"Dom, let’s dance," Sasha grabbed Dominique’s hand, dragging him to the dance floor.
Dominique just followed Sasha but his eyes were still fixed on Athena. Dominique couldn’t keep his eyes off Athena who was dancing with Oliver on the other side of the ballroom. His heart ached with longing, but he had been restraining himself from seeing her due to her busy work schedule.
’My Sabrina... I don’t know how long I can control my yearning for you. But I have no choice. I have to keep your identity a secret. I must pretend that I am still clueless about your identity. For now, I have to treat you as Athena.’
As much as he wanted to dance with her, Dominique couldn’t do that, especially in front of Sasha and Ashton. Their affair should remain a secret. That was the only way he could be with Athena... or rather Sabrina.
When the song ended, Athena and Oliver went back to Ashton’s table. lody glared sharply at Athena. lody imdiately pulled Oliver away from Athena.
"Oliver, can you behave? You are my fiancé. But why did you dance with her?" lody expressed his displeasure, not minding the people around them.
Oliver sighed helplessly. "I invited you but you refused . I didn’t do anything wrong."
Ashton and Timothy nodded in agreent.
"Stop being a spoiled brat, lody. This is not your party. You should behave as well." Timothy reminded her, defending Oliver and Athena.
"Don’t make a scene here," Ashton added in his firm tone.
lody narrowed her eyes at them, her tone venomous. "Tsk. I don’t know why you are all attracted to this woman. She is hiding behind her mask. I bet she is not even a beauty."
lody couldn’t stop herself from picking on Athena, her jealousy and frustration evident. She hated the fact that so many n were defending and protecting her.
anwhile, Athena didn’t take lody’s words seriously. Her best response was to ignore her.
"Let’s not pay her any attention. Enjoy the party," Athena leaned in and whispered to Ashton.
Ashton smiled and nodded.
"I can attest that she’s a true beauty," Timothy declared, not able to tolerate lody’s insults toward Athena. "A beauty with brains and elegance. Unlike you. A warfreak spoiled brat."
The guests nearby started to whisper among themselves, the tension in the air growing.
lody was seething with anger, her face turning red. "How dare you talk to like that, Timothy!"
Timothy calmly, but firmly retorted, "I’m speaking the truth, lody. Your behavior is embarrassing and uncalled for."
"This is not the ti or place for your tantrums, lody." Ashton could no longer stay silent.
lody glanced around, noticing the disapproving looks coming from the guests. "You’ll all regret this. Especially you, Athena."
"lody, I’m not interested in your drama. We’re here to enjoy the evening. If you can’t handle that, perhaps you should leave." Athena finally spoke up, her voice steady and composed.
anwhile, Oliver looked at lody, his patience wearing thin. "Athena’s right. This is a celebration. Let’s not ruin it with unnecessary conflict."
Then Oliver turned to Ashton, bowing his head. "Ashton, I apologize for my fiancée’s rude behavior. I shouldn’t have brought her here. Furthermore, she is not invited here. It’s because of , that’s why she’s here."
lody looked at Oliver with disbelief. With a dark expression on her face, she stord off, leaving a tense silence in her wake. "You’ll regret this, Oliver!" She mumbled through her gritted teeth.
"Thank you for standing up for ," Athena expressed her gratitude to the n.
"Of course. You are our Goddess!" Ashton replied with a gentle smile.
Timothy nodded, raising his wine glass for a toast.
Oliver just rubbed the space in between his eyebrows, sighing helplessly. But Athena tapped his shoulder.
"Let’s talk outside."
Oliver gave Athena a grateful look before nodding. The two of them excused themselves from the grand ballroom and headed to the attached balcony, seeking a mont of privacy.
"Oliver, I know you’ve been stressed these past few days because of lody’s blackmail. Like I said, we already have a solution for that."
Oliver nodded, his attention fully on Athena. "I trust you, Athena."
Athena took out her phone and sent a file to Oliver. "Here, check this out."
Beep!
Oliver’s phone beeped, indicating the receipt of Athena’s ssage. He quickly opened the file, his eyes widening as he saw the content.
"You can use that to blackmail lody. Tell her to give up and stop bothering you. Otherwise, you’ll post this video. And one more thing—" She paused for a mont before continuing, "We managed to delete your videos from lody’s phone. We also checked her personal laptop for backups. You don’t have to worry anymore. Your scandal video with lody is gone. She can no longer use it to blackmail you."
Oliver was teary-eyed when he heard the good news. He felt like a heavy burden had been lifted off his chest.
"Athena, I don’t know how to thank you." His voice choked with relief.
Athena smiled softly. "You don’t need to thank . We’re in this together. lody won’t be able to manipulate you anymore."
Oliver took a deep breath, feeling the weight of his troubles dissipate. "I can’t believe it’s finally over. I was so worried that this would ruin everything."
"You’re free now, Oliver. She can’t hurt you anymore. Focus on what’s ahead and let this be a new beginning." Athena placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Oliver glanced at Athena with gratitude. "You’ve done so much for , Athena. I owe you everything."
Athena shook her head. "You don’t owe anything. Just promise you’ll move forward and not let her affect you again."
Oliver nodded, a determined look in his eyes. "I promise. And I’ll make sure lody knows she can’t ss with anymore."
"Good! Now go back and warn lody! It’s ti for your face off!" Athena encouraged him.
Oliver chuckled before pulling her into another hug as he thanked her one last ti. He didn’t waste his ti as he walked back into the grand ballroom.
Athena could only smile as she watched Oliver’s retreating figure. She decided to stay there for the anti, away from the crowd.
Athena stood alone on the balcony. The evening air was cool against her skin, the city lights below casting a soft, srizing glow. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the cool air. Lost in the mont, she didn’t hear soone approach.
Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her into an unexpected embrace. Athena gasped, startled by the sudden intrusion on her reverie. She turned, heart racing, to find Dominique looking at her intently.
"Dominique! You startled ," Athena exclaid. "Why are you here?! Let go. Others might see us here." She tried to push him away. But Dominique tightened his grip on her body.
"I couldn’t resist sneaking up on you," Dominique admitted with a cold glint in his eyes. "You’ve been interacting with lots of n, dancing and laughing with them. I can no longer endure it. I am jealous... Athena... super jealous."
Athena was taken aback when she heard that.
"I miss you so much," Dominique mumbled once again, hugging her tightly.
Reviews
All reviews (0)