Chapter 32: Chapter Thirty-one

Athena

Alex narrows his eyes at me as he furrows his eyebrows—even from the look he is giving me—it isn't stopping me from laughing. Looking away from him, I end up tugging at my shirt, ''Athena, this isn't funny! How long do you want to keep it away from me?'' My mom starts speaking again on the other line.

''Mom, you're overreacting.'' I mutter, ''I'm not even—'' 

She cuts me off, ''What do you mean I'm overreacting?! This is big news! Of course, I'm overreacting. Do you expect me to find out when you are already nine months pregnant? That isn't going to happen, young lady.'' I hear her mumble words in Greek, and I can't quite catch what, nor do I even understand them.

I facepalmed myself when she decided to keep on saying in Greek. She does this whenever she's excited or pissed. It's because no one in the family could understand her, so she could keep on saying anything she wants without being disturbed. 

''Mom—'' I try to cut her off, but she won't let me, ''Mo—mom, listen to me.'' She stops talking, and I hear her breathing raging from the other line. ''I'm not pregnant, okay?'' I say, slowly. 

''What do you mean?'' Her voice sounds that she could not believe what I'm saying, ''What do you mean that you're not pregnant? Bu—but the media...'' Then I hear her groan loudly, which makes me look up, making eye contact with Alex, ''Shit.'' She curses. 

''Indeed.'' I say, pointing out, ''Mom, don't believe whatever the media says. You know better than that, don't you? If it really does happen, you'll be the first one to know.'' 

''You're right. I was just excited about this. It's just that both of you are newly married, so it's like wonderful news for the whole family. I keep on receiving calls from our relatives. They just want to know if it's true.'' She mutters.

''Well, now you know the truth.'' 

''Okay, sweety, I'm sorry for barging like that. Was I interrupting something? I hope not.'' Her voice low, ''That's all, please have a good time and don't forget to make cute grandbabies for me. And oh, congratulate Alex for me, yeah? Your father kept on saying, 'That's my son-in-law' when he scored a goal. Bye-bye now.'' Before I could say anything, she hangs up the call—leaving my mouth hanging open. 

I put my phone down, and I look up to see Alex just staring bluntly at me. When he was about to say something, his phone rings, and he sighs before picking it up, ''Yeah, hi.'' Then he looks back up at me, ''She's not, and what do you mean by that?'' He sits up straight, ''I don't think meeting the press is necessary.'' 

I raise an eyebrow as I keep on hearing.

''I'm not done yet.'' Then he furrows his eyebrows, ''Simon.'' Before he could say anything else, it seems that Simon has ended the call. Alex clenches his jaw before pressing hard onto his phone and looking down on the ground, ''Published let out a statement which says that you're pregnant.'' Alex says to me. 

''Published?'' I knew it. Joanna must have planned something like this. This isn't much. It's just rumored. She could have done worse. I'm hundred percent sure that she's getting ready for bigger news. She must have done this on purpose so that the press could pay attention to Alex and me, ''Guess they have nothing better to do.'' I add. 

He looks up, frowning, ''Don't you know anyone from there that might be publishing this? You used to work there after all.'' Then he leans back at the sofa, sighing one more time, ''This is going to keep on coming. They might even add twins to this rumor, and they'll start following us around again.'' 

I feel my eyes looking around but him, ''Well, I'm not really good at making friends, so no, I don't really know much from work.'' Clearing my throat, ''What are we going to do about this?'' 

''We just face the press as Simon suggested, or we could also ignore them and don't pay attention. Either way, it's your choice.'' He shrugs. It took me a while to finally realize that he has a slight accent, which is hard to notice because he speaks like a true American. Alex looks up at me again, ''What?'' He says, breaking me from my thoughts. 

Moving my index finger in front of him, I just shake my head, ''Oh, nothing.'' Lightly rubbing onto the sofa, ''Well um, actually—I think it's better if we face the press. I mean, I really don't want to, but how long are we supposed to lean back and let them get over us? Okay, maybe for the next five months, but hey, we should at least try our best to keep them down. They want exposure. We'll just give them exposure. They aren't satisfied with the fact that we keep running away from them.'' 

Alex stands up, sighing, ''You're probably right, but you do know that facing them is a waste of time. Facing them means appearing on the news, talk shows, and stuff. It's like we are giving them what they want, but at the same time, we are asking them for more. I don't even know how to handle situations like this. I've been running away from them and mostly avoiding for the past years, so when they come back, it's quite hard.'' 

When I was about to say something, his phone rings which cause him to look down at the caller ID before answering, ''What more do you want?'' He says, his voice sounding slightly annoyed, ''What do you mean BuzzTV wants her to make an appearance?'' The way he's actually gripping hard onto the phone shows how he doesn't like the fact that Simon is controlling everything.

''I can't. I need to fly to Singapore,'' He says, low. 

I didn't even know about that. Oh wait, he didn't even tell me. What a surprise. He barely tells me anything, to be honest, because the next thing I know, he's packing, and he's going. But wait, I am not even in the right place to be knowing what he's going to do or where he's going to go. 

''Okay, I'll tell you later.'' I look back up to see him ending the call before turning to face me once more, ''BuzzTV wants you to make an appearance on their show tomorrow night. We both know that they are going to pop the question. Simon thinks that it's a great time to stand out. You just have to go with the flow and don't mess up, that's all.'' 

''You're flying to Singapore?'' I suddenly ask, making me feel like I should just shut up. Gritting my teeth, I am starting to regret asking him. He might think that I care when you guys all know how I don't. 

The way he's looking at me—tells me that he's a bit surprised—but he regains by clenching his jaw and blinking his eyes before sitting back down, ''Yeah, so I won't be there tomorrow.'' He looks down, running his thumb on the screen, ''When we arrive in New York, I'm already taking the next flight to Singapore in an hour. I'll be back in a few days, not really sure when.'' 

''Oh,'' I mutter under my breath. It's not that it matters, but somehow, I have quite a bad feeling about this. Him; leaving me alone for a few days in his house? I have never been a fan of staying alone. It just doesn't quite fancy me.

''Alright.'' He says, not even realizing the tension between us as he presses on the screen before putting his phone on his ear, ''I need you to make some changes, can you do that for me?'' He says to the other line, ''Yeah, is it possible for me to adjust the flight—'' He has already walked away until his figure disappears into the bedroom, that I can barely hear him talking anymore. 

But yeah, that was yesterday, and right now, I'm staring at the empty living room like an idiot. 

He puts his phone back in his jeans' pocket and walking toward me. Looking around, I see that people are hurrying as they walk toward the departure gate. Alex looks down at me as he sighs, ''Make sure you lock all the doors. If anything happens, just call me.'' 

I cross my arms, ''Pft, yeah. Like you're going to fly back from Singapore to here.'' And a smirk lifts from his face, ''You know what, don't worry, I can kick some ass if the reporters ever bother me.'' I end up playfully punching his chest—which makes him smirk even wider. 

Alex grabs my wrist lightly before entwining our fingers casually. I look up to see him looking down at our hands. How can he be so calm about this? ''I'm serious, Athena.'' He mutters, ''Just don't say stupid things while you're at the show, okay? Dwayne will pick you up, and he will be by your side at all times.'' 

I roll my eyes as I turn around to see Dwayne, one of the guys who brought me to see Simon for the first time to sign the agreement weeks ago. Alex quickly runs his fingers on my jawline—making me look back at him. The sudden contact somehow shows a whole lot of different meanings. I see him clenching his jaw as we keep on staring into each other's eyes; none of us even have the heart to break it. 

Then he pats onto my head like a lost puppy, ''Bye, princess.'' And before I know it, I'm already staring at his back until he's out of my sight.

The sound of the doorbell breaks me from my thoughts, and I quickly run toward the door and see Dwayne standing at the door with an unfamiliar guy next to him. He looks around before looking back at me, ''It's time. Are you ready?'' He asks. 

The guy next to him smiles at me, ''I'm Calvin.'' I take a closer look at him, and I see that he's less built than Dwayne, which is a good thing because Dwayne is hell—I might even mistake him as a wrestler. He's all built and tough, which terrifies me a little. Calvin peeks inside the house, and I somehow move back a little, and he keeps on looking around until he's satisfied, ''Are you alone?'' 

I look back at Dwayne, who is just looking back at me, ''Um, yeah?'' 

''Okay, we should go now,'' Calvin says, and he starts to walk toward a black Range Rover Evoque. I close the door behind me, and I hear the door locks by itself. I follow behind Calvin, and when I turn around, I see Dwayne checking around before following us. 

Calvin opens the door to the backseat for me to enter. He closes the door afterward and enters the driver's seat. Dwayne follows after, sitting at the passenger's seat. I shift quietly at the awkwardness. The silence is bothering me, especially when I'm with two—oh let me correct that—one serious man. 

I look down at my phone, and I click the home button to see the lock screen empty—not even a single notification showing up. With a sigh, I press the lock button and lean my head against the seat. 

For what feels like exactly thirty minutes, I see us passing through a group of reporters. My eyebrows furrow as Calvin take the other turn and driving until we see the backstage sign. He stops the car, and Dwayne steps out of the car. I turn my head to see him already opening the door for me. 

Stepping out of the car, I see that people are walking around as they keep talking to the mic hanging on their ears. Dwayne closes the door behind me before lightly place his hand on my back—making me go forward. We enter from the back door, and I start to hear noises. 

''Ah, you're here.'' Someone says, and when I turn around, a dark-haired guy smiles at me as he looks down at the list, ''Athena Herrera, am I correct?'' He raises an eyebrow, and I nod my head, ''Okay, good, you're just in time. Even though you're five minutes late.'' 

I hear the sound of people laughing, and it didn't take me a while to realize that the show has already started. The guy pulls me by the arm lightly, and I find myself walking toward the entrance. A woman with blonde hair and tan skin came into view. It's definitely Barbara. She's the host of BuzzTV. 

''We have a special guest tonight. She's stunning as seen on camera, on the news, on the pictures on Google.'' Barbara says, and the crowd chuckles, ''You might have heard of her as the mysterious woman.'' Then the crowd cheers loudly, and Barbara starts to join them, ''Well, without further ado, let's bring our guest, Athena Herrera!'' She turns to look at the entrance.

''Okay, ready?'' The guy asks me from beside. 

Turning around, I see Dwayne and Calvin standing a few feet away from me as they both eye from afar. I nod, and the guy lightly pushes me forward. I keep on walking and walking until the camera focuses on me, making me watch the screen. My eyes wander to the crowd, and I let out a wide grin as I walk toward Barbara. 

She stands up, and once we're close enough, she pulls me into a quick hug. We both sit down afterward, just facing the crowd. I awkwardly look at her as the crowd continues to clap. ''It's wonderful that we get to have you as our guest tonight. How are you feeling? I just heard that you arrived from Manchester, England yesterday.'' 

I cross my legs, and I put one hand on my lap, ''I'm great, and yeah, I just got back from Manchester.'' I reply shortly. 

''We would like to congratulate Alex for scoring the goal and winning the match.'' The crowd claps once more, and I just smile before looking at them, ''He surely has won the game, but I'm sure he has won a lot more than that.'' She adds, and the crowd laughs, ''So tell me, Athena, is it true?'' 

I turn to look at her—meeting with her light blue eyes. She is smiling at me, and I'm pretty sure they are fake. Running my fingers to tuck a loose strand of my hair to the back of my ear, I look down—the smile not leaving my face, ''What is?'' I ask.

''Oh, we all know now. About the pregnancy, is it true?'' She asks, and the crowd woos, clapping their hands. 

Chuckling, I shake my head, ''Unfortunately, Barbara, it's not.'' I can see her face falls a little, and the crowd starts to whisper, ''Well, I'm not pregnant, not yet, of course.'' I add, and the crowd lightly chuckles, ''But er, what the media has been saying isn't exactly correct.'' 

''But it did say that you let out a statement saying you're indeed, pregnant.'' She points out at the screen, and I look up to see the screen showing a statement of me saying I am pregnant. I wanted to curse and just shout out the truth, but I remain calm and fix the smile on my face.

''No, no.'' I smile, ''Apparently, I was in England with Alex when they let out that statement.'' 

Barbara nods her head, ''Well, at least now we know whether you're pregnant or not. So, when are we going to see small Alex and Athena running around?'' She says, grabbing everyone's attention, ''It might be too soon, now, that you two just got married in less than a month. Having a baby may be too early. Especially for Alex, he's quite a busy man?'' 

I turn to look at the crowd and back to Barbara, ''Well, in a few years maybe but definitely not now. Yeah, Alex is really busy and having a baby is not yet discussed. I mean, Barbara, we just got married.'' And the crowd starts laughing and don't even ask me why, ''We need to spend time together, not taking care of babies.'' 

Barbara laughs, ''You're right, but we are just excited to see what they would look like. You and Alex are The Couple of The Year, and let me add, The Good-Looking Couple of The Year, which makes it a whole lot better!'' 

We all just laugh and me without saying anything to avoid another question. Barbara smiles, ''May I ask you one question? One question that has got most of us wondering.'' 

''Sure,'' I reply.

''So, you and Alex got married after the reporters find out that you two were secretly dating for the past three years, and Alex wasn't exactly single after all. If the media doesn't find out about you two, would you both still get married, or is it the pressure you are receiving from the press just makes the whole process faster?'' 

I look down, not really knowing what to say, but I need to think of something. Something realistic, of course, ''Actually, I have no answer to that truthfully, but Alex had mentioned marriage months back. It may seem like the whole media is pressuring the wedding, but Barbara, you do know how we both don't care about the press, right?'' I add, ''I mean, all those running and avoiding.'' The crowd starts laughing again, and Barbara joins them before nodding at me.

Better play safe.

''You're indeed correct. You two are adorable how both of you just doesn't like the attention.'' She says before standing up, ''Athena Herrera, everybody!'' Then I can see the camera focusing on Barbara and me before the cameraman starts giving us a thumbs up—as a sign that the commercial has rolled in. Barbara smiles at me, ''It's wonderful meeting you.'' She says before shaking my hand.

Then she sits back down to fix her makeup. I take that it's my cue to walk out and leave. Rolling my eyes, I walk backstage and see that Calvin and Dwayne are talking as they just stand near the wall. They both look at me, ''Everything settled?'' Calvin asks. 

''Yeah.'' And Calvin walks ahead—me following him afterward. 

We are on our way back home, and I can still see the reporters outside waiting. Bad luck, I thought. Alex hasn't called, but earlier this morning, he said that they caught him in Singapore ordering coffee. I checked the news online and saw that he's wearing something casual. Not that it matters, anyway. 

At least it doesn't appear on the news that he's with another woman. That will lead to a huge gossip, and the reporters sure as hell won't calm down. I know that Alex wouldn't do something stupid like that because one, he wouldn't want to ruin his own reputation—I mean, that's the reason I'm here. Two, he manages to keep his love life down for the past years so he wouldn't just ruin it now. Three, he doesn't look like the type of person who would go around and carelessly break people's heart. 

''Mrs. Herrera.'' Dwayne says, making me turn to look that he already has the door open for me, ''Everything alright?'' He asks.

''Oh yeah, I zoned out for a while,'' I reply as I step out of the car, receiving a glance from Calvin. Calvin has already made his way toward the front door, waiting for me. Dwayne follows behind me as we walk. 

I enter the code and open the door. Calvin steps inside, ''I'm sorry, but this is under Mr. Herrera's orders.'' Then he walks inside—heading toward the kitchen before going up the stairs. I hear him move all around the house until he walks back down, ''Everything seems fine.'' Then he steps back out, next to Dwayne.

My hands are awkwardly grabbing onto the door as I watch them looking at me, ''Thanks.'' I mutter, and they both nod, ''You know, everything's fine. Don't worry,'' I add. 

''We're just making sure.'' Dwayne replies, this time, ''If there's anything, call us. You have us on speed dial number two.'' 

''Alright.'' I say, ''Goodnight.'' I wave at them, and they wave back before I close the door shut in front of me. Quickly locking the door, I walk up the stairs and fall directly onto the bed—sighing, deeply. 

My eyes are closing as I feel the tiredness taking over my body. One of my hands is on my stomach, just resting there—the other just beside my head. I breathe in before finally closing them fully—not even bothering to open them again.

Noises.

The first thing that came to my mind as I open my eyes. I quickly sit up straight, pulling onto the comforters—looking through the half-closed door. Standing up, I pick up my phone and unlock it, getting ready if I might need to use it later. My hands are shaking as I keep on hearing the noises downstairs. 

It sounded more like someone breaking the glass. I furrow my eyebrows. Alex wouldn't do that, even if it's him. He wouldn't just break the glass carelessly. He wouldn't just break anything, to be honest. I lean against the wall as I keep on looking down. 

I wanted to curse myself for not leaving the lights on. My heartbeat is rising every second as I keep on walking slowly down the stairs. I try to focus in the dark, but somehow, it feels downright impossible. I grip harder onto my phone—almost cutting my blood circuit. 

The noises stop, and I freeze on the spot. Damn it. I should have grabbed something else! I turn to look outside at the swimming pool, but I see nothing. Moving quickly, I check the sliding door to see that it's locked. 

Moving to the other side, I hide behind the sofa, and I peek to see a dark shadow moving. My eyes wide as I fall to the back—trying to control myself from not screaming. If it's Alex, why wouldn't he open the lights? Damn it, of course. It's not Alex then! 

I can see my body shaking as I keep covering my mouth, trying not to make any noises. My eyes wander to see that the front door is also closed. What the hell? I crawl a little bit to the side and peek down to see the black shadow near the stairs. My eyes widen once the figure turns around, making me move backward immediately. 

Which in my place... makes me hit the coffee table, which causes it to move a little—making a sound. I almost cursed myself for being so careless. I keep on moving backward, away from the figure—still mentally cursing myself. As soon as I look up, I see the figure in front of me, looking down toward my fragile state. 

My mouth went wide as I scream as loud as I can. The figure quickly grabs onto my waist and pulls me hard until we both hit the wall. I keep on screaming, but he covers my mouth with his hand—making me kick out my legs and try my best to break free. 

He grips harder onto my waist—probably digging his nails deeper—because of the stinging sensation. I bite onto his hand, ''Fuck!'' Making him let go of my mouth, but his grip on my waist only tightens. I scream once more, louder if I can. 

The figure keeps on pulling me until I find us going up the stairs with him dragging me. I don't care if my butt would hurt right now because all I know, I want to be safe. I keep on kicking out for help. When I manage to push his face accidentally, he throws me to the wall and slaps me on the face—making me yelp and wince in pain. 

Using my elbows to support my weight as I slowly move backward from him. I look up to see him looking down at me. Even in the dark, I can clearly see his eyes focusing on my body, ''Please, stay away from me.'' I say, which sounds more like sobs. 

He grips around my neck before pulling me up and slamming me against the wall. I yelp at the sudden contact, but he keeps on gripping harder. The hood of his sweatshirt falls, revealing his hair. My eyes widen once I get to know the exact figure in front of me. 

Jeremy.

''J—Jeremy.'' I almost choke when he grips harder, almost cutting me from breathing. 

I find that he's holding me up—that I can't even feel the ground anymore. My hands are slamming onto the wall, trying to do anything to make him set me free. I grab onto his hand, but he's too strong. I should have learned martial arts. That would have been useful. 

''I fucking love you.'' He starts speaking, and I find myself staring directly into his eyes. The eyes I used to know somehow disappear—the only eyes I see right now are filled with anger and hatred, ''Why didn't you see that? I cared for you. I fucking cared for you! Fuck, I love you so much. Why the hell can't you see that?!'' He shouts at my face before gripping harder, making me yelp and grab onto his hand even tighter, ''You're so beautiful, you're so fucking beautiful...'' His other hand touching my arm. Somehow I still manage to feel disgusted. 

Why did I fall in love with this man? Oh right, maybe because he wasn't crazy?

''J-j-Je-Jeremy, please.'' I try to breathe in, but it feels impossible. 

His eyes are never the same. Those sparkling golden hazel eyes somehow turn black, turn evil. My vision starts to blur as he keeps on gripping hard. I can't even inhale, nor can I exhale. His eyebrows furrow as he keeps on pushing me against the wall—his other hand holding me by the waist. 

When I knew I was about to finally give in and just let the darkness consume me, his eyes widen in response, making him loosening the grip around my neck. I fall onto the ground—making me cough as if I was on the edge of dying. I quickly move away from him as I try to look around, but my vision is still blurry, not giving me a chance to focus. 

''Shit, Athena.'' I hear him say before he grabs me by the shoulder and turning me around so that I would face him, ''I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, baby.'' He lightly runs his thumb on my cheeks, wiping away my tears. I kick his thigh before standing up and running to Alex's game room. Pushing the door before closing it. I hear him say, ''I didn't mean to hurt you. Please, baby, please don't run away from me.'' 

I lock the door, and my body is shaking like a freaking chihuahua, which isn't even funny right now!

''Baby...'' I hear him knock on the door lightly. Within seconds, the knock turns louder and louder, making me yelp and turn around—finding an object to block the entrance. ''Athena, open the door, baby. I swear I won't hurt you.'' I ignore him as I push one of the tables to the door, ''Athena! Open the fucking door! Don't make me come in there and punish you!'' He shouts. 

As I push the table, I somehow feel relief that I don't hear his voice anymore. I manage to block the door, so I continue to take a few things to add more burden. I hear footsteps outside until they completely disappear. 

My heartbeat isn't calming down at the silence.

Without me expecting, the door breaks in the middle—creating a big enough hole for him to fit in if he struggles. I scream before running toward the other side and look around to find something. ''Athena, don't you fucking run.'' I hear him say as I continue to look around, ''Fuck, baby, I'm coming for you, and you know how I like to chase.'' 

My head somehow starts to turn around, making me lean against the wall, ''Jeremy, please, don't do this.'' Tears are streaming down my cheeks as I finally give up on finding an object. ''Jeremy...'' I call out his name, but he's too much drown in anger to feel sympathy. 

Once he manages to unlock the door, he pushes the table before finally entering. I keep on leaning against the wall, somehow hopeful that the wall could break so that I could run free. The smirk on his face terrifies me. It isn't the same playful smirk. It's different; he's different. 

Jeremy grabs onto my waist before pushing me harder onto the wall. Then he pushes me down on the ground and kicking me by the stomach. I scream before groaning in pain—as I move away from him, but he walks calmly, reaching me and grabbing onto my hair, ''Why did you marry him, huh?'' He roughly touches my face so that he could look into my eyes.

''You shouldn't have done that, Athena. You shouldn't have left me. After all those years, can you just leave? Do you think it was acceptable?! It's fucking not!'' He slaps my face hard, and I bite onto my lips—preventing myself from crying. He wants to make me look weak. That's what he's doing. ''I'm the one for you. I'm always here for you.'' He grabs my chin, ''Baby, can't you see that?'' 

''You're crazy,'' I mutter, and he slaps me once more. I swear I somehow can feel my cheek bleeding. 

''I'm crazy, yeah I'm crazy.'' Jeremy starts laughing as he presses me down on the ground, hovering on top of me, ''I'm crazy because you made me crazy! You made me this way. You made me want you. You made me crave for your present.'' 

Then he looks down lustfully at my body, his finger making contact with my cold skin. I try to kick out, but he keeps on slap me as I do. He mutters under his breath, ''You belong to me. Your body belongs to me!'' He shouts, and this time, he rips onto my shirt. 

I knee him by the crotch, and he groans as I stand up and run as fast as I can. My eyes widen as soon as he grabs onto my hair, yanking me back. I hold onto my hair—feeling the pain building. ''Jeremy, let go of me!'' I scream, but he keeps on pulling.

He roughly pushes me until my body slams into the nearest coffee table. Feeling the glass sinking into my skin, I somehow am immune to the feel. The way he's treating me is much worse than the freaking pain. My eyes are crying tears, but I can't feel emotions from it. I try my best to sit up straight, but he pushes me back down, ''If I can't have you...'' He whispers into my ear, ''No one can.''

Then he turns me around, slapping me across the face before gripping into my neck once more—choking me. My eyes widen as I try to scream, which ends up being coughs. He grips harder before pushing my head up and down. I hear the banging, but the pain of him choking me is much worse. 

''If I can't have you. No one can,'' He repeats. 

He keeps on slamming my head harder onto the ground, and I find myself drifting away from all the pain, ''No one can.'' He says once more before forcefully choke me hard. I close my eyes and letting go of his hand—making my hands drop to the ground. 

I start to hear noises, noises that I'm not quite sure of myself.

Jeremy's hand on my neck loosens, and I open my eyes slightly to see another figure at the door, standing with wide eyes—as he looks down at me. He charges into Jeremy, and I see him throwing punches onto his face. My vision starts to blur once more, confusing whether the stranger or Jeremy is being punched.

My eyes are closing again, and as soon as it did, 

''Athena! Athena, come on, stay with me!'' I hear the familiar voice say until I completely drift into utter silence.