I'm just looking at my Papi Ian in the gif above. You guys have no idea how much I love that man. 😍😍❤️❤️ Such a beautiful human he is.

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          As I walk into the studio alongside Mr. Azallion in trepidation, my heart thumps erratically against my ribs, screaming to break through. Maddox's eyes suddenly flicker in my direction, forcing all the air out of my lungs without a warning and making me gasp inaudibly. I turn my body to Mr. Azallion and hold tight with my nails digging into his suit.

"Are you okay?" He asks, his forehead creasing in worry as his hold tightens on my forearms.

"Just give me a second," I breathe out hastily as all the haunting memories begin flooding back in surges of absolute torture. After a couple seconds of calming my nerves and breath, I finally turn back around and look at Maddox who was now chatting with the other ladies that surround him, Jay being number one on the hit parade of being his admirer.

(Nathaniel Buzolic as Maddox Laird)

          "Mr. Laird," I interrupt his conversation, compelling all the ladies to scurry away except Jay who stands there checking out the man rather shamelessly.

          "Athena Estle, I presume." That very familiar and haunting Scottish accent of his make my ears bleed in vain. He holds out his hand to shake and after a few seconds I give in and shake it firmly with a fake smile plastered on my face. All the cells in my body scream to twist his arm and rip it out of his socket while my brain tells me to hold off.

          He looks all the same from his dark brown hair that match his deceiving eyes to his spotless face which should be covered in scars I inflicted on him, but instead it looks rather soft without even a blemish. What the hell? This can't be possible. I remember vividly busting his filthy head open, yet not even a measly little scratch covers his forehead.

          "You look quite familiar," his eyes narrow at me while his brow cocks up. "Have we met before?"

          "I have been on billboards and on the covers of a couple magazines."

          "That's possibly the place I may have seen you then," he smiles, but all I see are those white pearls that mock me for being inefficient and doing a wacky job.

          That wasn't where he first saw me though. I distinctly remember him inviting me to get to know him. To be honest, I liked that man. He was kind and good unlike many men that ruined me before him, but when I turned around, he stabbed me in the back like a traitor. I still can't believe the torture he put me and Addy through. It broke Addy more than anything and I will take revenge for her.

          "Lola," I motion the girl to come hither before I face the bastard again. "Mr. Laird, Lola here will be interviewing you and I suggest you answer all the questions honestly."

          "What makes you think that I won't?" He asks, tilting his head to the side in amusement.

          Because scoundrels like you tend to lie and deceive the people that trust you.

          "Because there's no point in feeding us lies."

          "Very well then," he smiles sweetly and turns to Lola. "Shall we begin?"

          "Yes, sir," she smiles and leads him to a comfortable setting in the corner of the large space.

          I stand behind the cameras that are to record the interview which will later be sold to the highest bidder who in this case are the hungry news channels. But that'll only happen after the interview is only exclusive in the magazine first. People gather around in order to witness the major interview. After I nod to David, the man that is directing the course of the interview under my orders, I step back and let him take control.

          Lola begins talking with confidence and throws her shyness away for the camera. After a couple irrelevant questions comes the one I've been waiting for. "It's quite a surprise for everyone to see you alive, Mr. Laird. You were declared dead by everyone."

          Chuckling, he leans forward in his seat and looks at her. "I was severely injured in a car accident more than three years ago." Lies! This bastard is lying straight through his teeth which makes me want to rip his head off. "I was in a coma for two months due to the impact it had on my brain."

"Ask him why aren't there any scars on him," I order David into the little earpiece and he immediately does the same to Lola who recites my question.

"There's something called plastic surgery, Ms. Lola," he answers making everyone in the room laugh while I scowl. "The scars were quite horrendous, so I had to do it."

"But it still doesn't explain why you were off the grid for more than three years," Lola asks like a good girl.

"Have you ever heard of retrograde amnesia?" He asks and takes a sip of his water. "After I woke from the coma, I didn't recognize the people I was surrounded by. The memories of ten years before the accident were all gone and it was as if I was teleported back to my fifteen year old self."

"I can't understand a thing he's saying. His accent is so strong," Mr. Azallion whispers to Jackson who was too occupied shoving daggers down Maddox's throat with his glare.

"Ten years of memories all gone?"

"Every single one," Maddox replies to Lola's question. "So, I spent the last three years getting to know myself and everyone around me along with the business. Now I'm finally ready to get back out there."

          "Your accident was never broadcasted and people had no inkling of it. Are you sure you had gotten into one? Maybe you attained the injury from elsewhere and lost your memory."

          "Unless everyone I now know lied to me," he chuckles. "Could be possible."

Tears claw at my eyes like savages as they threaten to drop at his words. "He doesn't remember," I whisper to myself and step back, away from Mr. Azallion. I instantly remove the earpiece and crush it under my foot.

"Maybe he's lying," Jackson comes to my side and steadies me when I stumble back.

Turning my distressed gaze to him, I let a tear fall down my cheek in failure. "If he was lying, why would he risk making himself known when he knows Leo could easily kill him. He wouldn't be dumb enough to come here." My hands begin shaking violently before I delve into Jackson's pocket for my medicine that he always kept on him. My breathing becomes shallow, constricting my chest in utter agony. "I remember every little pain that man inflicted on me and Addy, yet he's completely oblivious to the ones I gave him. This is unfair. All I've been through was for nothing."

I turn on my heel and storm away, shunning the pain in my foot. Rage bubbles within me in sputters of scorching fire which burns my insides. My vision blurs due to stinging tears that swim around my eyes as they start to darken. Everything hurts. Each nerve in my body cries salty tears that sizzle and sears my blood, tormenting my soul with the memories of the pain and agony I was put through. Every emotion I experienced back then still makes me shudder to this day while that man remembers nothing. He doesn't remember how he broke me and Addy. He doesn't remember how I killed him. Now he's here laughing in my face and mocking me by being a living example of my biggest failure.

***

(Eros' POV)

          "Don't go after her," Jack jerks on my arm and pulls me back. "Leave her be."

          "I don't know what kind of relation you two have, but I can clearly see that she's hurting," I pull on my arm and head towards the elevator that closes after Ms. Estle steps in shakily, barely holding herself together. Ignoring Jack's irrelevant shouts, I take the other elevator and go to the top floor, heading towards her office.

          "Don't you dare go in there," Jack warns as he catches up to me and pulls me back by my collar. "Leave her alone, Eros. She doesn't need you."

          "Is that Donald Trump behind you?" I look over his shoulder and into the distance.

          "What?" He scrunches his nose and falls for my lie as he looks back and loosens his hold on me. I see my chance and push him away before entering Ms. Estle's office.

White pills blanket the floor like little albino ants with a medicine container close by. The objects on her desks are scattered with papers all over the place. Through all that I can hear faint cries. Her soft whimpers tickle ears rather brutally.

Following the sound, I walk behind her desk with calculated steps and see her curled up against the wall with her hands covering her face. My brows frown at her quaking body, so vulnerable she appears with the redness spreading down her neck and chest that heaved in pain.

          Removing my suit jacket and discarding it to the floor, I slip down next to her and frown further. I don't recognize this woman one bit. The usual power and charisma that she always enchants me with isn't there right now. Instead all I can sense is pain and distress that leaves her quivering body.

          "You need to leave," her brittle voice is muffled by her hands. "Now!"

          "I'm not going anywhere," I respond and sit straight. "Not until you're okay."

          Her hand swiftly wraps around my throat and pins my head back against the wall. "Why do you care?" She hisses through her teeth while my eyes brush over her features. Her eyes are a rosy shade from the profuse crying and her cheeks crimson. Tears run down her face in streams as she looks right into my eyes. "After all I've put you through, why do you care about me? Any sane man would stay away from me."

          Grabbing her wrist, I remove her strong hold around my neck. "I don't know," I whisper and tilt my head to the side as I watch a tear slip down her face and onto my lap. "Maybe I'm not sane like those other men."

          Jerking her hand away from me, she slams her back against the wall and begs. "Please leave."

          "Like I said," I scoot in front of her and brush her hands that rest on her knees. "I'm not going anywhere. It's okay to cry and share your pain, sweetheart."

          Her breathtaking eyes meet mine in a warm embrace, yet so chilling considering the misery that shines within them. "You won't be able to handle my pain. It'll break you."

          "Try me," I offer and smile. "It can't be worse than you breaking my bones."

          "Trust me," she looks at me, her lips quivering. "It is."

          "Then tell me what I can do to make you feel better," I find myself asking desperately. The need to ease her pain is so strong that I can't help but be enraged at the thought of someone hurting her. Even after she treats me like shit every chance she gets, I still feel obligated to protect her, nurture her, and hold her close. Maybe I really am insane. "Is it something to do with Maddox Laird? Do you want me to beat that mother-idiot up?"

A little chuckle escapes her lips before her eyes shed more tears that she hastily wipes away. "You can leave, Mr. Azallion," she speaks in a firm tone, however she can't hide the shakiness in her strong voice.

Placing a finger under her chin, I force her to look at me. "It's okay to cry."

"No, it's not." Her hand swats away my finger as she hisses in rage. "It makes you weak. It makes you susceptible to pain." She maneuvers her gaze away from mine and sighs. "People tend to take advantage of you when you show even a little ounce of weakness. They break you and mend you, break you and mend you over and over until there's nothing more left to break," she sniffles. "They leave you with no emotion and when they realize that, they hurt your loved ones and that's what breaks you the most."

My hands unconsciously reach up and cup her beautiful face carefully as I gaze down at her. The pads of my thumbs wipe her tears while her plump lips quiver again. "Let me hold you," I request, my voice barely above a whisper. She hangs her head low, shaking it in my palms as more tears drop while her hands try to remove my hold on her face. Without giving it another thought, I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her into my chest. She struggles to break free, but I have my mind set on not letting her go... ever.

After a while, she gives into my embrace and snakes her arms around my neck, holding on tight. Her sobs begin to crawl out of her painfully and all I can do is hold her closer. My hands start running up and down her back, soothing her pain that I possibly can never take away, but I know this will help her a little.

          Slowly, I rise from the floor with her still clinging onto me as I maneuver us to the large sofa in the corner. She snuggles into me after I lay us down on it. Her whimpers simmer down while I run my hand through her long silky strands.

Her head lifts slightly to look at me. "Thank you," she whispers whilst caressing my cheek. Those soft luscious lips of her find the corner of my mouth to place a soft kiss that electrifies my body quickly before she nuzzles her face back into my neck, pecking it lightly. Tracing my hand down her side, I scoot her body into me with my hand on her thigh.

          "I think I've found a puzzle piece."

          She hums and breathes into my neck which tickles as she speaks against it. "And what would that be?"

          "You hate kids," I blurt out and hold back my laugh. "Maybe because you were an ugly baby yourself which is why you call all the other babies ugly."

          She slaps my chest and just lets out a little chuckle. "Well, you've got that part figured out."

I smile against her forehead and give it a peck. The warmth from her body fills me up with joy and a sensation I'm not too sure of, but it damn well feels good. Being in this intimate position with this woman seems like a dream and I didn't want to destroy it. She's relaxing and trusting me enough to let me hold her close and it really is an accomplishment, but the shivers in her body still worry me.

"What did Maddox Laird do to you?"

Her body tenses which immediately makes me regret my question. Nevertheless, she gives an answer. "He ruined me."

Even though the answer is short, it's all I need to blanket and comfort her further. We both lay there in each other's arms at peace with no desire to disrupt the warm sensations that surrounds and puts us in a bubble where no one else matters. The outside world is completely shunned as I only think about her and the things she must have been through after hearing all that she said to the Vincent guy in the hallway and to Jack.

The silence is so soothing that it doesn't take us long to fall asleep in each other's arms.

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How much did you guys like this chapter from the scale of 1-10?

I personally enjoyed it myself because Athena's emotions are surfacing up even though she's trying so hard to bury them deep down. And she trusted Eros enough to show him her vulnerable side that many don't get to see.

What do you guys think Maddox exactly did to her? How do they know each other?

Do you guys think he's lying about Retrograde Amnesia?

How are you guys liking this book so far? I'm really curious to know so leave a comment. I literally reply to all and I'm easy to talk to.

Much love ❤️
~Reet