"I don't know what else to do, '' Athena cried. Maxwell studied her face for a while; he knows she's the sniveler.She breaks down at every slight opportunity she gets. Maxwell held Athena's hand and helped her up to her feet. He stood in front of her. "Everything will be fine, trust me," Maxwell said with assurance gracing his tone. Athena raised her brow at him."You still haven't told me why you have so much belief that things will turn out fine, Maxwell. Like, who are you? Why are you so calm about everything, and all your words come to pass as you say they would? She asked. Maxwell smiled at her and pulled her closer to himself. "I am the very same Maxwell Reed, the same one that signed the marriage contract papers. He hasn't changed yet.". Hmmm! She inhaled and exhaled heavily. "It's late, ma'am. I think you should go to bed now so you don't get a headache.". Maxwell told her, and she agreed without arguing that she had been wanting to sleep once they were done with the d
"How dare he try that with me?" Athena spoke angrily as she got into her car and drove back home. She had thought she was going out to meet some reasonable people, but now she knows better. How dare he reply to that mail when he knew he was never going to show up?She got into the car and turned on the ignition. She got straight to the house and banged on the car door. She clutched her bag and began to walk inside the house."You are back so early, Maxwell said to Athena. She sighed deeply, brushing past him and placing her bag on the table."Can you imagine the old man? He said he left all he had to just have breakfast with me.First, I thought he was joking until he tried to touch me."No way". Maxwell's eyes widened. He could see the frustration in Athena's eyes as she spoke, but all he could do was feign laughter. "It's not even funny. These men are something else, jeez! He bluntly told me he wasn't going to pay for the 40 percent cancellation fee. Well, I don't know what else to
Maxwell had finished with the dishes when a bang came loud on the door. Who was that person who could not use the doorbell? He questioned himself in his mind as he walked towards the door. He wiped his wet hand over the apron he was wearing. His feet were thudding heavily on the floor. "Hold on," he called out. He grabbed the knob and turned it. The moment the door opened, he found Duncan standing in front of him."Oh, the big old man!" Maxwell exclaimed."Is Athena in?" He asked rudely, his shoulders squared on each side."Is that how you greet your in-law?" Maxwell asked humbly."Move, boy, I'm not here for jokes.". "I guess you are here to beg Athena to go back to work, then." Max replied with contempt. "I will not have you insult me, not in my brother's house.". "It's fine then. You may come in." Maxwell opened the door long enough for his enormous body size to pass through. ""Athena, you've got a guest," Maxwell called out over his shoulders. Duncan helped himself to the co
Very early the next day, Duncan didn't hesitate to return the news to his mother. He stopped a few blocks away from her home and thought about how he was going to convey the message to her without receiving any insults from her. He knows his mother too well to deliver such a clumsy message.A colorful butterfly flew past the car and then returned to rest on the windscreen wiper. Duncan examined it for a while and smiled. If only his life could be as beautiful as the little creature flapping its tiny wings before him.He took a deep breath and made up his mind to tell his mother the way it was. If she rains insults on him, that's fine; he would shake it off and continue his life. He is not the first person to fail in business; others did not send anyone to kill them for failing.He sighed and turned on the ignition. In a few minutes, he had parked in front of his mother's billion-dollar mansion. He stepped out of the car dressed in a simple, plain white shirt and chinos, a pair of Nike
Grandma squinched her eyes at Maxwell for a while. The source of his confidence is still unknown to her. No one in her social class has ever spoken to her the way this poor man from the gutters has done in the last couple of minutes. She brightened her face. He wasn't the reason she was out here this early. Athena is family, and the sole reason her family is known all over the States, that's why she is here."Well, you have a point. Maxwell, or whatever you call yourself. We are the ones who offended Athena, and it is only appropriate that we seek forgiveness from her. She paused to face Duncan, who quickly looked away. Grandma knew he would shy away from it, so she didn't waste Saliva talking to him about it. She had the decision within her to do it on arrival, but she needed to try to see if her normal blackmail would work on Athena as usual, but it failed because she had been feeding from the bastard's table. She gave one last glare at him."You want to do this, then go on. You r
The alarm chimed non-stop until Athena got out of bed. She sighed and grudgingly got into the bathroom to turn on the water heater. Her headache from one side. She suffered a slight headache before going to bed the previous night. She sat on the edge of the bed and dozed a little more. She picked up her wrist watch on the nightstand and stared blankly into it. Her eyes blurred. She wiped the dried crust from her eyes and sniffed. Her eyes seemed puffy from lack of rest.By then, she felt the water had hit her enough that she turned the heater off and undressed. She didn't waste much time in the bathroom.It was 6:30 a.m. when she got out of the bathroom. She stood in front of her dressing mirror and smiled at herself. If not for Maxwell's help and through her decision-making, she would have been crawling back to beg them, but instead the reverse was the case. Even though Grandma and Uncle Duncan did not crawl, she was happy she wasn't the one begging after all they did to her. She
Outside the Fairmont building, Maxwell had just pulled up and parked just a few meters away from the building. The transformation with the suit was making him uncomfortable for some reason. He adjusted himself and walked side-by-side with Athena. Rings on their fingers. The marriage thing has to be as believable as possible, and Maxwell was beginning to love the flow of things. He held Athena by the arm and led her into the building. They took the elevator and got to the fourth floor, where Athena's office is.At the reception, all eyes fell on the fake couple as they swayed towards Athena's office. "Good morning, sir." The ladies greeted Maxwell. Some turned around to talk about Maxwell."Is he not the one she took to the business dinner?," one of them said."He is the one; he is all pimped up with her money; can't you see it?" The other one argued. Their talks didn't matter; what mattered at this point was Grandma Elizabeth's apology speech in front of all the staff.When Athena g
The next day, while at work, Athena had just finished a meeting with the department heads. She was sitting right in her office when Maggie came in with the news of a visitor."Ma'am, you have a visitor." Maggie said. "Who could that be?" Athena asked without raising her head."Some Sebastian Bash". "Sabastian Bash?" She repeated, raising her eyes to look at Maggie's with suspicion. "Yes Ma'am"Athena hesitated for a while before answering. "Please let him in"."Ait Maam". Maggie answered with a bow and went out the door. A few minutes later, she appeared through the door, with Sabastian walking majestically behind her."There goes the most beautiful woman in the whole wide world." She chanted with a big smile spread across his face. "Sabastian, what are you doing here?" Athena asked as she rose up from her seat.With boldness on his lips and pride spreading on his square shoulders, he spoke directly to Athena, "C'mon girl, is that how you welcome your admirer, huh?" Athena spott