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“How could you?!” Aliana cried out, her voice trembling with shock. “I thought you said you didn’t care for her!”
Aliana clutched Emmett’s hand tighter, her eyes pleading. “What about us? The baby? What will happen if she returns?”
Emmett gazed at her, his heart a whirlwind of mixed feelings. “There’s no rivalry between you
two.”
He struggled to articulate his emotions for Athena, but it felt as if a part of his being had disappeared along with her.
For so long, Athena had cherished him deeply, sincerely. Yet, despite everything, he couldn’t accept that she would abandon him forever.
No, Athena must come back. She had to. If she didn’t return on her own, Emmett promised himself he would search for her.
Emmett had never paid much attention to Athena’s social circle, so when he attempted to contact her friends for information, he met with disappointment at every attempt.
The few acquaintances he managed to reach responded with astonishment and skepticism, as if they couldn’t understand his concern. “So you actually care about her?” one questioned, almost sarcastically.
“I thought Athena was the one with unrequited feelings, another commented..
Emmett hung up abruptly, feeling uneasy inside.
Although he had always presented himself as a caring boyfriend, the truth was his indifference. had been just as real. In the past, Athena had loved him with undeserved dedication, never resenting his emotional distance.
He spent seven days searching, but Athena remained untraceable. The void within him grew with each passing day.
He turned to alcohol to dull the pain, ignoring Aliana’s attempts to reach him, his thoughts clouded and confused. Gradually, it dawned on him: Athena must have known about his infidelity long before it was revealed, explaining her decisive departure.
Yet despite everything, Emmett still couldn’t bring himself to let her go.
Why wouldn’t Athena just hear him out and let him explain?
Emmett sank deeper into misery, each day feeling more burdensome than the last. Then, 1
22 22#22
unexpectedly, a fleeting piece of news arrived: Athena had been spotted at the Civil Affairs Bureau.
He rushed there in a panic, only to find no sign of her.
The security footage showed nothing but a motionless figure of Athena, standing still before walking away. A grim thought entered his mind, and he used every resource at his disposal to delve deeper into Athena’s whereabouts.
The shocking discovery was a blow he hadn’t anticipated: Athena’s household registration had been terminated.
She no longer existed in any official records. Athena was gone.
How could she vanish like that? How could she be so heartless, leaving him in this painful emptiness?
Emmett’s eyes welled up, tears threatening to fall, blurring his sight as the reality of her absence overwhelmed him.
Suddenly, a forgotten memory surfaced in Emmett’s mind, recalling words Athena had once spoken to him.
“You’re my only family. If you reject me, I’d have nowhere to go.”
At that time, Emmett had approached her with clear intentions,
Her eyes, reminiscent of Aliana’s, the girl he had long desired, had captivated him. She was another orphan, forsaken by society, and… she loved him.
It had seemed so uncomplicated. She was someone so easily manipulated, so readily available, that Emmett had felt unstoppable.
Because no matter his actions, Athena would always remain by his side.
But as time passed, he had failed to realize that slowly, imperceptibly, he had become equally dependent on her presence.
Despite assuring his friends that he harbored no deeper feelings for Athena, deep down, Emmett knew the truth: he could never truly keep her at a distance.
At the very least, she deserved a better fate.
“Athena…
He whispered her name as he staggered out of the Civil Affairs Bureau, his mind in a haze. He couldn’t recall how he made it home, but each step felt like a struggle. His thoughts were consumed by Athena.
In the end, he could only seek solace in drink, trying to numb the ache in his heart.
