Dark Revenge Of An Unwanted Wife: The Twins Are Not Yours!

Ewan felt the insistent urge to slap his own mouth. He cursed himself mentally, furiously, as though he could beat the foolishness out of his head.

What was this new habit of his—bringing Antonio into every conversation with Athena, whether necessary or not—whenever he ran out of words?

It was shameful. Foolish. And with the way Athena was gazing at him now, her brows lifted in mild confusion, he felt twice as stupid.

"Sorry…" he sputtered at last, cheeks warming, "I'm still getting used to the dynamic."

Athena wasn't sure what he was talking about. But since she wasn't in the mood for theatrics or digging into unknowns and unsures, she let it slide.

As for informing Antonio, she would tell him later—at the end of the day. Yet a pause tugged at her lips as she bit them lightly. Informing him would mean confessing the other things she had been keeping from him.

Did it matter though? She gave the blogs a couple of hours at most, and this current situation would flood the socials for everyone to see.

"Is everything okay?" Ewan's voice came softer now, almost a whisper, like he was afraid she might snap at him.

Athena shook her head faintly, then sighed. "Yes, everything is. Are you free now?"

Ewan nodded without hesitation. For Athena, he would clear his entire schedule without question.

"Okay then, I'm heading to the lab to drop this off. Do you want to join me? Maybe help fend off the overzealous neighbors."

A smile slithered across Ewan's lips, slow and genuine. "Of course, Athena. Of course."

He rose to his feet, and before she could react, he picked up her bag and carried it himself. The small gesture drew an amused quirk from her mouth.

Gesturing toward the door, he bowed slightly. "After you, my lady."

Athena chuckled then, and the sound brought him relief. Relief and happiness in one breath.

—

Outside the hospital, Athena entered Ewan's car after telling Rodney to take a short break before picking up the kids from school.

In the backseat, she sat beside Ewan while the driver remained silent at the wheel. The silence between them stretched long enough to grow uncomfortable. Unsure of what to make of it, she finally pulled out her phone.

"Athena!" Antonio's voice boomed warmly through the receiver. "How are you doing, my love?"

Athena smiled thinly. "I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."

"Aww, sorry about that. Do you want to sneak out for lunch? I promise to make it worthwhile…"

"Not today, sorry. I'm already heading to my lab."

A pause lingered on the other end. "Your lab? Did something happen?"

Athena exhaled weakly, leaning her head against the seat. "Yes. I found out that two of my doctors had a personal secret lab in the storage unit of the hospital—the same ones I suspected of being behind the Grey Disease."

Another pause.

"Antonio, I think they're making a worse version of the virus. And I'm afraid I'm already late."

Silence again. Then, softly—"Athena…"

"I'm here, love. I'm here," Antonio assured her quickly. "And you don't need to worry. Everything will be fine. I'm sure you can handle it—you always do. Just breathe, okay? Have the wicked ones been apprehended yet?"

Athena shook her head, then remembering she was on call: "No. They're off the radar."

An audible sigh crackled through the phone. "Have you told Aiden?"

"Yes. He's working on it, but we don't have answers yet."

"Okay. I'm sure he'll come up with something. I'll reach out to an old friend who works with computer software. Maybe he can help in one way or another."

"I'll appreciate that, Antonio. Thank you very much."

"Anything for you, my love. Should I meet you at the lab? You can send me the coordinates later…"

And risk him meeting with Ewan? That would be like signing a promise-of-destruction form. She couldn't afford for that to happen, not when she was dealing with this.

"Don't worry, Antonio. I'll handle it. You already have stressful days—I don't want to add to it with chemicals and whatnot."

Antonio chuckled. "Okay then, if you say so. Is our date for Thursday still on? Should I cancel our reservation considering the situation?"

"No. It's still on." She would need something normal after all this chaos, and a cinema date with popcorn and drinks sounded like the right kind of normal.

"All right then. See you tomorrow. Love you…"

The call ended—cut short, like he already knew she wasn't ready to say the words back.

When she returned the phone to her lap, Athena noticed Ewan staring out the window. She wasn't sure what had caught his attention, but his fists kept clenching and unclenching against his thighs.

Uncertain whether she wanted to break the silence, that breaking the silence was even a good idea, she turned to her own window, watching the blur of the world pass until they reached the lab.

—

It was just as before. Athena thought as she and Ewan stepped onto the porch of her new apartment-turned-lab.

Geraldine, that homely, ever-smiling neighbor, was already waiting by the door, a small tray of chocolate pie in her hands and a wide smile plastered on her face.

Athena's stomach rumbled at the smell. The woman should open a bakery or something. The entire people in the neighborhood should.

"Hey, Doctor Athena…" Geraldine greeted, her cheeks flushing crimson the moment her eyes landed on Ewan.

Athena held back a sigh. Why did women always blush at him? What was it about Ewan?

No one had ever looked at Rodney, her handsome driver, like that. But Ewan? His presence alone seemed to ripple through people.

"I'm fine," Athena answered curtly, nudged softly by Ewan as if to remind her of her manners. She forced a small smile. "And how are you doing? How are the children?"

"All good!" Geraldine's voice rose an octave higher, her gaze shamelessly fixed on Ewan.

Athena almost rolled her eyes. If the woman weren't already married, she might have thrown herself at him.

The sound of voices behind them gave Athena her escape. This was the very reason she had asked Ewan to accompany her here.

"He will take care of all this," Athena muttered quickly. "I need to go inside."

She moved past Geraldine, without waiting for a reason, opened the door, and slipped inside, exhaling roughly with her back pressed against the door.

"Didn't take him long…" she muttered with irritation two seconds later, as Ewan's smooth voice drifted in through the door—charming Geraldine effortlessly.

Did you bake this? Well, of course you did. A woman with such beautiful hands…

Shaking her head and brushing thoughts of Ewan's sweet tongue from her mind, she hurried deeper inside toward the lab.

There was too much work waiting. Her ex-husband could charm the neighborhood if he wanted; he could join her later.

—

"You should taste this cookie, Athena…"

Ewan's voice filled the lab as he walked in, a tray balanced in his hands.

Athena was already at work—lab coat and goggles on, bent over a beaker, a pipette in her steady hand. Still working. Always working.

Noting this, he moved toward the small kitchen space at the far end of the large room and placed the cookies on the marble counter. He almost jumped when he turned and found Athena standing right behind him.

"What the hell, Athena…" he hissed softly, his heart thumping.

But she was laughing, her eyes alight. "You should have seen your face," she teased, pulling off her gloves. She shed the goggles and lab coat too, placing them neatly on a chair near the entrance.

"Didn't know you scared that easily." She smirked, heading to the sink to wash her hands thoroughly with soap.

Ewan snorted softly, crossing his arms. "I wasn't scared. You were just supposed to be working. I thought you were—"

"Well, I was. But I'm done now."

Ewan frowned unconsciously, and Athena caught it as she turned from the sink, drying her hands with a clean cloth. Her laughter bubbled again.

"Oh, come on. It's not that hard, is it?"

He shrugged. "I'm not a science geek like you."

Athena arched a brow. "Did you just call me a geek?"

"Aren't you one? You should—"

"Don't complete that statement," Athena warned, trying to hold her laughter. But she lost the battle the moment she noticed the effort Ewan was putting into keeping his own laughter at bay.

"You're crazy, Ewan," she said, chuckling as she picked a cookie from the tray and perched on one of the tall stools.

"You can't blame me," he defended. "One minute you're standing over a cup, and the next you're behind me in the kitchen."

"It's not a cup!" Athena burst out laughing again. "It's called a beaker. Didn't you at least do science in high school?"

Ewan only shrugged, secretly pleased that he had managed to make her laugh and shake off some of the tension weighing her down. Of course he knew what a beaker was.

"But are you really done?" he asked.

Athena nodded, nibbling the cookie. "We just wait now, for the solution to settle, so I can analyze it."

She tilted her head slightly, eyes softening on him. "And thanks again for this…" she gestured with the half-eaten cookie toward the lab. "It makes my work so much easier."

"It's nothing," Ewan said quickly, though the tips of his ears burned red.