Plan to throw him out of the country

Drowning with alcohol, she does not realize it is dawn now. Her eyes squint as she slowly opens her eyes to get a look at her surrounding. She is still at the hall, on her throne and what is surprising is that Cynthia is also there. Her heart swells finding Cynthia half asleep on the chair, with her elbow supporting her head as she somehow tries to rest.

Last night, she told she wanted to be left alone. Vincent's words fucked her head and having three bottles of wine didn't help much.

She rubs her temples with her two fingers, groaning as she feels better when she massages.

At that time, Cynthia wakes up and the first thing she speaks is, "My Lady. "

Sometimes her loyalty and attachment make Athena wonder if it wasn't for her to take her with her at the fair, where she would have been now? Maybe not even alive.

Fully awake, she walks up to Athena and greets her with a good morning. "You must be exhausted, my lady."

Athena faintly smiles shaking her head. "It's alright. Not my first time, is it?" she jokes.

A moment later she asks, "Take me to my room, my love."

Nodding, Cynthia reaches to hold Athena by her hand and the two make their way to the stairway.

Reaching her room, Athena slips her hand from her hold and opens the door of her room. "I will get the roses, my lady" Cynthia says.

"Oh!" Athena exclaims, remembering what day it is today. "Shit, I forgot today is Thursday." Offering Cynthia a warm smile, she heads inside her room and Cynthia goes to bring roses for her from the garden.

On Thursdays, Athena takes her bath with roses. She has been doing it since she was ten when an old lady– family's fortune teller, advised her methods to do for keeping her healthy and prosperous. Athena knows it isn't because of health and prosperity, it is something else. Something she is not allowed to know so a lie fills it up.

Sighing, she removes the layers of dresses from her skin, and putting it aside, she goes to dip into the shower. The shower itself is huge with shower mouths from the top, left and right focusing on her.

Adjusting the water to warm, the water starts falling on her, rejuvenating her skin from yesterday's exhaustion.

"My lady, I have brought the roses" Cynthia yells, coming inside her room. Athena deliberately kept the door open for her.

"I am in the shower!"

"Glen will make the bath ready for you," Cynthia says, waiting outside the bathroom door. Glen, the housemaid has been doing this since she knows.

A few minutes later, Glen– a woman in her mid-forties with small eyes and wrinkled skin, comes in and goes straight inside the bathroom.

Not a surprise for Glen to see Athena naked. She is practically Glen's daughter's age. "Morning Glen" Athena muses, closing the shower and stepping out from it.

Glen has already filled the water in the wide bathtub. Now she is adding a few drops of Rose essence and then plucking out all the fresh red, pink petals from the flower, she puts in the water.

"Water's ready" Glen smiles, turning to her. Glen left the room after her work is done there.

While Athena takes her time to freshen, Cynthia picks her clothes and sets them on the big purple matte bed.

"I'll be downstairs, my lady!" saying that Cynthia strolls downstairs to go and freshen up herself.

Her room was at the opposite hall of the Dungeon and so she cannot help but think about that frivolous disrespectful man who is probably crying down there for life.

She is curious and to feed it, she changes her route and walks to the storage room where the dungeon lies hidden.

She thought he will be in a miserable state but when she reaches there, the sight of Vincent sitting on a rustic slab makes her irritated.

Hearing her footsteps, Vincent raises his head, a smile appears but quickly fades away when he sees her. Guess he is waiting for Athena.

"Why are you here ?" she asks, with her face made in a cold expression. She has always been this way– cold, reserved, and lethal.

Vincent cocks his eyebrow and scoffs. "Here? Oh, I am here because I was invited to."

Cynthia is in no mood for jokes and if it wasn't for the bars between them, she wants to snatch that cocky look from his face.

"What is your motive?"

He gives her an amused look as if he is delighted to hear her say that. "I know you are here for something. Tell me, is it money?"

He lets out a laugh to which she frowns, crossing her arms over her chest. "You have observed me too much, haven't you? Man, are you attracted to me?"

Cynthia fumes, glaring at him with her green eyes. How can a lowly man from nowhere say this to her? What gives him the right to?

"Please don't flatter yourself that much. Tell me for what reason you are here? Because you clearly don't like my lady" she asserts without blinking.

He smirks, that cocky smirk that she thinks is the hateful sight to her eyes. "How do you know I don't like her? Oh, wait! Do you have a crush on Athena? I won't be surprise-"

"Shut your nonsense! "she yells, raising her index finger at him. She is only a step away from him. If the bars are gone he will be dead.

"Smile all you want because today is your last day. Breath for the last time today, you stinky trash" she hisses with remorse.

"We will see that lady" he challenges. "And for your question earlier, I like Athena and I am here to win her heart."

Cynthia turns away and exits from there and out of the storage room. Why is Athena not throwing him out? She cannot help but question this? She has her doubts about him that he is not so simple.

Closing the door, she goes to her room and freshens herself quickly before Athena starts calling her.

**

"What will you do with that man?" Cynthia asks. Athena takes a bite of the cinnamon pancakes, half-listening to Cynthia.

She wants to not hear his name. But she can't escape. She has to decide to do something with that man. Killing him isn't the option. As her grandfather taught her that they don't hurt people for no valid reason. He hasn't done anything serious or a crime so to kill him will be wrong.

"We can't kill him, you know that. Apart from throwing him out of the country, there's no other choice" Athena tells, keeping her eyes on the pancakes she eats.

Cynthia nods mildly, half-mad to hear that because she knows they don't kill innocent ones. "My lady, that man must have come here for a reason." Athena thinks that too or why will he still rot in the dungeon even after having quite a beating? Just because he likes her he is here? That is least likely to be true.

"I have told Santos to run a background check on him. The info will be here today" Athena says sipping her black coffee. "If we found nothing, we will throw him out of the country by tonight."

Hearing that, Cynthia feels relieved. The man should never stay here, not even in this country. What if he is here to harm Athena? No, he cannot stay.