Chapter 48. What Athena Wanted

Tristan

I watched Athena walk away from me, her shoulders rigid with hurt and anger, and I didn’t move a single inch to follow her.

Every fiber of my being screamed at me to chase after her, to fix this mess I’d created with my careless words, but I forced myself to stay rooted to that hospital floor.

She needed space. She needed to be alone to process what had just happened between us.

More importantly, she needed to prove to herself that she could handle difficult situations without someone rushing in to rescue her.

It wasn’t because I saw her as weak—far from it. I’d watched her transform over these past weeks, seen the strength building in her shoulders, the confidence returning to her voice.

The way she’d started taking charge of her own life instead of waiting for others to make decisions for her was remarkable. Admirable, even.

But she couldn’t see it. When Athena looked in the mirror, all she saw was the broken girl who’d retu