ALEX

"The safest thing to do is have it locked into a trust and have you as the Trustee, then we can put Rayen as the beneficiary." Mywyer, Antonio, says.

I run a hand through my hair.

"We can''t do that for all assets. That''s too much power and money running in one move. Besides, I''m sure Athena and I will have more kids in the future."

I lie through my teeth.

I just don''t want him to figure out why I''m doing this. The least I need right now is my condition spreading to any of my enemies. As much as I would want to knock her up and see her t belly grow with our second child, maybe a princess this time, I''m not sure I have that much time.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Antonio asks.

I lean back against the chair,

"Put 60% in a trust, Athena as the trustee and I''ll tell you what to do with the rest. Thepany should be as it is. It belongs to Sloane. But no one can know about it. Not now, anyway."

"This is so sudden. Did something happen?" Antonio asks but the re I give him is enough to shut him the fuck up.

"I''ll do just that, Boss." He stands, packing his papers. "I''ll take my leave now."

I nod.

Just as I''m about to pick up my phone to call her, the office door bursts open.fn581f ?????? ???? Find★Novel/fn581f

Her scent is what hits me first.

I grin.

"How did you know I missed you?"

But the smile drops the second I see her face.

She''s been crying.

Her eyes are red and her breath is shaking. As if that''s not enough, her body is trembling like she''s been holding it together for hours and finally cracked.

I shoot up from my chair, panic wing at my chest.

"What happened?" I rush toward her, but she flinches and steps back like my touch would burn her.

My heart fucking twists.

"Who the fuck am I putting six feet under?" I growl, my hands already curling into fists.

But then she does something I didn''t expect...

Sheughs.

Not the kind that fills a room or warms the heart. The kind that breaks it. The kind

that sounds like someone bleeding from the inside.

She wipes her cheek roughly, her voice dripping with bitter amusement.

"That''s funny... considering it''s someone you can''t kill."

I stop dead in my tracks.

"Athena," I speak carefully, "tell me who did this."

"What?" she snaps. "So you can kill him? Will that make you feel better? Will it undo the damage?"

"Yes, so I can kill him. Was it Noah?"

"No, there is a better question," she cuts me off, stepping forward now, her chest rising and falling like she''s holding in screams. "Will you jump into the fucking river and kill yourself for the pain since you caused these tears?"

"What happened?" I ask again, quieter this time. "Talk to me."

She looks at me with so much hate it unsettles my mind.

"You''re a wicked and heartless bastard. But I knew that, I just didn''t know you were a thief and a liar too! How dare you!" She tries to push my chest.

I try to hold her but she shakes me off roughly while the tears keep streaming

down her face. She begins to pound my chest while screaming.

"Where did you put my box you bastard! How dare you trick me only for you to steal the one thing I have left from my parents. Is that why you fed methose lies and made me think you had changed? Was it so could drop my guard down? God I was so stupid!"  s

My chest tightens with every word she throws at me.

Box?

The form box?

I try to grab her wrists gently, to stop her from hurting herself, but she jerks away

from me like I''m poison.

"Athena, baby,I don''t know what you''re talking about-"

"Don''t lie to me!" she screams, her voice cracking.

"I didn''t take it," I snap before I can stop myself, but it''s toote, my tone only

feeds the fire in her.

She steps back, shaking her head. "I slowly started trusting you," she whispers. "I almost let you back in. And you destroyed that trust before it could ever grow the worst possible way."  s

My jaw clenches.

My thoughts spiral.

If I didn''t take it, who the fuck did?

And why now?

I run a hand down my face, already calcting the security feeds, the staff ess, anyone who''s been near her apartment.

"You know what? Keep the fucking form. Use it to work on your weak as hell heart!" She steps closer, her eyes burning in fury.

"I hope you choke to death on that hospital bed. I hope the form rejects you

and spits you out so badly. I hope you die, Alex. Maybe after that, this world will get to breathe again!"

Her words are knives.

Every syble slices through my skin and bone, digging straight into ces I didn''t even know could bleed anymore.

I just stand there silent as her fury rains down on me like a storm sent to bury the

I force a smile.

Not the cocky kind or the ruthless one I''m known for.

Just a sad, tired smile. Because I''ve already lost her, and I don''t have enough

time to fix this.

I thought I did. But the papersying in my drawers from today''s tests say otherwise.

"I didn''t take the box," I say quietly, truth rolling off my tongue like a confession no one wants to hear. "I don''t even want the form. never did Not after knowing how much danger it can put you in.  s

I hold her gaze even though it burns.

"All I want is you and Rayen. That''s enough for me."

She clicks her tongue.

"Go to hell."

She then walks out but this time, I don''t chase after her.

No matter how much it hurts, maybe this is a good thing.

I''ll let her hate me, so she won''t be sad once my clock runs out.