Chapter Twenty-Two

"Miss Rose, you have a clean bill of health, no head injuries it appears and the minor cuts and scrapes you received after your fall will heal with proper cleaning and care," the doctor says, then hands her the discharge papers needed to leave.

"I told you there was no need for this, you fussed over nothing," she says and glares at Gabriel. He, however, doesn't look ashamed of all for having raced across the city to a private hospital just to get her seen and treated right away, despite her continuously telling him she is fine.

"Internal injuries are more common than you think, and an issue we might have caught today could have maybe not flared up until later in life, when it is also too late. I just needed to be sure, I'm sorry if I troubled you." There is concern written all over his face, making it hard for her to keep the irritation she has.

"It wasn't that much of a trouble," she mutters.

Was he really that concerned about me?

Athena tries to peek at his facial expression but is caught instantly, her face turning a beat red. She can never guess what he is thinking and feels like she is just overthinking his feelings towards her. Though she is not that much younger than him, she is still considered young and possibly childish in the eyes of someone like Gabriel, who already has a whole belt of accomplishments under him at the age of 23.

Whereas the only thing Athena has ever done in her 20 years is take advantage of her silver spoon upbringing and good looks. She never lived her life dishonestly, but she can't call them accomplishments. Her job was something any other attractive looking person can do with the right training and guidance.

She can never consider herself in the same light as Gabriel, therefore they will never be in the same league, worlds apart from each other. The sudden realization makes her chest ache, like a hole has formed over time and continues to get bigger the closer they seem to get.

"It's quite late, I should get going before Margaret starts to worry about where I am, she has probably already filed a missing person's report," Athena says, wanting to get out of the awkward situation she has created.

"She has already called, I informed her that you will be staying at my place for the time being, so I can assure your safety."

Athena can't believe her ears.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay with you, I need to make sure Stella is okay and that her mother won't do anything to get back at me, assuming she will know this is my fault and want revenge for putting her precious daughter in danger."

Gabriel slams his hands down on the hospital bed and cages Athena between them. She jumps back in fright but hits her wall against the back, leaving her trapped.

"You should've though about that, before you rushed out into the street and exposed yourself. They might not have got a good look at your face the first time and suspected you on a whim, but they definitely know what you look like now, and that you have a sister they can also use as leverage. Now, I don't quite care for Ms. Madden as much, and since you decided to disobey our specific plan, this is your punishment."

He grabs his jacket and bag before leaving, whispering something to Julian who is standing by outside the door. He walks in and stands by the door, watching Athena as she hangs her head and gathers her thoughts.

Staying with a multi-billionaire who she has wanted to jump from the moment she laid eyes on him. What about that does he consider a punishment? Does he think that she doesn't think he is attractive at the very least?

Athena knows she hasn't exactly come off as the kind of woman who is interested in Gabriel, since that has never been a part of her plan or goals, she has always had much bigger things to focus on.

But she has found it difficult to hide her attraction to him countless times, it had to be hard to miss, even for someone as clueless as Gabriel.

"Miss Rose, your discharge has been issued, we're free to leave the hospital whenever you wish. I can take you back to your place briefly to pick up some things before we travel to the Monroe Towers."

This surprises her. "The Monroe Towers? Why are we going there?"

"That is where Mr. Monroe will be hosting you, he owns the penthouse suite there and thought it would be much more comfortable for Miss Rose, being closer to her own home and familiar surroundings."

"Does that mean he has another house that he uses as his main estate?"

Julian nods but says nothing else.

They leave the hospital and return to her home for a brief time to gather some clothes and personal belongings. She also dismissed the staff for a temporary time, giving them all extended vacation during her time away but keeping Margaret around the manor to keep an eye on the place and inform Athena if her father or anyone else stops by.

When she arrives at the Monroe Towers, she can't help but stop and admire the enormous luxury towers, wondering why even in her past life the former Athena never stayed at them herself, having been a famed celebrity.

Entering the hotel and looking at the menu for rooms, she quickly understands why she never bothered. For just one night in their cheapest room, costs several thousand. I suppose if you own the entire place, it doesn't matter how much it costs, you can rent a room for however long you want.

The penthouse suite of the Monroe Towers is said to be the most luxurious suite in all of Luxe city hotels. The two towers are only connected at the bottom and the top, giving quick access to both sides of the towers from the entrance.

While the penthouse suite stretches across the two towers as well as one large suite, still acting as two separate suits for those who have larger parties of people and need more bedrooms. But Gabriel has the entire suite for just two to three people at a time, granted if Julian stays there as well. He could have a whole side of the suite to himself, so she doesn't understand why not, for extra security.

Athena has always wondered why Gabriel never travels with any other companion other than Julian, while other big CEO's and Presidents like him always carry security of some sort with them, whether it be bodyguards or a weapon. She assumes he carries a weapon on him at the very least, with all the supposed people who are targeting him and his tech.

"Will you be staying with us?" Athena asks as the enter the elevator.

To her surprise, Julian shakes his head. "I have to return to my own home eventually, I have two cats that need to be taken care of." He gives her a care-free smile, as if they aren't just returning from another attempted kidnapping.

"Why did he get such a large suite then?"

"Where else are you going to stay? Most of these hotel rooms are meant for one person or a couple, the penthouse suite is the only one designed for a larger group or for two people who prefer their own suites."

"You mean I'm going to have a whole suite to myself?" she asks in awe.

"Mr. Monroe feels there might be some retaliation from either the men behind this, or your stepmother and sister, so until we deal with the situation, he would feel safer with you here. If there is anything you would like collected from your house to have here for the time being, let me know and I can fetch it for you."

"Do you mind bringing my housekeeper here? Tell her to grab everything I need, she will know what I mean and bring her here, I will feel a lot more comfortable with someone I trust closely with me." Margaret will know to grab all the hidden documents and journals Athena has kept over the last month; in case her father uses this chance to snoop around the house.

She still has yet to find her mother's will with just under 5 months left until her 21st birthday, giving both her and her father more than enough time to fake the document if the real one doesn't turn up.

Not to mention, she has to check in with Mr. Collins and see if he has had any success in digging up her father's illegal transfers of her mother's family assets, meant to be left to her. Her father has been secretly transferring as many assets as he can while under control of the Rose Group. With the power he holds as CEO, he was able to discreetly transfer over millions worth of property and business, including some of the lesser-known villas and cottages that her father bought at undercut prices and used the Rose Group fortune to renovate for his affair family.

Walking around the hotel suite, she isn't sure what to check out first. Although she feels well adapted to this lifestyle already, she still finds herself in awe of everything she has now, right at the tips of her fingers. She doesn't have to reach out anymore, grasping at straws to get even just a smidge of what she worked so hard to get.

A couple months ago she could only dream of waking up to a luxurious room and servants to wait on her, to be able to walk by any store window and to see something she likes and buys it, without even glancing at the sticker price.

They say money can't buy happiness. Whoever said that must have been poor too. Money certainly can't buy someone unlimited happiness or every kind of happiness there is, but it can definitely lift some weight and put off some pressure for quite a few people in the world.

She wanders into the side where her suite is supposed to be, and gawks at how large it is. There is a fully functioning kitchen and luxury master bathroom, a grand living room with a floor to ceiling TV screen. The kitchen is fully stocked with all kinds of foods and drinks that any person could need, one you would see right out of a kitchen dream magazine.

The bedroom is the grandest room of all, with a king size canopy bed in the middle of the room fit for the Queen herself, a walk-in closet the size of her bedroom at home, including her own walk-in closet, and an ensuite bathroom the size of her living room. She thought the Rose manor was extravagant until she saw this suite.

"I just received word from Mr. Monroe, your stepsister has been dropped off safely at home and he is dealing with your stepmother," Julian says, walking into the room without announcing himself and scaring her half to death.

"Wait, Gabriel is dealing with my stepmother?" Oh no, that isn't good. If her stepmother realizes Athena has a connection as powerful as Gabriel Monroe, there isn't telling what she might do to take it away from her. Gabriel is her only support right now; she can't risk any of her family finding out that she is involved with him.

She is already grabbing her purse when Julian reaches out and stops her.

"Not to worry, Miss Rose, he won't be dealing with her personally. We have a scapegoat," he just says with a smile.

A scapegoat?

***

Ai, Gabriel, you snake. Why must I do this?

Preston drags his feet towards the back door, practically shaking in his boots as he knocks on the door with the unconscious Stella Madden in his arms. At first, he thought about just laying her in front of the door and leaving, like abandoning a newborn.

But Gabriel insisted they do this right, so not retaliation will come to Athena once Stella comes too. She was injected with a high dose of pheromones and alcohol, so she will wake up feeling hung over and Athena can come up with the story that they went out for drinks after shopping and got drinks that were much stronger than they thought they were, and Stella ended up passing out.

When she was found in the abandoned warehouse, she was knocked out and drugged to stay asleep. We're counting on her having been asleep the entire time she was there, so they can chalk it up to nothing more than a bad, drunk dream she had.

Other than Athena mysteriously inviting her out for lunch and to apologize, there should be no other proof that Athena set up Stella to be kidnapped on her behalf, or that Stella was even kidnapped since she came out unscathed.

But why do I have to do it?!