“Can you stop bringing that up?” Emmett complained, annoyance thick in his voice. “Athena is nothing more than a little distraction to me. My heart still belongs to Aliana. But Grandpa insists I marry Athena and have an heir, or I’ll lose the Davidson family inheritance and forget about being with Aliana!”
“I have to pretend every day like I’m head over heels for her. It’s exhausting!”
His friend sounded doubtful. “Is that really all there is to it? You’ve been awfully kind to Athena. Be careful; pretending like that might make you fall for her.”
Emmett went quiet for a moment. After a long pause, he shrugged casually.
“What choice do I have? She’s an orphan, desperate for affection. Athena is completely smitten with me. If I show her a little kindness now, it’ll be easier to keep her in check when everything falls apart later.”
Athena froze, her face tightening, her body shaking as though a cold wind had pierced her.
She didn’t hear much more of their conversation, but soon, Emmett’s laughter echoed through the air.
“In front of me, Athena is like a dog. With one wave of my hand, she comes running. Don’t worry, I won’t screw this up.”