Athena glared up at him, clearly annoyed that he was cutting her fun short, rolling her eyes in protest. But after a beat, she backed down. Hera was still out there in the cold wind, sitting in a wheelchair and recovering; this wasn’t the ti to drag the scene out.
So, Athena stopped being sarcastic and provoking the other woman. Instead, she looked around with her eyes, since Zen was still clamping her mouth and limiting her head movent.
Fortunately, she noticed so staff patrolling the VVIP parking, checking if any guests needed assistance. Athena tapped Zen’s hand to signal him to let her go. Seeing that she no longer wanted to cause trouble, he released her.
Athena waved and called out loudly, "Hey, sir! Could you co here for a mont?"
Her voice imdiately drew the attention of the staff and even the other VVIP guests, mostly heiresses and well-known female celebrities, who were stepping out of their cars.
The girl in front of her, however, grew even more furious. She thought Athena was calling for soone to witness her embarrassnt. Acting without thinking, she stepped forward and slapped Athena across the face.
Both Athena and Zen were stunned, their eyes widening in shock. "What was that for?" Athena asked through gritted teeth, her hand still raised. Seeing the altercation, the staff mber she had just called imdiately jogged toward them.
"What seems to be the problem here, our dear guest?" the staff asked nervously, his eyes flicking to the red handprint on Athena’s cheek. Then he glanced behind her and saw the Bugatti Chiron. Realizing she was from a prominent family and that she had just been slapped in their venue, his nerves spiked.
He had been placed in this role because of his extensive knowledge of high-end cars. Managent had assigned him to assist VVIP guests with parking or other inquiries, and by recognizing their vehicles, he could gauge the importance of each guest. This system didn’t an he could be rude to those who seed less significant, but it helped managent feel reassured.
Now, on his watch, a VVIP guest had been slapped. Fear coursed through him; he was sweating bullets, terrified he’d be reported for failing to do his job.
"Miss, please... don’t get physical. Let’s just talk this out," the staff said humbly, his eyes darting nervously to the striking blonde girl in front of him, who looked every bit like a life-sized Barbie. He shot Athena a pleading look, silently begging her to calm down.
Zen, still reeling from the shock, was the first to snap out of his stupor. His gaze imdiately fell on Athena’s reddened cheek, and without hesitation, he cupped it gently in his palm, his touch both protective and reassuring.
"Don’t cry, okay? Does it hurt? Do you want to avenge you?" Zen asked, his voice tight with barely restrained anger. He could feel himself itching to slap soone, to vent Athena’s frustration, but quickly rembered that a man’s strength far outweighed a woman’s; his blow could truly hurt.
Still, his fury made him want to forget all the lessons his grandfather had drilled into him about being a gentleman to won.
His glare sliced through the air, locking onto the other woman. Startled, the girl instinctively took a step back, shocked at the realization that she had just slapped Athena.
But then she reminded herself that she wasn’t in the wrong; she genuinely believed Athena had caused the trouble and stolen her parking spot. "This is your fault! And who gave you the guts to be a tattletale? Do you really think I can’t get you blacklisted if I want to?!" she snapped.
Her earlier threat hadn’t worked, and Athena’s sarcastic reply had only embarrassed her further, so she doubled down, convinced Athena would finally back off.
Instead, the mont Athena heard those words, her fury spiked. She was ready to roll up her sleeves and give the girl a beating right then and there, but Zen caught her before she could move.
"Don’t fight, don’t fight. You’ll just end up hurting yourself even more," Zen said, though the reluctance in his voice was obvious. A part of him wanted Athena to hit back, wanted her to reclaim every ounce of dignity that slap tried to take from her.
Athena shot him a look.
Zen imdiately raised both hands in surrender, silently telling her he wouldn’t interfere again.
Without hesitation, Athena stepped toward the girl. The other woman braced herself for a verbal coback, but Athena didn’t waste her breath. Her hand snapped across the girl’s cheek in a sharp, ringing slap, one she put all her strength into.
"If you want to talk with our fists," Athena said coldly, "then so be it. Let’s see which one of us ends up black and blue."
Before the girl could even register the first strike, Athena delivered a backhand to her other cheek, evening them out. Gasps rippled through the onlookers, shock written across every face.
But to Zen, Athena had never looked more badass. He didn’t feel the slightest sympathy for the girl; she was the one who raised her hand first. Athena was simply returning what was owed.
"You! You!" The girl was dumbfounded, feeling the sting on both cheeks. Even without looking in a mirror, she could almost tell her face was swelling, and tears imdiately welled up in her eyes.
But seeing the Barbie-like girl cry in front of her didn’t faze Athena. She had never wanted to fight in the first place; she was simply calling the staff to help the girl find her own parking, making things easier for both of them. Yet who asked the girl to slap her without reason?
Of course, Athena had lost her temper. She had only been trying to resolve the situation quickly. Yes, she’d snapped with a sarcastic retort earlier, but could anyone bla her? The girl had thrown her weight around as if the world belonged to her. Did she really think everyone was her servant?
Now she had skipped the diva act only to suddenly slap soone? Athena, who had been a boss in her past life and an heiress in this one, would she let anyone bully her? Of course not. And to think she’d been slapped in front of her little wolfdog, could she swallow her anger?
Absolutely not.
Then Athena rembered Zen beside her. Her eyes flicked toward him guiltily, afraid he might think less of her, that he’d see her as a shrew. But instead, she saw him crossing his arms over his chest, looking proud and smug, as if silently declaring to everyone watching the altercation, "That is my girl."
The staff mber, Athena had called finally ca back to his senses when he heard the blonde girl burst into tears.
"M-Miss... this..." He tried to look at Athena, but he couldn’t really be angry at her. After all, she had only retaliated; the blonde girl had thrown the first punch.
Feeling at his wits’ end, he resorted to calling his manager, who was probably in the security room monitoring the caras for any issues. Reaching for the walkie-talkie clipped to his belt, he pressed the button, and only after the static buzzed in his ear did he speak, his voice hesitant:
"M-Manager... I need you in the VVIP parking. There’s... a situation here that needs your attention..."
The staff hadn’t specified the situation, so the manager checked the security caras covering the VVIP parking lot. They had installed nurous caras there, knowing that wealthy guests, those who could afford the exorbitant VVIP tickets, would expect both their cars and themselves to be well-protected. Any damage to their vehicles would be costly, and the managent certainly couldn’t cover it.
On one of the monitors, the manager saw a cluster of people, with the staff mber who had called him standing in the middle. From the scene, he could tell that a tricky situation had likely arisen with a VVIP guest.
The manager gripped his walkie-talkie tightly, shot a sharp look at so of the security guards, and then dashed out of the security room, flanked by two guards.
On Athena’s side, she felt her phone vibrate a few tis inside her bag. She guessed it was probably Hera checking in on her, but she couldn’t pull it out, not while the girl in front of her might take advantage of the mont to slap her again.
Seeing that the situation was only getting more complicated and that they weren’t leaving anyti soon, Zen returned to the car. He opened the passenger seat where he had been sitting earlier, took out his jacket, and draped it over Athena’s shoulders.
It was already afternoon, and the chill was setting in; he didn’t want her catching a cold while waiting for the manager to resolve the situation.
anwhile, the girl in front of them glared daggers at Athena before pulling out her phone and dialing.
"Daddy... Huhuhu, soone slapped ... and bullied ..." she sobbed, tears spilling like pearls from her wide eyes, her lips puckered in pitiful distress.
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