From Betrayal to Brilliance Her Rise to a New Life novel Chapter 240

Chapter 240 You Don’t Owe Me Anything

For a while, neither of them said a word or tried to move away.

It was like they’d silently agreed to just stay close and forget everything else for a bit.

After a long time, Zaden slowly loosened his arms around Athena.

He spoke softly, “Go home now. Get some rest. Don’t think too much about anything tonight.”

Athena paused, like she wanted to say something, but she held back.

She knew she probably wouldn’t sleep anyway.

It wasn’t just because of what happened with Zaden before. Something else was weighing on her.

When she got out of the car, her head felt a little dizzy. She could still feel the warmth from Zaden’s hug, and it almost made her lose control for a second. She quickly forced herself to calm down.

No, she couldn’t get emotional now.

Her daughter had to come first.

Halfway home, Zaden’s phone buzzed. It was Harriet.

He looked at the screen, answered, and the Bluetooth picked up her voice right away.

“So? Did you talk to Athena? Did you tell her Lewis faked that whole daughter thing to fool her?” Harriet asked, sounding impatient.

Zaden’s eyes turned cold. “No.”

“What?! Are you serious?” she snapped. “This was your chance! If you told her the truth, maybe she’d come back to you.”

She always thought Zaden was smart, but now he was acting way too gentlemanly.

It wasn’t the time to be nice.

Harriet wished she could just grab him and shake him awake.

Zaden looked out the window, quiet for a moment before replying, “Athena believes that girl is

her daughter. Even if I tell her the truth, she’ll just think I’m saying that because I want her

back.

“Even if there’s just a small chance, she’ll hold onto it.”

So, it was better not to say anything at all.

Lewis wouldn’t be able to hide the secret forever. Sooner or later, Athena would find out. And as long as that girl was around, Nina could keep using her to control Lewis.

He’d be too busy dealing with that to bother Athena again.

Maybe things would finally turn around.

Zaden knew Athena wasn’t staying with Lewis out of love. She just didn’t have a way out. Nothing else mattered to him.

Harriet was quiet for once after hearing his reasoning.

She actually thought he had a point.

He’d clearly thought it all through, and even she had to admit she was impressed.

Athena couldn’t sleep that night.

Her mind kept spinning, and she tossed and turned for hours.

She wasn’t sure when she finally drifted off.

Honestly, staying awake would’ve been easier. The moment she fell asleep, things got worse. She dreamed of Lewis arriving with her daughter, only for Zaden to show up right after.

The whole dream felt like she was being pulled in two directions. When she woke up, she was even more tired than before.

She immediately grabbed her phone, hoping there was a message or call from Zaden. He’d promised to look into her daughter’s whereabouts.

Nina had taken that girl away. Who knew what she might do?

The thought made Athena’s chest tighten with panic.

She rushed to wash up and dialed Zaden’s number.

He answered with a lazy, half-asleep voice that made her heart skip a beat.

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