ATHENAI opened my eyes to the rays of sunlight gradually coming in from the slightly opened window. I had not realized it was already morning which surprised me because I had not actually been asleep. Sleeping had proven to be quite a luxury that seemed to erode me a lot these days. Most times I didn’t know exactly what the cause of my insomnia was and my head was usually filled with random thoughts, but it was totally different this time. There was only one thought that completely filled my mind for hours on end. Thoughts of him.It felt like he was everywhere I looked and even when I closed my eyes, I kept on thinking of everything that happened last night. The soft brush of his fingers on my face, the look he had in his eyes as he stared down at me, the way he pulled me into him and the way he spoke so softly. It was like he was a completely different individual from what I knew. He reminded me a lot of the person I met the first night I saw him. The man who I had allowed to know
Hermes stood at the door of the shop with one of his men. His eyes were fixed on Athena and Rafael’s mother. He could see a deep sense of fear in the woman’s eyes and he knew that she remembered every single thing that he did to her back then. This brought a deep smile to his face as he walked into the store. Their eyes tracked his movements as the two women were frozen in shock, completely unable to move. So many thoughts were running through their heads as they exchanged glances and wondered what he was doing there.“What are you doing here?” Athena asked, finally finding her voice.“Like I said, we need to talk.” Hermes said, as he moved closer to her.Rafael’s mother stepped in between the both of them. It took the last bit of courage in her mind to do this as she remembered every detail of what had happened when she was kidnapped. She could feel her mind go into full on panic mode when she saw him step into the store and it felt like she was back in that cold dark room which Hern
ATHENAEvery word that my father spoke when we were in the shop still rang in my head, especially the part about Rafael and why I was still with him. He was not the father of my child and I could make a case to leave at any time, it would definitely be justified. But then, for some strange reason, I didn’t want to leave. I had never even brought it up ever since I had found out even though the thought continued to dance around in my head. It was like a whisper at the back of my mind over and over again. A thought that I dared not voice out in the open. Now that my father had brought all of those thoughts to the surface and everything was in full view, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.All through the car ride back to the house, I thought about it and how it would affect everything. I had no idea what I was going to tell Rafael but I knew that I needed to talk to him about everything. It definitely was not something I could keep on ignoring and it was better for me to share my thought
The look on Hernandez's face was one of complete dread as he stared at Athena trying to pick herself up off the floor. When Rachael had initially come into the room to tell him that she knew everything and talk to him about Hermes’s plans, he had felt troubled instantly by it. He didn’t care so much for her and he had made it clear from the first day Rafael brought her into the circle. She was a wild card much like himself and he was still yet to figure out what her own angle in this was. He wondered what she had told Hermes that allowed her back into his good books or maybe she had never left in the first place.All of these thoughts troubled Hernandez greatly but he chose to be silent about it and bide his time until he could fulfill his own plans of taking charge of every single thing. No one was going to know about any of this and by the time Rafael or Hermes found out what he had in store then it was going to be too late for any of them to stop him. The sight of Athena crashing i
RAFAELAll through the car ride back home, thoughts of Athena filled my head as I thought about what happened last night. When I had headed to her room that night, I had not expected things to go in that direction at all. I went there to explain everything to her, at least my part of things and give her an update on her ex who I almost beat to death. The truth of the matter is I had no idea what I was going to tell her that night, I just knew I wanted to talk to her. It felt like a longing which I could not seem to shake no matter how hard I tried.The look she had on her face that night, as we stared at each other in the hallway was still plastered in my head. I was not sure if it was real or it was something that the alcohol imagined, but then, I could see a longing in her eyes. The same longing which I felt when I drew closer to her and she planted that kiss on my lips. It had been totally unexpected but now that I thought about it, it was definitely bound to happen over time. The
The anger was so evident on Rafael’s face when he walked into the room. His entrance had taken Hernandez completely by shock and he had dropped the phone immediately, leaving Hermes stranded on the other end. They had both been trying to figure out what was going on. Hermes had still not been able to find Athena and he was getting extremely worried. Hernandez had wondered what was going on because he had put her into the van personally and watched the van drive off. There was only one explanation to this that he could think of but then he never wanted to believe it.It had to be Rachael. She had been the one who had arranged everything about the pickup and the drop off. She was the only one who could have pulled something like this off. Hernandez was about to tell Hermes this when Rafael stormed in. From the look on his face, Hernandez could tell immediately that the gig was up and he knew exactly what was going on.“You!” Rafael shouted, his hand pointed out to Hernandez in a menacin
The dryness of my throat was what had woken me up from the deep sleep I had drifted into. My eyes fluttered open slowly, each one felt incredibly heavy and unfocused. My vision was extremely blurred as I tried my best to see what was going on. I blinked a lot of times, trying to get some semblance of light into my eyes but it was still met with darkness everywhere. The whole world seemed to be nothing but a swirling void, as I sat there, panic surging through my veins. The air all around me thickened, suffocating me as I struggled to beat. My heart beat thundered again and again in my ears.I tried to lift my hands in order to touch my head or try to feel around for something to clear my eyes, but they wouldn’t move. That was the first time I felt it. The rough bite of the ropes as they dug into my wrists. I immediately became conscious of the fact that my arms were pinned behind my back. My whole body tensed up as this realization hit me. I instinctively tried to twist free, but I so
RAFAELThere I was, sat in the study thinking about everything that had just happened. Hernandez was in the room with me but he was off in a corner because I couldn’t bear to even look at his face right now. We were both battered up because of the fight that had ensued. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he could do something like this to me. His explanation about everything and how he was just looking out for himself had struck a nerve in me, but then there were still much better options. If he had come to me with this from the very beginning, I would have been more open and I would have been able to do something to prevent something like this.No matter how he wanted to look at it, he betrayed me and that was the crux of the matter. My eyes caught his eye several times, as we sat in silence waiting. I had placed a call to Hermes earlier and he was on his way to the house so we would discuss everything. We were going to formulate a plan to get Athena by whatever means
EPILOGUETHREE MONTHS LATER“He is so beautiful.” Athena said, as she lifted up their baby and spun him around in the air.The past months after the baby had come had been nothing short of magical. She couldn’t stop staring at the baby and she thought about how different her life was now from how it had been just a couple of months ago. They were at a point of peace and Rafael had magically transformed into the sweetest person on the earth. She now saw him smile a lot, especially when he played with Jaden. They had both chosen the baby’s name together after a lot of arguments. It had been a funny scene to witness but at the end of the day, they had settled for Jaden and it was a name that suited him so well.“He has my eyes so of course he is going to look beautiful.” Rafael said, as he emerged at the door of the room.He had been standing there for a while watching his mother and Athena without them knowing. They were startled at first, but at this point they had gotten used to the f
RAFAEL“Watch your step.” I said, as I held her hands and led her into the house.She had absolutely refused my offers to carry her. In her words, she felt I had done enough. On the contrary, I felt I was yet to do enough. I was not sure if I could ever do enough to compensate for everything that I had put her through in the past few months. I felt it in my heart though, I was definitely ready to make amends for everything. That was the plan.The doctor had finally agreed to discharge her from the hospital and we got back to a welcome party from my mother. She had been extremely happy over the past few days. Ever since I told her the news at the hospital about how the baby might actually be mine, I realized that the glow which she had the first time she found out that Athena was pregnant had actually returned to her face. I couldn’t be hundred percent sure if I was the father, not until the baby was here and we were able to carry out a DNA test.I could feel it in my bones though. It
ATHENAMy eyes fluttered open, as I came to. A faint beeping noise continued to ring in my head, as I steered wondering where it was coming from. My equilibrium was still off and I had no idea what was going on around me. My mind felt like it was covered by a thick fog and it was very hard to get it clear. My eyelids felt extremely heavy and it was like they were being weighed down by invisible anchors. Finally, I was able to pry them open. It took some time for my eyes to get accustomed to the lighting in the room. There was a light which shone soft and dull right above my head, casting a pale glow across the room I was in.I looked around as it took me a moment to adjust, to process the white walls of the room it was in. There was the hum of machinery all around me, that was where the constant beeping sound was coming from and that smell. It was a very distinct smell which I recognized immediately. I had spent enough time in hospitals during my mother’s hospital to be able to recogn
“Athena!” Rafael yelled, as he rushed over to her side.He had watched her fall when he came out of the car and this had taken him completely by surprise. He knew that she could already tell exactly what had happened from the moment he stepped out of the car. The stench of failure was no doubt all around him and he had thought about it all through the drive to the house. He thought about how he was going to tell her that her father was dead and he had watched as Hernandez put a bullet through his head as he was unable to do anything about it. The mere thought of telling her such a thing troubled him so deeply and it showed on his face immediately he stepped out of the car.Without him saying a word, she could already tell that the worst had happened. The look in his eyes told more words than he could ever say. Athena had felt like she was going to cry, as if a great burden had just come upon her shoulder. A burden which was too heavy for her to bear. She felt like she was going to cru
RAFAELWe finally pulled up to the house and my mother was right outside to greet us. She was so happy that we made it out, as I watched her hug Athena deeply. She checked her to ensure that she was fine while she led her into the house. I could see a deep sadness on Athena’s face even though she tried her best to hide it for my mother’s sake. I could tell that she was greatly troubled about what happened to her father. Her words in the car kept on ringing in my head. She had asked me to help him and there was only one way I knew how to.Walking past them, I headed to my room upstairs and went straight to my wardrobe to bring out my box. This was where I kept my suit and weapons which I used when I raided Hermes’s warehouses. Every time I wore it, it meant that I was about to do something which I was not essentially going to be proud of. I stared at the box for a couple of seconds as I contemplated whether or not to open it. Questions danced around in my head as I wondered if doing th
The whole room seemed to be in a sort of chokehold, as everybody’s eyes bounced around. Hermes’s arrival had been quite unexpected to all of them and they had no idea what any of this meant or what he was doing here. From the way that he had burst in, his intentions could be told to some degree though. He was standing in between his two guards who had come into the room with him and he had a smile as he stared at the meeting which was going on at the table. Rafael most especially was very surprised by all that was going on. He wasn’t sure what to make of all of this as so many questions ran through his mind.He got up and walked over to Hermes as their eyes met.“What the fuck are you doing here?” Rafael asked,“And here I was thinking that you were an honorable man that I could trust, Mr Hall.” The investor said, as he sat up and adjusted his suit. “The last thing I was expecting was that you would bring the enemy right to my doorstep after you were the one that asked for this deal t
RAFAELAll through the night leading up to this, I found myself completely unable to sleep. This was certainly not a new phenomenon for me. Sleep had managed to elude me a lot during the past few days and I desperately hoped that I would finally be able to find rest when all of this was in the past. When Athena and the baby were safe and sound, I would finally be able to rest and think about everything. I had desperately avoided thinking about what Rachael had told me the other day. This whole time, I had not even considered the possibility that the child that Athena was carrying could be my own in any way. Initially I had seen it as a means to carry out my revenge on Hermes.Raising the child the way which he had raised me, that was what I had planned to do. That plan had since left my head, but then, I still had never considered the possibility of the child being mine. All I had thought was that the child was Athena’s ex’s and this had pissed me off so much for a reason that I was s
ATHENAEven as I sat bound to the chair with a bag over my head impeding my vision, the whole scene at the restaurant kept on playing in my head. I had seen the bullet go through Rachael as she slumped to the ground along with the gun which she had trained to my back. The whole thing had happened so fast and even though I had tried my best to get to Rafael, especially after hearing him screaming my name out loud, I wasn’t able to. I couldn’t get to him before the van pulled up beside me and the men tossed me in. As I sat in the room, I could still feel their presence all around me. I wondered who they were and nobody had bothered to tell me anything ever since we got to wherever this was. They had not spoken to me directly despite all the questions I threw their way. I was in a world where I knew no one and I struggled so hard to comprehend what was going on.I was sure of one thing though, these were completely different people from Rachael’s men. When we first got here, I had though
RAFAELWe all rode in silence as we headed to my house. Rachael was bleeding in the back seat and I had instructed one of my men to tend to her wounds. She kept staring at me without saying a word, but I could tell from the frown on her face that she was not pleased by anything that was going on. When I had offered her my assistance when she lay on the floor bleeding, she had initially tried to fight me. It had not been so much of a fight as her hand was not of so much use. The bullet was still lodged in there and I had already called the family doctor to meet me up at the house to perform a quick removal of it. The wound didn’t look entirely nasty and I was sure she was going to live through it.Hermes was not too pleased about my decision to keep her alive and he made this expressly clear. Even when I tried to place her in the back of the car, he expressly denied and insisted that he was not going to ride with someone who had been responsible for putting his daughter in harm. I coul