Chapter Forty-six

Athena's POV

I fake a loud laugh as I clutch onto my stomach, trying my best to produce tears from my eyes. My hands shaking in nervousness and my brain corrupting with no ideas coming out, god help me. I thought to myself, ''What kiss? Kiss? Did he say kiss? We were talking about kisses; the chocolate, you know.''

Liam gives me a blank look and I widen my eyes; gesturing him to play along. He quickly get the sign as he starts to laugh with me, much louder, may I add, ''Oh, right, it's best to consume kisses when you're drunk, right, Athena? Then you'll have the best effect.'' Then he claps his hands, endlessly giving me a look.

Alex crosses his arms, ''Chocolate kisses?'' He asks, half-believing and half-suspicious.

I wrap my arm around Liam's shoulder which is a bit hard for me because I have to stand on my tiptoe due to his height, ''That's what buddies do, right? We eat chocolates.'' I clear my throat cautiously while gripping hard onto Liam's shoulder. I swear I heard him wince.

''Liam, come here.'' Alex calls out for him. I slowly let go of his shoulder as he walk toward Alex. Alex walks closer toward him, fastening his steps and once they're close enough, Alex punches Liam in the face; making Liam touches his jaw, somehow adjusting them back in place. I stare blankly at both of them, not really knowing what to say. My mind goes entirely blank. Alex rubs his red knuckles and I see Liam spitting blood and touching the cut near his lips, ''You deserved that for kissing my wife.'' Alex says, ''And I'm sorry for doing that because you're my best friend and because you said you didn't want to ruin my marriage. I appreciate that but not what you had done.'' He breathes out through his nose, ''I mean, seriously, in England? I was there the whole time!''

Liam sighs, leaving the cut near his lips show. I keep on looking at both of them, terrified if I say anything and might raise up their anger even more, ''I deserved that, you're right, I fucking deserved that and I swear man, I have no intention of ruining anything between you two. Besides, I don't deserve her, she's way too perfect for me.''

''It's because she's mine. That's one of the reasons why you don't deserve her.'' I hear Alex sigh as he back up a little, ''Liam, look, this does not mean that I hate you for what you had done. We're still friends. I just had to punch you, that's all.''

''Sorry, Alex. I really am.'' Liam glances toward my direction as he mutters sorry. I nod my head slowly, afraid if Alex might caught us giving signs.

''No don't. Don't look at her. Just go away.'' Alex cuts us off and Liam quickly walks inside, not bothering to look back at me nor at Alex. I couldn't look at him. Why does it feel like I've just betrayed him? Am I that bad? I continue to stare at the ground; as I feel his stare on my face, ''Look at me.'' He says but I refuse and I hear him sigh once more, ''Look at me.'' He touches my chin, ''Hey, princess, come on, look at me.''

I brace myself to look up at him and I see his blue eyes staring directly into my brown ones. If you stare deeply, you can see how there's a hint of disappointment but overall, he's hiding it well with the smile plastered on his face. I immediately wrap my arms around his neck, inhaling his scent, ''I'm sorry, I didn't want to keep it away from you but I couldn't hurt you. I was drunk, I-I wasn't in my right state of mind.'' I mumble.

He does nothing to comfort me back so I pull myself away from him, looking at his expression, ''Why would you do that to me?'' He asks and I feel my legs weaken at his voice. They sound so weak, so hurt, so desperate.

''No, no, no, I didn't.'' I cup his face, bringing them closer to mine and resting my forehead on his, ''I would never do anything to hurt you.''

''Even if I may not have feelings for you back then but I would never do what you did. I could but I didn't. You want to know why? It's because you're on my mind almost all the time and I kept on reminding myself that I have a wife back home and I wouldn't do anything to hurt her even if I don't like her. She's still my wife either way and if I go around with other woman, it makes me feel like I'm cheating on her. Mom taught me well to make me think twice before doing anything reckless.'' He says, making me stand at my spot; utterly speechless, ''But I get it, you were drunk and I don't blame you for your lack of control over your own body and mind. He was sober, I blame him.''

''Are you mad at me?'' I ask, quietly.

''Upset.'' He replies.

My eyes widen as I pull him closer, tugging onto him, ''No, no, no, I'm sorry. I'll hug you tighter every night if you want me to, kiss you more than ten times a day and compliment how great you look every single morning—''

He cuts me off by placing his index finger on my lips and I blink a few times, trying to see his reaction, ''You'll hug me tighter every night and you'll kiss me more than ten times every day, that's all I need.'' He gently places his thumb on my lips, rubbing my lower lip slowly, ''Promise?''

I nod my head quickly and he leans in, kissing me on my lips. Closing my eyes immediately as he continues to kiss me before leaning back, ''One.'' Kiss. ''Two.'' Kiss. ''Three.'' Kiss. ''Four.'' And he kisses me again, longer this time as he raises my head up higher, ''Five.'' He leans back, ''We'll continue at home.'' Then he pecks on my cheek; making me smile in embarrassment. He loves doing that, making me smile.

''I'd love to nibble your ear and repeat how beautiful you are.'' He whispers into my ear and I blush immediately before slapping his hand away from my face. He chuckles, ''Kidding.'' Then he turns to look around, ''Do you want to ditch this place?'' He asks. I feel like I'm reliving the teenage life again; ditching parties, staying up late at night, long car rides and sneaking out. Unfortunately, I don't really get to experience them with friends.

''Where do you have in mind?'' I ask as I walk toward the passenger side and Alex unlocks his car, gesturing for me to come in.

''I don't.'' He replies before starting the engine and press the gas pedal in reverse. Then we are already on the road. I can't keep my eyes off of him as he continues to drive. I see him looking down at my hand and I watch as he pick up my hand to entwine our fingers before gripping hard and smiling to me like we're both madly in love with each other.

I lean my head against the seat as I watch the road; eyeing every single car. It feels great to just have a silent car ride without any complicated or awkward conversations. It's like we're busy with our own feelings, not bothered to think about anything else.

Without me realising, I manage to fall asleep with our hands still entwined with one another. The cold breeze from the air-conditioner makes it easier for me to fall asleep. I couldn't fight back the urge to sleep so I let the darkness consume me.

I feel someone moving beside me and I open my eyes slowly to see Alex unbuckling my seat-belt. Our face inches apart from each other and as I breathe out, he looks up into my eyes, seems surprised to see me awake. I stare at him with droopy eyes and from the look on his face, it shows that he thinks I'm having a nightmare or sleep walking.

''Shh, go back to sleep.'' I blink a few times but my vision continues to blur. I feel him lift me up by placing one of his hand under my thigh and the other behind my back. I also feel myself wrapping my arm around his neck; supporting my own weight. Then, I see him walking toward a house. A unfamiliar one, I must say. Just like that, I went back to sleep without hesitating where he's taking me.

I spread out my arms and I feel the softness beside me and I continue to lay still; knowing that I'm in bed and it's hella comfortable. My eyes remain shut even though the sunlight keeps on asking me to wake up and start living life. I slowly blink a few times, seeing the curtains flowing with the wind. I furrow my eyebrows, hm, those aren't the curtains back home.

I continue to look around as I sit up a little, seeing that the room is completely different, ''What happened last night?'' I mutter to myself as I look down at the spot right next to me before standing up and walking to the hall. My eyes widen to see the house; nicely furnished and most of the furniture are in white or dark brown, beige and wood.

The house looks extremely beautiful and elegant. I turn to look at the bathroom, clean and decorated nicely. I hear the door closing from downstairs and I immediately walk down the stairs, seeing Alex scrolling on his phone and I stop my steps as soon as I see him wearing a light brown khaki shorts and a black shirt with black shoes. He looks up from his phone, ''You're awake.'' He says, not expecting me to be awake.

I look down at myself and see that I'm only wearing an oversized shirt which surely isn't mine. Is it Alex's? Did he change me last night? ''Where'd you go?'' I ask him, not bothered to know whether he changed me or not because obviously, he did. I touch my collarbone and feel that I'm wearing what's underneath so he probably didn't go too far.

What am I saying? We went that far, so, note the sarcasm.

''Went to see a friend. Did you have a good night sleep?'' He asks, walking pass me before taking a glass of water in the kitchen. I follow behind him and I watch as he takes slow sips of the water.

''Yeah, where are we anyway?'' I look around, ''And does your friend live anywhere near?'' I ask. It may look like I'm being bossy but I just woke up in some other place, I have the right to ask questions.

''We're in The Hamptons and yes, he does live quite near.'' Then Alex uses his elbows tu support his weight as he scroll down his phone using his index finger before looking up at me, ''Why'd you ask?''

''Wait, wait, wait. You drove all the way here from New York?'' I furrow my eyebrows as he continue to look at me as if I've just lost almost all of my memory, ''It's a two hour drive, isn't it? That's not too bad.'' I mutter under my breath and I look up at him again; seeing that he's waiting for me to finish mumbling nonsense.

He smiles to my surprise as he stares onto my face; not glancing anywhere else, ''Why do you seem surprise?'' He asks.

''Well, of course I am! It's obvious that I should be surprised. You did something really unexpected this time and it's truly shocking to be honest.'' I shrug, taking a seat in front of him and he just narrow his eyes—smirking as he pulls his glass away, not letting me take a sip, ''That's rude.'' I say.

''Take your own, you're not the queen.'' He says as he stands up, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

I turn around, ''But I'm the princess!'' I shout loud enough for him to hear. I see him walking out through the front door and I just sigh in annoyance before running up the stairs. Once I reach the bedroom once more, I step into the walk-in closet and my eyes widen as I see women clothing in here. I pull one of the drawers and I see undergarments. Most shocking, they're all my size.

''I can't believe I married a psychopath.'' I mutter under my breath before taking out the things needed and look for a plain white shirt and khaki shorts. My lips curve up into a smile as I remember Alex wearing the similar one. I never had khaki shorts; so I'll guess that he bought these.

After showering, I quickly change into the clothes I've picked and step out of the bathroom with my hair up into a high ponytail. I turn around to look at the mirror once more and I see that my face looks fresh. Mostly because my dark circles has lighten up a little bit and my eyes seem to appear lighter.

I walk down the stairs and head out through the front door. Alex's car came into view and I glance toward the view in front of me. A shirtless guy who is only wearing shorts. He has dark brown hair and from behind, I can see his perfectly sculptured back. I swallow the non-existing lump in my throat, ''Holy—'' He turns around to look at me and I see Alex standing a few feet away from him, looking directly at me too and I swear I choked immediately.

The guy smiles at me, revealing his perfectly straight teeth. What. The. Fuck. I thought to myself; trying my best to look away but I can't seem to do so. I force myself and I quickly walk pass him toward Alex before mentally slapping myself across the face. Alex looks at me suspiciously before smirking, ''My wife, Athena. You've probably seen her in the news.''

''Nice to meet you, Athena. I'm Edwin.'' He says, smiling. I manage to glance up at his face before looking away and end up staring my own husband instead. ''Matching shorts, cute.'' I hear him say and I continue to smile at Alex. Alex looks down at my shorts before smiling back at me.

I may look like a retard right now for not stopping myself from smiling but hey, at least I'm smiling at my husband. I clear my throat and quickly look up at Edwin, ''Nice to meet you too.'' I reply and he nods his head, ''Do you live here?'' I ask, trying to start the conversation.

''Yeah, a few houses away from here.'' He says, ''I'm just visiting an old friend here. Heard he's going to be here for a few days so might as well pay a visit.'' I look up at Alex and I see him still looking at me.

''I'm just going to look around,'' I say before patting onto Alex's arm and walk straight ahead to the other side down the road. I force myself to keep my head up and not to look back, fortunately, I succeeded. I feel the wind blowing directly onto my skin and I feel calm, like I've never been before, ''Stupid husband for having an attractive friend.'' I cup my own face as I slap myself hard on the face, ''Fuck, that hurts.'' I mutter under my breath.

''You okay there, honey?'' I hear someone ask and I stop walking as I see an old lady looking at me, worriedly. She's holding a flower pot before putting it down on the ground, ''You look a little... troubled.''

''Oh, um, I'm fine. I'm all good.'' I raise both of my hands up, ''Just enjoying the fresh air.'' I add and she nods her head, not saying a word anymore. I smile at her, ''I'll get going now.'' And she smiles back at me. I quickly walk away, not going to bump into strangers anymore and being asked whether I'm fine or not.

Without me realising, I've been walking for awhile until I reach the beach. I immediately fall in love with the view so I walk ahead toward the sand; patting my butt before sitting down and pull my legs up to my chest; how beautiful, I thought.

''Boo!'' I hear someone say from behind as he pushes me on the shoulder; making me jump forward and let out a yelp and sliding away from the figure. My heart stops beating as I see Alex standing there, clutching his stomach as he laugh out loud.

''Fuck you.'' I breathe out, tugging a strand of hair behind my ear, ''You scared me, for god's sake. That's really inappropriate. I could've died from a heart attack, didn't you even thought about that for a second once in your life?'' My voice sounding more like I'm out of breath.

He continues to laugh before sitting down on the ground and pulling me by the leg. I pull my leg roughly as I glare at him, ''Oh, come on, you got to admit that it was a little funny.'' One of his hand goes up to the back of his neck as he look at me, ''Right?'' He asks once more.

''No, it wasn't.'' I reply.

''I can see that you've found the beach.'' He changes the topic and I look directly into his eyes, seeing that they're the lightest colour of the sky right now. He may not realise how beautiful his eyes are but to me, they're perfect.

''Well, I'm a wanderer, aren't I?''

He smirks, ''You sure are.'' I hear him sigh. Not in annoyance, not in frustration or depressing but more like in relaxation, ''I just love watching views like this. I mean, when you're living in the city, you don't get to see this everyday. All you hear is people shouting, cars honking and all those crap in the city.''

''Was it your house?'' I ask.

''Yeah, bought it years back. Thought it would be useful some day whenever I needed a few days off to relax and calm myself down. It's useful after all. Been going here for the past and let me tell you, it's the first time going here with someone.''

I let out a laugh, ''Is that supposed to make me feel better, Alexander?'' I raise an eyebrow and I see him looking at me, a playful look written all over his face.

''The World Cup dates have been changed. Simon called and told me that as soon as my vacation is over, I have to start training because we only have less than a month.'' He says out of nowhere. It means that The World Cup starts two months earlier than they're supposed to. I hear him sigh, ''I'm really not in the mood to play.''

''You're never in the mood for anything.'' I look down at the sand. Is our deal going to change too? Are we going to stick with the deal or is he going to cancel everything and just live the life we're living now? Are we going to remain as a couple? Those questions never seem to fade.

''That's wrong, okay? I'm in the mood for something but surely not for everything. By the way, I want to show you something tonight. I'm pretty sure you'll like it because well, I can bet that you haven't done or seen anything like it before.'' He wiggle his eyebrows, making me push him on the shoulder.

''Yeah right, you're not even romantic.'' I roll my eyes at the fact. It's true, he's not even romantic. He acts like he cares but he doesn't show me anything that would make me consider him as someone romantic. He's more like someone who tells his feelings the easy way and not going through anything hard just to confess them. He takes the easy road.

''You'll see whether I'm romantic or not.''