Chapter 29 ATHENA
ATHENA
Being back home is strange. The moment I crossed the threshold of our mansion, everything slowed. Staff rushed toward me, mouths moving, voices rising, but I couldn’t hear a thing. Their faces blurred. It was all noise, all static.
Then I saw them—my family—running through the crowd. Ace was the first I noticed. Towering over everyone, pushing bodies aside without hesitation. His buzz-cut hair, the dark circles under his eyes, the weight loss. He looked different.
He stopped in front of me and stared like he wasn’t sure I was real. And then I was in his arms, sobbing into his chest, his hand in my hair. He was shaking too, repeating “I’m so sorry, I’m so fucking sorry,” like it was his fault.
Over his shoulder, I saw my mother. Still beautiful, but pale and trembling.
She covered her mouth, tears running freely down her cheeks, eyes locked on me like I’d risen from the grave.
Ace stepped back just enough for her to take me in her arms. She didn’t say a word, just held me like she’d never let go again. And I held on back.
And then I saw him. My father. Maddox King.
Unmovable and unshakable. Except now—he looked…
human. He stood frozen, hands in his pockets, watching with red-rimmed eyes.
I broke from Mom and ran to him like I was ten years old again.
He caught me mid-run, his arms locking tight around me.
And then—tears. Real tears. Maddox King cried, and the world stopped turning.
“I’m so sorry, Dad,” I whispered over and over, shaking in his arms. “I should’ve listened to you. I should’ve—”
“Shh,” he murmured, stroking my hair. “You’re home. That’s what matters.”
“Prepare Athena’s room,” my mother said out loud. “And place extra guards outside.”
When I looked up into my father’s eyes—the ones everyone called cold, cruel—I saw none of that. I saw the man who once carried me on his shoulders through the garden. The man I’d just betrayed in more ways than one.
“Dad, I—”
“No,” he cut me off gently. “Not now. You need rest.”
“I can’t.” My voice cracked. “Uncle Angelo, he’s in danger. Please send people.”
I watched it happen in real time—the soft father disappeared, and the cold, powerful Maddox King took his place.
His tears dried, his jaw clenched. He turned, snapped his fingers, and was already on the phone as he walked away, his men trailing behind him.
I didn’t hear what he said. I just prayed it wasn’t too late.
“Let’s get you to your room,” Ace said, his voice tight.
Mom followed us quietly. Inside my bedroom, Ace shut the door behind us, leaving the three of us alone. I sat on the edge of the bed while he paced, running a hand through hair that wasn’t there anymore. He finally dropped to a crouch in front of me, taking my hands in his.
“I know you’re not ready,” he said softly, “but you have to give me something. Are you sure about the attack on Uncle Angelo?”
“Yes. I heard them talk about it.” I didn’t look away. I needed him to believe me.
“Who are they?”
I froze. That was the question. If I gave them Dominic’s name, they’d hunt him down. And if they hunted him, he wouldn’t survive it. I should want that. I should. He kidnapped me. Threatened my family. Maybe he was already moving against my uncle. But my stomach twisted at the thought of him dead.
So I lied.
“I don’t know names,” I whispered, dropping my eyes. “But I saw their faces.”
Ace studied me, doubt flickering in his expression.
“Did they hurt you? Touch you?”
No. Nothing I didn’t beg for.
I shook my head.
“Okay,” he said, nodding. “We’ll bring in a sketch artist. You can describe them.”
“I don’t want to do that,” I whispered. “I just want everyone to be safe. Can’t we focus on that?”
“How are we supposed to stay safe if they are still out there breathing?” Ace’s voice hardened.
I had no answer. Mom joined us, kneeling beside him.
“You have to tell us what you remember for the past two months, Tini. At your own pace, but you have to help us.”
“Two months,” I murmured, finally processing her words. “You said I was gone for two months?”
Mom nodded, and my heart dropped. Ace squeezed my hand.
“I swear to you,Athena, when I find the bastard who did this, I’ll kill him myself. Not Dad. Me.’’
And in that moment, I wanted to cry again.
Because I knew the name, and I still couldn’t say it.
—
I stayed in my room for the rest of the night.
There are at least ten guards outside my door.
My mother refused to leave me alone at first, hovering like I’d vanish the second she blinked, but my father called for her, said it was urgent.
She kissed my forehead and promised she’d be back soon.
That was over an hour ago, and I was drifting toward sleep when a knock pulled me back.
Eyes still closed, I called out, assuming it was her.
“Come in.”
But it wasn’t my mother. It was Mason.
We both froze the moment he stepped in. The silence between us stretched and pressed in like a weight.
He looked like a ghost from a different life.
His hair was shorter than I remembered, cleanly cut.
His body looked more solid, like he’d buried himself in the gym trying to outrun something.
He wore a plain shirt and shorts—simple, familiar, safe.
Still, I felt like I was staring at a stranger.
He cleared his throat, shifting his weight.
“Your parents let me come. I had to, after I heard. I didn’t believe it at first. I thought you were…”
He didn’t finish.
“Dead?” I offered, sitting up. He nodded, guilt flooding his expression.
“Can I…?” He gestured toward the bed. Seeking permission—something Mason never used to ask for.
I nodded, and he crossed the room in seconds and sat beside me.
The next moment, I was wrapped in his arms. The warmth was familiar, but it didn’t settle the way it used to.
He held me tight, whispering “I’m so sorry” again and again, like Ace had, like everyone seemed to.
“It’s not your fault, Mason,” I said softly, but he pulled back and cupped my face, his thumbs brushing my cheeks. “It is. If I’d been paying more attention, if I hadn’t been such an idiot—maybe I could’ve stopped it.”
His voice cracked. His eyes shimmered.
“I promise I won’t make that mistake again.” His forehead rested against mine. “I’m here, Athena. No more games. No more waiting around. I’m done with all of it.”
He said it like a vow. The kind of vow I used to dream about when I was a little. But now? Now it felt like someone else’s dream. Distant and faded.
“I want you to rest,” he said gently. “When you’re better, we’ll talk. I just needed to see you. To know you’re really here.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
He looked at me the way people look at art they’re afraid to touch—reverent, careful. His fingers traced the edges of my face, and then he kissed me.
Soft. Sweet. The kind of kiss is meant to be comforting.
Meant to remind me of what we used to be.
And I kissed him back, not because I wanted to, but because I needed something familiar.
Because I was trying to erase the last two months, to prove to myself I wasn’t broken, but the longer we kissed, the more I knew—I didn’t feel that flutter in my stomach. No fire or spark. Just numbness.
Because all I could think about was Dominic. The way he looked at me, the way one brush of his fingertips could send me spiraling.
Mason was everything good. He always had been, but he wasn’t Dominic, and that realization made me want to crawl out of my own skin. I pulled back, putting a little space between us. He took the hint.
“I’ll let you rest,” he said, brushing his lips against my forehead. “I’ll come back tomorrow.” I nodded again, curling up under the blanket. He paused at the door. “I meant what I said, Athena. I’m yours. No more games.”
“Okay.” I gave him a small smile. That’s all I could manage and somehow, that one word was enough for him.
He left, and the room was quiet again, but all I could do was stare at the ceiling, wondering why I couldn’t say I’m yours back. I’d waited my whole life for Mason to say it, to mean it. And now that he had… I couldn’t feel the way I used to.
Maybe I’m broken or tired, or I just need time.
I tried to sleep, to shut it all out. To forget the mess of the last 24 hours. Linda had made the flight home feel like torture. She didn’t speak a word to me the entire time, and once we landed, she disappeared. Just like that. No goodbye. No explanation.
And maybe time will help me forget, maybe I’ll wake up and be whole again.
But when I close my eyes, all I see are green eyes staring back at me, haunting every corner of my dreams, making it impossible to let go.