Chapter 14 ATHENA
ATHENA
I paced my cramped “room,” my head pounding like a war drum, Nic’s insane words from last night echoing relentlessly in my mind.
After I make you my wife, I will.
The phrase replayed over and over, a cruel mantra that twisted my insides.
He must be crazy and delusional if he thinks I’ll ever say yes to this madness.
Death felt like a kinder fate than marriage to Nic Stone.
There was a knock at the door. Alec’s head appeared, peering in once I approved. He stepped inside.
“They told me you skipped breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry,” I said, voice tight.
“You need to eat, Athena.”
“No, thanks.”
I was starving, but I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. My body was wasting away—skin stretched over bone, but I didn’t care. Alec sighed, clearly not wanting to pick a fight. Neither did I.
“How about a walk? I’ll show you the residence. You don’t have to rot in here.”
Something in his voice disarmed me—gentle, almost human. His smile was warm, nothing like Nic’s cold perfection. And I was suffocating in this cage. So, I followed. He led me through endless corridors, filling the silence with stories about the mansion’s history. I barely listened.
“Where are we, Alec?” I asked.
“Like the location?” He pursed his lips, voice low. “I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”
Not arrogance. Just a clear, quiet loyalty to Nic.
“You’re too loyal to someone who’ll be the cause of your death one day,” I muttered bitterly. Just wait until my father gets hold of you.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Alec said, shrugging as if it were normal. “If I’m meant to die for him, then so be it.”
That left me speechless. He switched gears.
“Nic said you’re into art, antiques, that sort of thing?” I nodded.
“How does he know that?”
Alec chuckled. “Nic knows everything about you, Athena.”
I swallowed hard. He told me the same thing not long ago.
When Alec pushed open а huge door, my breath hitched, and my brain froze.
The room was a shrine to beauty—paintings that whispered secrets, relics that breathed history, precious stones glinting in glass cases.
This room lived. Unlike the cold sterility of the rest of the house, this was a sanctuary of exquisite obsession.
My father had an eye for exclusive art, and I inherited it. Every piece here screamed wealth and rare taste. I couldn’t believe that such a ruthless monster had such a refined soul buried somewhere beneath.
Alec’s phone shattered the silence. His voice on the other end dragged me back to the grim reality. He shot me an apologetic glance and left, promising he’d return soon, leaving me alone with these treasures.
I wasted no time. My fingers trailed over every surface, drinking in the beauty Nic worshiped. Cameras dotted every corner—I knew he watched them obsessively, guarding his precious collection. Maybe that was why he’d called Alec.
A rage unlike anything I’d ever known flared inside me. This room was his sanctuary, бut he stole my freedom, my life. Now it was my turn to take something from him.
I grabbed the nearest statuette—a delicate female face—and slammed it into the marble floor. It shattered, the sound sharp and final. One after another, I destroyed everything—priceless relics, rare paintings, shattered glass raining down like judgment.
A demon possessed me, a reckoning in flesh.
I looked up defiantly at the camera, heart thundering, and raised my middle finger—right at Nic’s arrogant, cruel, perfect face.
I don’t know how long I raged before Alec burst in, pale and horrified at the wreckage.
He grabbed me with surprising strength, dragging me out, his voice angry for the first time as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
He lectured me, but I tuned him out, the wicked smile spreading across my lips brightening the shadows inside me.
Take that, Nic Stone.
—
Nic tapped his fingers on the polished desk, eyes locked on me like twin blades. I sat across from him on the couch, arms crossed, matching his intensity—our silent war filling the room with a thick, suffocating heat.
Alec had bolted out moments ago, summoned by Nic’s furious command. I could feel the storm brewing behind that calm facade Nic wore so well.
But the satisfaction I felt destroying Nic’s precious collection was a fire I hadn’t known I needed.
Alec had burst in just in time to salvage a handful of rare treasures, but the damage I’d done to the rest was devastating.
I hoped Nic had watched every second of my little rebellion.
Judging by the venom in his gaze, I was sure he had.
The office was cloaked in silence. My face burned, flush with adrenaline and defiance, my breath coming too fast. Or maybe it was because those hypnotic green eyes were fixed on me as if he wanted to swallow me whole.
“Do you know what you just did, Athena?”
His voice cut through the quiet—deep, controlled, lethal, but his face was a mask. No fury, no rage, no hint of emotion. Just that cold, unreadable calm that made him so terrifying. I wanted to see anger blazing in his eyes, but there was nothing.
He leaned forward, hands planted firmly on the desk, sleeves rolled up. Veins pulsed under his skin like warning signs. For a brief, reckless moment, my gaze drifted to his strong forearms before I jerked my eyes back up to meet his.
“You just destroyed over fifteen million dollars’ worth of my possessions.”
“I was aiming for more,” I shot back with a grin. His jaw tightened—finally, a crack. “I was bored.”
He cocked his head, narrowing those dangerous eyes. The temperature in the room dropped; his presence darkened the space like a gathering storm.
“Bored?” he echoed, voice colder than ice. His jaw clenched hard, as if holding back a deeper fury.
“You’re a millionaire, aren’t you?” I shrugged, swinging my legs. “A few millions here or there can’t be a problem.”
“I’m a billionaire,” he corrected, stepping off his desk to close the gap between us. His feet touched mine, a silent claim. I tilted my head up, locking my eyes with his.
“If you’re going to put titles on my name, at least get it right,” he said quietly. “But that still doesn’t give you the right to destroy what’s important to me.”
“Nobody gave you the right to take away my freedom, either. Yet here we are.”
His laugh was low, dangerous. Then, in one swift move, his hand closed around my throat and he yanked me up like I weighed nothing. I held my breath, shock and something darker flaring through me. His face was inches from mine—the last time we were this close, I was on his lap, and…
No, don’t go there, Athena.
Despite the raging storm in his eyes, Nic’s hand didn’t squeeze my throat as hard as I knew he could. If he wanted, he could cut off my air in a heartbeat. But no—this was a game to him.
Even as his fingers dug into my neck, putting my life in danger, my hands stayed frozen at my sides.
Not because I couldn’t fight back. I could barely breathe, let alone resist, but because a twisted part of me didn’t want to.
The cruel pressure set fire beneath my skin, mostly where I didn’t want it to.
Nic’s breath was heavy against my lips, hot and intoxicating. I dared to glance down at his mouth, but he never looked away from my eyes. His thumb pressed harder on the pulse at my neck.
“Do you know how easy it would be to break your neck right now?” he murmured, his nose brushing mine. His eyes burned into me. “One move and you’ll be lifeless on my expensive carpet.”
“Do it,” I whispered, still choking. “Better dead than your captive.”
He chuckled. Both arms circled my throat now, pulling me impossibly close. His lips hovered an inch from mine.
“You’re forgetting one thing, dollface,” he said, voice low. “You’re fucking mine. Whether you live or die—that’s my call, not yours.”
My hand shot up, fists clenched, ripping at his expensive shirt. His body stiffened beneath my touch.
“One day I’ll be front row, watching my father torture you to death.”
He smirked, dark and satisfied—a monster who thrived on cruelty. Then, as if to prove he was part beast, part devil, he pulled me so close our lips barely touched. The tip of his mouth brushed mine. My heart stuttered. My nails sank into his shirt.
For one insane heartbeat, I thought he’d kiss me .Instead pain exploded. His teeth sank into my lip, tearing skin. Blood welled, hot and metallic, and he licked it away with his tongue.
He bit me.
My heart pounded hard. The mix of pain and possession set my blood on fire. His hands still held my throat like a necklace; his breath was a heat wave against my skin. I should have pushed him away, slapped him, and run. But I didn’t.
I dug my nails deeper into his shirt, ripping the fabric as electricity surged through me—alive, shattered, and frozen all at once.
When I finally shoved him back, he let me go without protest. His hands dropped, but his eyes never left my bleeding lips. Now, they held me captive. He stuck out his tongue—just enough for me to see my blood glistening, and slowly licked his lower lip, savoring the flavor like a predator.
It wasn’t a kiss, but my body burned hotter than a thousand kisses from anyone else.
“Intoxicating,” he whispered, almost to himself. “Just as I imagined you’d taste.”
Nic straightened his tie, ran a hand through his dark hair, and looked at me like nothing had happened. Like his teeth hadn’t just drawn blood from my lip.
“Since you’re so bored,” he said, voice low and hard, “I’ll find you something to keep busy.” He pulled a uniform from the wardrobe and tossed it into my hands. His grin was wicked, cruel. “You’re going to clean this place up.”
I stared, furious. “What?”
“You’re not deaf, Athena. I expect my office and the room you destroyed to be spotless when I get back.”
“I’m not your damn housekeeper.” I threw the uniform on the floor. He watched, unimpressed, shaking his head.
“Let me put it this way,” he said, hands in his pockets, Adam’s apple bobbing. ‘‘Disobey me, and someone innocent pays the price.”
“You wouldn’t.” I choked on my own breath.
“Test me.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came. He grabbed his papers, stepped closer, and caught my gaze.
“I’ll be back by evening,” he said, thumb brushing my chin with that wicked grin. “Choose wisely, dollface.”
The door shut behind him.