No one spoke for a second, and it was the longest second I have ever experienced, not until Dr. Greg’s voice cut through the air like a blade.
"Ti of death..." He checked his watch. "...10:15 a.m."
The machine was turned off, and a white sheet covered Adrian’s body.
"I’m sorry, Miss King. We did everything we could."
Athena walked past him to the bed.
"Leave."
"Athena..." I began.
"Leave!"
Dr. Greg told everyone to leave the room, but I didn’t move.
Athena pulled down the white sheet, cupping Adrian’s cold cheek tenderly.
"I guess I’ll never know...."
"K-Know what?" I asked in a whisper, eyes blurry from the tears.
"If I could’ve been a good mother..." She leaned down to Adrian and kissed his forehead.
I turned away, unable to look. That was when I caught sight of Ares in the hallway, my eyes softened, and all I got in return was a blank expression.
I moved, but he was already walking away before I got the chance to reach him.
"Thank you, Cat..." Athena said, sitting on the bed and stroking Adrian’s inky dark hair. "I need so ti alone."
I nodded even though she couldn’t see . I stepped out of the room, throwing a look over my shoulder.
"I don’t rember the lody completely... but my mother used to hum it to get us to sleep. It works like magic on Ares... you’re quite similar to him, so maybe it will be the sa."
She began humming a soft tune.
It took everything in to turn away; my body was heavy as I closed the door behind , leaning against the fra as I shed tears silently, Athena’s lody lighting up the room like she was trying to bring back life or perhaps angels to co take him.
I pushed myself off the door, sluggish as I walked, using the back of my hand to dry my tears.
I made my way back to the lounge, hoping to see Ares, but I didn’t. This was the last place I saw him in, but his absence caused panic.
I scurried towards the next hallway, moving my gaze in every spot I could find. With several turns, I had yet to see him.
I ran a hand through my hair, my breath shaky and uneven. However, in the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of him.
Ares was right at the private lounge, where there wasn’t a single soul. I stood there for a while as I observed him. His arms rested on his thighs, his head dipped.
The sight was devastating. To anyone else, it would be passed off as nothing, but I could see through it all.
I walked slowly, not as quickly as I was earlier. Upon getting close, I froze when I saw a silencer next to him.
Gulping, I sat down and took it in my hand. It’s warm. The silencer shook slightly in my hold, knowing it had been used.
I sat it down towards the other side and drew close to him, placing my hand against his back. He doesn’t respond or acknowledge, and with just this simple contact, I could feel how cold he was.
"Another family blood on my hands..." he stated.
Constance. I should be shaken by his confession, but I wasn’t. I saw this coming since the mont Constance crashed the eting.
"It’s so easy yet when it cos to her, I can’t do the needful."
He’s talking about Agatha.
"I’m not strong or brave, Catherine..." His face twisted in a scowl. "None have I broken from her grip. She destroyed everything, not just my life but Athena’s..." His gaze locked with mine, and a chill seized up my spine.
His eyes were lifeless, and not a trace of warmth in them. He was looking right at , but at the sa ti, it didn’t seem like he was.
"Yet I let her walk all these years... I let her breathe. There’s no excuse to give except the fact that I was a coward."
"You can’t bla yourself for sothing you had no control over..."
He chuckled, looking away, the sound just as unhinged. "Control... I had that, didn’t I? Power. Control. Order. My three Achilles heels, the walls I built to keep her away, but she was always within those walls. Using Adrian to get to ... trying to destroy everything I have built and call my own so that I could crawl back to her, because she knew I would. It was never a ga or an assumption; it was the truth."
His body tightened as he clamped his fingers together, the veins in his arms protruding almost like they would burst.
"I was weak when it ca to her... My rage wasn’t enough to bring an end to her."
His words were like a bullet to my heart, the pain dripping from every word he uttered. Ares was never a man of words, yet at this mont, he spoke so rawly I could feel every phrase bleed.
Ares despised himself for years. I’ve just realized that now. He built and built, tried to heal, tried to live however he could.
He only had Athena, and she was just as broken as she was. They had no one. They were pieces that shattered against the floor, and all they could do was try to glue them back together. The pieces were still being picked, despite this, they lived.
They lived.
I don’t think I have ever known anyone as strong as they are.
"Athena should hate for never having the balls to end her. Maybe if I had done it sooner, if I had just..." He clenched his teeth. "Everything would have been different."
"Ares..." I said softly. "Don’t do this to yourself. Please."
"Maybe I could have had a better relationship with Adrian. The last thing he heard say got him running."
I sat up, standing in front of him, and dropped to my knees, my hands cupping his face so that he could see .
"None of this is your fault or Athena’s. Adrian never got the chance for the truth, nor did any of us. There’s no one to bla except one person who manipulated, who broke this family and stole you and Athena’s happiness."
"I should have known..."
"You couldn’t have known, nor could any of us. I’m sorry..." I rose to my feet and embraced him tightly, his head pressed against my stomach.
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