Page 116 of The Alpha's Bullied Rejected Mate
Chapter 22 - Athena
Athena pulled her hands away from Marcus’s, her breath exhaling in a shallow rhythm.
The fragments of her vision still reeled behind her eyes, and now, Marcus had seen it too.
She had kept it a secret from him.
Her gaze dropped to the floor. She braced herself for the silence, for the sharp sting of betrayal in his eyes, the disappointment, the hurt.
But when he leaned in, it never came.
Instead, his thumb brushed gently across her cheek.
“When did the visions start?” he asked quietly.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Six years ago… that night when…” She stopped, the words catching in her throat.
“Aren’t you angry?” she forced out a whisper.
“Furious that I kept this from you?” she pressed.
“I’m not angry, Athena,” he shook his head.
“I understand why you did it. You had every right to.”
Her eyes blinked up to meet his, surprised.
“I’m sad that you thought you had to deal with it by yourself. I’m sad that you couldn’t trust
me enough to tell me. Like telling me would make me run. Or blame you. Or…” He stopped.
“Love you less,” he whispered. As if saying the words any louder was dangerous.
She turned fully to face him now, clutching her arms to herself like she was trying to
hold herself together.
“I’m sorry,” Marcus said, his voice coming out softly.
Tears spilled over her lashes now. “No. I trust you now, Marcus. All of that is behind us.”
“I didn’t tell you because I was scared. That acknowledging it might…might make it real.” She choked on a breath.
“And I was scared because I didn’t want to lose Riley or anyone.” She blinked up at him and stared into his amber eyes,
“I didn’t want to lose you,” she whispered. The words trembled out of her like a breath she had been holding for far too long.
It was the truth, the vulnerable truth. And it scared her. But for once, she didn’t want to run from it.
Her gaze dropped, then slowly lifted again to meet his, eyes shimmering with something too full to name. She let out a slow, uneven breath and nodded, just once, as if surrendering to the gravity of what she had denied herself for so long.
“I love you, Marcus.” The words cracked in her voice as they finally tore free, as though she was unsealing something she had buried deep in her chest.
“I have loved you since…” The words hung in her throat. After everything they had been through, there was no point in hiding it anymore.
“Even when I tried to convince myself that I only needed you to be there for Riley… I never stopped loving you. Not for a second.”
