Chapter 36 THE CHALLENGER

Chapter 36 THE CHALLENGER
"Let me check," Brian said quickly, his eyes glancing at Athena who looked confused.

"I'll do it," Athena said, stopping Brian from leaving. She knew the apartment best, so it was only natural for her to come and meet the guest outside. Maybe it was a neighbor she knew—or maybe Zara.
Athena's footsteps echoed softly on the wooden floor, and when the door opened, a chill hit her skin along with the presence of someone standing behind it.
"Xavier?" Athena was surprised, not just a regular glare.
With a long coat and hair slightly damp from the drizzle, the man stood straight, staring at Athena without a word. His eyes were sharp, but he had come not to get angry, but to fight the right way.
Athena held her breath. "Xavier... you?"
"I thought I saw wrong. Turns out I did," Xavier finally said, his tone flat but serious.
Athena normalized her expression, swallowed the saliva that had choked, her chest pounding not because of surprise anymore. But the scent of Xavier's perfume that made her want to run to hug him.
"I don't want to talk to you, Athena. I just want to meet my cousin," said Xavier.
Brian returned his gaze without hesitation, his smile looked warm but radiated a strong aura of challenge. He approached the door, then put his arm around Athena's shoulder with a slightly possessive movement.
"My first guest is Xavier. This is interesting. Do you want to come in or—"
"Not here," Xavier argued, glancing at Athena slightly. "I don't want this beautiful girl to misunderstand."
Brian nodded, his hand on Athena's shoulder made Xavier feel uncomfortable—like being burned by something warmer than fire.
"Wait here, My Future Wife. My first guest wants to give me a little gift," said Brian while glancing at the goodie bag in Xavier's hand which was still tightly gripped.
Athena was about to come in, but Brian stopped her by giving a look that everything would be okay. Meanwhile, Xavier, his obsidian-dark eyes stared at Athena as if casting a spell to freeze her in place.
The afternoon air felt tense as the door closed behind them. They walked towards the emergency stairs, where they would talk. Brian stood straight on the side of the hallway, while Xavier leaned his back against the opposite wall, crossing his arms.
A few seconds passed in silence. Only the sound of the wind infiltrating through the gaps in the emergency stairs and the ding of the elevator moving. The warm atmosphere that usually existed between families became a little tense.
"I saw you guys enter this apartment earlier." Xavier began, his tone flat, but firm. "At first I thought I was just hallucinating because I thought about Athena too much... but it turned out to be true."
Brian didn't respond immediately. He waited for the next sentence.
Xavier stared straight at him. "I didn't come here to fight. I just want to say one thing honestly. I love Athena."
Brian smiled, his head lowered for a moment. "I already know. But why are you saying it now?"
Xavier was not surprised, he just felt that his words were not appreciated. “You know the answer, that I am jealous.”
“Oh... I thought, by saying that... then Athena and I will not get married?” Brian asked, his face still looking calm.
“I will not take her away from you,” Xavier replied quickly. “I did hurt her feelings very badly, and I will not deny that...”
“But I can't stop caring about her. Even though there are many changes in her after she chose to distance herself from us... and get closer to you,” Xavier said.
“She hasn't changed, Xavier... she is just trying to accept that all this time... she has misjudged herself. At first she thought, everyone could accept her with all the circumstances she created...”
“... but it turns out she was wrong. She actually hates it when someone sees her as someone else,” Brian said, and this sentence made Xavier's chest feel tight.
“I never saw her as Auree!” Xavier said firmly, his eyes burning. “They do look alike, but I fell in love with her because she is Athena… Athena Lennox, the girl who changed me so much!”
Brian stared at Xavier, reading all the sincerity in the man’s eyes and words. As brothers who grew up together, Brian knew and was very familiar with Xavier’s figure who was matured and destroyed by circumstances.
“Do you want her to come back to you?” Brian asked, this time his tone was soft, but sharp.
Xavier stared at him. “I want her to choose for herself, Brian. I won’t force her, I want her to realize for herself who her feelings are for.”
Brian nodded. “She is my future wife… and I am not staying here to control her, but to help her come to terms with the things that have shaken her emotions.”
There was a moment of silence, until finally Brian spoke again, “I feel… she will fall in love with me, not because she is too comfortable, but her smile… it seems like I am the only one who sees it.”
Xavier was silent for a moment, his hands clenched tightly, anger in his eyes. He took a step closer, and said, “Then… let’s compete fairly.”
“Fairly?” Brian narrowed his eyes.
“We both want to protect her, right? So there should be no dirty play. We don’t need to bring each other down, but let her know who is truly capable of accompanying her until the end,” Xavier said seriously.
Brian nodded slowly. “Good idea! It seems much more fun than playing tug-of-war, right? I’ll give you a chance to prove your sincerity to her and also to me...”
“... but maybe this will be very difficult, because slowly Athena will understand who will be her priority besides herself,” Brian said.
Brian’s words sounded ambiguous. On one hand, Xavier really wanted to hit him, but on the other hand... he had promised not to hurt each other. Their gazes met for quite a while. Without anger, only the sincerity of each side in defending the woman they wanted.
“By the way, does Athena know... Auree used to be crazy about you?” Xavier asked.
Brian thought for a moment, his brow furrowed. “I don’t think so, but you can tell her that as a weapon to attack me.”
Xavier snickered. “Why don’t you tell her? Are you afraid she’ll think everyone thinks she’s Auree?”
Brian shook his head. “She’s not that despicable, Xavier. Athena is clearly not a girl who easily gets comfortable with many men. Athena doesn’t crave validation and attention, Athena doesn’t want everyone.”
The man smirked slightly, his gaze turning cold, his pupils dilating, knowing that Xavier would definitely be angry if someone insulted Auree.
“Xavier... I’ve never been interested in women who can sleep with many men. Auree will never—“
Xavier raised his hand—his face tensed until the veins on his neck stood out clearly—about to hit Brian because he couldn’t stand the insulting words.
However, before the punch hit Brian's face... someone appeared to stop it.