure. Director Smith. I’m available later." She agreed.
"That’s great. I will tell Ashton to pick you up," Sasha said excitedly.
Sasha was thrilled to implent her plan tonight. She intended to drug Dominique during dinner and was determined not to let this opportunity slip away. She was also glad that Ashton and Athena would be able to join them.
’Perfect. Everything is set. Now, I just need to convince Dominique to co ho early,’ Sasha thought. She had noticed that Dominique often stayed out late and usually ate dinner elsewhere. But tonight, she was determined to have him ho for her carefully orchestrated dinner.
"Okay. I’ll see him later. Thanks, Director Smith."
Sasha giggled. "Just call Sasha. Don’t be so formal."
"Do I need to bring sothing?" Athena asked.
"Oh, don’t bother. Just your presence is enough."
"Okay, Sasha. See you later." Athena smiled slyly. Sasha seed not threatened by her presence. If only she knew.
Athena couldn’t wait to slap Sasha on the face by revealing her affair with her husband, Dominique. She wanted her to feel the sa pain and betrayal she experienced before.
When Sasha ended the call, Lanny asked Athena about their conversation.
"Is that Sasha? What does she want from you?" Lanny sat down as she turned on her laptop. She checked Athena’s schedule for the coming weeks.
"She invited to join them over dinner together with Dominique and Ashton. She is still clueless that her husband is cheating on her. I wonder where her confidence cos from," Athena said with a soft chuckle.
"Well, that’s her mistake. Or maybe Dominique is just that skilled at hiding everything from her. That’s why she hasn’t even suspected him in the slightest," Lanny replied.
"By the way, Athena, you have a scheduled eting tomorrow with Timothy. Have you decided to sign a contract with his company?" Lanny was scanning through Athena’s schedule and saw that Timothy had set an appointnt with them.
"Yes. I will do that. Besides, I also need this guy. Sasha has a secret affair with Timothy. I have to gather more evidence so that I can use it when the right ti cos." Athena was so determined to destroy Dominique’s marriage with Sasha.
"Okay, then. I will contact Timothy and give it a go."
Lanny was casually browsing the internet when suddenly a news article caught her eye, making her gasp. "OMG, Athena, you have to see this!" she exclaid, her voice filled with urgency and disbelief.
Athena looked up from her book, curiosity piqued. Lanny quickly tilted her laptop screen towards her, revealing the shocking headline: "Engagent of lody Williams and Oliver Jones."
Athena’s eyes widened as she read the headline. "What? Let see that!" she said, scooting closer to get a better look at the article. The screen displayed a photo of lody and Oliver looking blissfully happy, holding hands and smiling at the cara.
lody had resolved the issue about her scandal. Now the Jones Family has agreed to continue the engagent between lody and Oliver.
Athena leaned back, her mind racing. "We need to find out what’s really going on here. This doesn’t add up."
"I knew it. You sensed sothing suspicious during the Product Launch. I think lody did underhanded tricks to make Oliver and the Jones family continue the engagent." Lanny expressed her assumption.
Athena nodded in agreent. "We need to talk to Oliver. He is breaking our deal."
Without wasting any more ti, Lanny contacted Oliver. She asked him to et them in their usual place– the Goddess Elixir Cafe.
*****
Twenty-five minutes later, at Goddess Elixir Cafe...
Oliver entered the Cafe with a heavy heart. He was too embarrassed to face Lanny and Athena.
He wasn’t able to fulfill their demand to break off his engagent with lody Williams.
’Damn. How would I explain this to them? I hope they will reconsider it. I truly want Athena to beco our Hotel Ambassador. Furthermore, I feel like I failed her.’
Oliver felt uneasy as he walked toward the table where Lanny and Athena were waiting for them.
"Miss Lanny... Miss Athena," Oliver ekly said, greeting them with eyes looking down.
Lanny and Athena exchanged glances with one another. They could see the guilt and disappointnt in Oliver’s expression.
"Hey, Oliver. Please sit down." Lanny gestured toward the vacant seat.
Oliver nodded and sat down obediently. He bit his lower lip, not yet raising his head.
"Can you relax for a mont? We are not here to give you a guilty verdict. We just want to hear your reason for continuing the engagent with lody." Athena softly giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
When Oliver heard her soft giggle, he relaxed a bit. Then he raised his head, staring at them apologetically.
"I’m so sorry. I made a big mistake. I didn’t want to continue the arranged marriage between lody and . However, I got into a situation where I couldn’t defy lody."
"My reputation is at stake. And I don’t want to trouble my family. My father will be disappointed with once he finds out what happened. Just like you, my parents are also wondering why I suddenly changed my mind."
As the ladies listened to Oliver’s words, they could already deduce that lody did sothing to threaten Oliver.
"If you don’t mind, can you tell us what happened? Who knows we can help you get out of this situation." Lanny gave him a reassuring smile.
If Oliver fell victim to lody’s sche, then there would be more reason for them to intervene and help him out.
Oliver hesitated for a mont. He didn’t know if he could tell the story in front of Athena. He was afraid that Athena and Lanny would judge him and think of him as a pervert.
"Oliver, don’t worry. We are not going to tell anyone about this. Did she do sothing during the Product Launch?" Athena urged him again to speak up.
At the ntion of Product Launch, Oliver’s face turned ashen. Then he nodded in response to Athena’s query.
"Yes. Sothing happened between lody and during the Product Launch Event." He regretfully revealed it to them.
Athena and Lanny fell silent. They were all ears on Oliver, wanting to hear everything.
"Athena, rember when lody spilled her wine on my suit?"
Athena bobbed her head.
"That’s when it started. lody dragged out of the venue. We entered a hotel room. I thought she would just allow to change my clothes but..." Oliver paused.
Lanny facepald as she could already imagine what happened next.
"You fell for her beauty trap? Then you slept with her, am I right?" Lanny blurted out.
Oliver’s cheeks flushed with embarrassnt. He looked down before nodding his head.
"Did you do it willingly or she might have drugged you?" Athena butted in, asking Oliver.
When Oliver heard that question, his body froze. He tried to recall what happened. Why didn’t he think about that possibility?
"Oh, holy shit! I just rembered sothing. At first, lody initiated the kiss. Then I felt like she fed with sothing while kissing . That’s when I began losing my control."
"All I wanted was to find my release out of my discomfort. I needed to have sex with her. And I beca so rough. I couldn’t rember everything but I couldn’t be mistaken... I was out of my mind when I was doing it with her."
Lanny and Athena were not surprised to hear that.
"Then what did she do next?" Lanny probed further.
"The mont we woke up, lody brought up the marriage. She demanded to marry her otherwise, she would file a complaint, accusing of raping her. She also had evidence of what happened between us."
Athena frowned when she heard that. lody was manipulating Oliver and blackmailing him with the video.
"Have you seen the video?" Lanny asked him.
"Yes, I did," Oliver replied, covering his face.
"I saw the first part, and anyone who can see the video will truly misunderstand. In the video, I was the one who forced myself on her. She tried to stop but I didn’t listen. She begged to stop but I continued. I was not in my rational mind when it happened. I swear... I didn’t have any intention to rape her. Please believe ." Oliver begged in his desperate voice. He was too embarrassed.
Lanny and Athena heaved a deep sigh.
"Oliver. Is it still not clear to you? lody deliberately set it up to corner you. If not, how co she was able to record everything? One thing can explain this. She planned everything! And you fell right into her trap." Athena inford him.
Oliver didn’t know what to feel when her words sank in. He felt offended by lody’s action. It simply proved that she played him in her palm.
"She is a good scher. Have you forgotten? She was the one who caused Athena’s accident during the video shoot. Unfortunately, the only witness died." Lanny clicked her tongue.
"No way! What should I do? I don’t want to marry an evil woman like her! But I have no choice. She is blackmailing using the video." Oliver sounded problematic.
Athena and Lanny t each other’s gaze. They knew what they should do next.
"Don’t worry, Oliver. We will help you resolve this. Do you trust us?" Athena softly asked him.
At that mont, Oliver felt like he just found his angel. "Yes. I do!"
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