49. Athena
CHAPTER 49
Athena
APRIL 20TH
A pollo resigned from Papá’s company a couple weeks ago, and the aftershocks are still hitting the family circle quite hard. It turns out Papá didn’t think of the consequences of his many, many shitty actions.
Mamá wants him to move out, he refused.
Ares wants to meet our half-siblings, Mamá refused.
I’m past the point of being a heartbroken daughter, of being disappointed to breaking point by my father, the hero.
In this instance, I’m the lucky one. When I get married, my surname won’t be my father’s anymore, but the boys are kind of stuck with it. Mamá is already looking forward to going back to her maiden name, I can’t blame her.
Since my conversation with her, we’ve found two more mistresses and another half-sibling. The more we dig, the more we find.
I thought perhaps some time and more therapy would help me process the fact he’s a worthless piece of shit, but instead, I find myself at Papá’s in-home office while Mamá is out with Abuelita.
Scott is here with me. I have divorce papers in hand, and I’m about to rip my father a new asshole. If he puts up a fight or doesn’t sign the damn papers, we’ll find a way to destroy him.
Actually, based on how angry the boys are, I wouldn’t rule it out anyway.
“Athena. You look well.” Papá looks at me from over the wiry frames of his glasses. “And Mr. Raine. To what do I owe this unscheduled drop in?” The distaste for being interrupted during work hours seeps into the air as Scott and I approach his desk.
“Alonso.” Scott holds his hand out, not bothering to call Papá ‘Mr. de la Pena’ which he notices right away. He accepts Scott’s hand and shakes it. Papá has a great poker face for almost all things. As a businessman, he kind of has to. But when he feels disrespected—whether it’s outright or implied—he grinds his teeth, like he’s doing right now.
Scott pulls out the chair facing my father and gestures for me to sit, then he drags one from the far corner of the room and sits next to me.
He doesn’t hold my hand, he doesn’t even put his hand on my thigh, but his silent support a few inches from my elbow is all I need. I straighten my spine, sliding the manila envelope across the table.
“These are divorce papers, Papá.” I clear my throat. “You need to accept Mamá’s requests, sign the papers, and let her go.”
He stares at the envelope before picking it up. “She can’t do this herself?”
I snort. “We both know she’s more than capable. But she didn’t want to go to jail for ripping your head off. Orange really isn’t her color.”
That’s a lie. Every color is Mamá’s color. Plus, I’m pretty sure they wear grey in jail these days.
“And you’re on her side?” He still doesn’t look up from the envelope in his hand.
The only word to describe the sound that comes from my body is a guffaw. “If that’s in question, maybe I need to revisit our last encounter, remind you of my thoughts on the matter.” My blood’s starting to ripple, a lick of heat bringing it from neutral to a simmer.
“Sign the papers.”
“And what about my children?”
“I think Apollo made himself clear a few weeks ago. He’s done with you. I don’t know about Ares and Artemis but they’re pretty pissed at you, too, Papá.”
“And you, Athena? What of you?”
“You looked me in the eye and lied to me.” My voice is colder than I had expected it to be, not a waver in sight.
That makes him look me in the eye once more.
“We’ve found more. More mistresses, more children. Where does it end Papá?”
He opens his mouth as if to speak but I silence him by simply raising my hand.
“I didn’t come here to talk.” I push up from the desk so I’m standing. My foot’s still in the stupid boot, and my arm is still in its cast prison so everything’s still kind of awkward and clunky.
“I came here to tell you not to be a dick, to give Mamá a divorce, and that I’m done with you.”
His brow twitches. To most it’s barely noticeable, but to me it’s almost comical.
“And if I don’t like the terms of her request?” Papá waves the envelope at me.
“Sounds like a you problem.”
The way his nostrils flare sends a shot of giddiness through me. I love the fact he’s irked. I want to send him more off-balance, but I’m not sure how.
“And what do you think of all this, Mr. Raine?”
Ah. He’s figuring he’s getting nowhere with me, so he’ll start on my boyfriend.
I drop my jaw to speak, but Scottie beats me to it. “Honestly, sir? I think it’s pretty shitty of you to hear that your eldest child has been raped, brutally attacked, and left for dead in the street and for you to conveniently be nowhere to be seen.”
Woof. Scott Raine, going for the jugular.
“Poor parenting. And as I’m sure you’re aware, that’s something that’s completely in my wheelhouse given the fact I have an absent father.”
I’m still on my feet, but I’m not going to sit down again. I like towering over my father, it sends a powerful shot of confidence through my veins.
Gizmo doesn’t give Papá any time to answer his accusation, even if he did, there’s nothing my father can say because what he has been accused of has the added benefit of being right.
“But to be honest, had we looked at the whole board.” He gestures to the chess set next to Papá’s window. “We wouldn’t have expected anything more from a cheating, lying, philanderer.”
Papá’s knuckles turn white as he clenches his hands into balls.
“I don’t know what you expected me to say, Alonso, but you don’t have my support in this. If I’m honest, I’ve never particularly liked or respected you.” Scott’s voice doesn’t waver as he addresses my father, and to be completely honest, it might be the hottest thing I’ve ever witnessed.
“I think you’re a bully. I think you bully your employees, your competitors, your children, and now I think you bullied your wife.”
My father’s cheek twitches, but Scott doesn’t stop.
“But I also think you have an over-inflated sense of self-importance.”
Papá stays quiet.
“Your children don’t need anything from you. They’re self-sufficient, they’re competent, well invested financially, they have a great mother figure, and they love each other more fiercely than any family I’ve ever seen.”
I want to fan myself right now. Scott’s keeping his cool in the face of my uber scary father who makes seasoned businessmen cry, or at least quake in their boots.
“You are in their lives because they let you, not because they need you. You have nothing to give to them that they don’t already have or can’t get by themselves.”
He stands, holding his hand out to me. “And now you’ve hurt the mother they all adore.” He smirks, but it’s darker, more sinister. “Didn’t you read any mythology before you named all four of your children after gods and goddesses?” His hand clasps around mine. “No one fucks with Apollo’s mama.”
He shrugs as he helps me find my balance and navigate around the chairs. “I imagine if any of them let you remain in their lives, you’ll need to earn back their trust and work from the ground up. But you deserve everything you get, Alonso. Because you’ve hurt the people who are most dear to me in this world. And for that, I won’t ever forgive you.”
As we approach the dark, wooden door to leave my father and the divorce papers behind, Scott pauses, turning his head back to face Papá, arm outstretched toward the handle. “And sign the papers. Give the woman who put up with you for decades while you screwed around behind her back whatever she asks for. Because you may not have noticed, but she’s formidable enough by herself. Add in all four of your children?” He whistles through his teeth. “Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.”
We barely get out into the hallway before his shoulders sag, like it took a lot out of him to confront Alonso de la Pena. I know how he feels.
At the bottom of the stairs, instead of turning left into the den, he turns right into the kitchen. He opens a cupboard, pulls out a glass, and fills it all the way to the top. When he drains it, he refills it again and drinks that too.
“Feel better?”
He finally turns to me. I expect fear, pale skin, wide eyes, but he seems… fine.
He wipes his lower lip, catching some excess droplets of water. “Yeah.” He holds a hand out in my direction. “I’ve been holding onto that for far too long.”
I snake my arms around his neck, pulling him to me for a kiss. “That was super-hot, Gizmo.”
He grins at me. “Yeah?”
I place a chaste kiss on the tip of his nose. “ Super hot.” There’s a flicker of desire in me that I haven’t felt since before my attack. I’m not ready to act on it, but something about my man standing up for my family against my cabrón father has me all fluttery inside.
It’s a reminder that I haven’t come in weeks. I haven’t wanted to come in weeks. But also, a reminder that I’m not dead inside. They didn’t take that away from me, they didn’t win?—
“Bright Eyes?” Scottie stops stroking my face and withdraws his hand, there must be something on my face that makes him think I’m uncomfortable with his touch.
“No, no. It’s okay.” I put his hand back on my face. “I just zoned out for a second.”
He’s cautious when he resumes touching me, like he suspects I might have simply said yes to appease him.
“I’m sorry,” I breathe. “I was just…” I’ve never been one to shy away from the subject of sex, or desire, but right now, the words I’m about to say make my body heat. If this is going to work between us, I need to be honest. “I had a flicker of… want, I guess. Something I haven’t felt since before my attack. It was unexpected.”
His face doesn’t change, and if I didn’t already know how amazing he was, the fact his features don’t show hope, or excitement at my admission, just concern about me cements it.
I don’t need to tell him I’m not ready, but I want to be clear. “I’m not ready.” I hold his eyes. “Not yet. I just… It’s nice to know they didn’t break me altogether. That’s all.”
He cups my face with both hands, his beautiful blue eyes piercing right into my soul. “Athena, if you were never ready to have sex again for the rest of our lives, we’d figure it out together.”
My heart swells like the goddamn Grinch. “You’re sure?”
He nods. “If you decide you’re ready to get back to sex but you’re not ready for penetration, then we’ll figure that out too.”
Does he mean…? “Do you mean…?”
He nods. “As long as I get to watch.”