The Mate He Bought

If Only…

Despite everything that Athena had witnessed and now knowing that Raphael’s anger was not something she could easily amend, she still always got on his nerves. It had now been a month since he started working for Raphael in the palace, but yet Raphael was trying all his best to suppress his anger. And Raphael was not ready to let her be at all. He was also going to make sure that she would regret everything she tried to do with him. So it multiplied all her work. He made all her work excess that she did not even have a chance to do anything. She could not even stay an hour after lunch break resting because she was given so much work.

Meanwhile, as Raphael had no excuses for giving all the work to Athena, he decided to suck most of the maids, leaving all the work mainly on Athena's neck. But she did not give up, and that did not cause her ego and pride as she still continued to do all the job effortlessly without even complaining at all. And it frustrated Raphael even more. Till an afternoon when he was unable to hold it in. He stood on the veranda with one of his favorite concubines. As she played a chess game with him on the balcony, he continued to stare at Athena, who was cleaning the garden just at the corner of the palace compound.

Meanwhile, he could not help but smile at her as he watched her do all the job effortlessly and even singing. That amused him even more. He couldn't help but wonder why it was that despite the fact that he gave her all those chores, she had been sold by her stepfather and she was sleeping in a room no different from his cell. She still always had a smile on her face and always seemed to be so happy. It annoyed him so much it made him feel like he should just continue to give her more and more work to make her even more frustrated. But even with everything and all the cruelty he had given and shown to her, it still made her even stronger. And he could not just bear to watch that happen.

His concubine soon noticed that his attention was fixed on Athena, who was busy. As she raised her hand in front of his face, bringing him back to reality, she couldn't help but smile.

"I noticed this maid you brought with you the other day has taken all your attention, and you always just want to show her how wicked you are despite the fact that you are not like that. I know you very well, and I know you are not that kind of person. But I don't know why you are proving to be like that in the presence of the maid," she said.

"I feel like it's not something like that."

"Bianca, it is just that she annoys me so much. She tries to act like her pride is one of the best things she has. She has nothing. She does not even have a spoon to her name. But with that pride, she's ready to act like she's better than even the queen of this park," he said in annoyance as Bianca laughed.

"Well then, you don't have to put all your attention on her. It's because she knows that you are so fixed on watching her downfall that she cannot help but be so positive in everything she wants. She wants you to be weak, and she wants you to continue to pester her like that. She is dragging for your attention," Bianca advised, but that did not stop Raphael from continuously staring at her.

Athena too soon got to realize that Raphael's gaze was fixed at her, so she decided to show him that she was still that stubborn person that he could not get his hands on. She looked up at him directly, and slowly a smirk grew on her face, making Raphael so angry that he reached his boiling point.

He looked at Bianca and immediately faked his smile. "I am tired of this chess. We should play it another day. I need to attend to some important meetings," he lied as he stormed away. As he walked towards his main chambers, one of the guards who was following behind him stopped as he turned around.

"Get me Athena now and make sure she's clean before coming to my room," he muttered to the guard so silently so no one else would hear as he stepped in. He continued to pace back and forth in frustration, thinking of how he could even torment Athena in a way that she won't help but plead for his mercy.

A few minutes later he heard a knock on his door and without even waiting a second, he motioned for the person to come in. The door slowly creaked open as Athena stepped in.

"You called for me, Alpha Raphael," she muttered, but still, her pride was in her voice.

"Why were you purposely acting like you don't care in the garden? Couldn't you at least look up and greet me?" he began as Athena could not help but smile.

"What exactly do you want me to do? Do you want me to go crazy or what?" she questioned and then looked away.

It made Raphael very angry as he rushed towards her and leaped to her arm, firmly pulling her so close to him that their breath could be felt on each other’s face. But yet Athena did not seem to be moved at all.

"You are always proving to be so stubborn, and I don't know what else to do with you," he said. But that was not how Raphael felt at all. Instead, he felt a wave of feeling in him, something he had never felt for any woman, and it frustrated him. At first, he thought maybe all that feeling was because he was angry at Athena for not being moved by everything that he did. But now he noticed it was not just ordinary.

"Am I beginning to have feelings for Athena?" he thought to himself. But Athena, who was still very angry and just wanted to escape, tried to push herself away from him, which brought Raphael back to his senses.

"What is wrong with you?" he said to her angrily as she smiled.

"Let me go. You seem so lost in thoughts. What do you want? Nothing can actually happen between the both of us. I just want to remind you of that," she said to him.

It made Raphael so angry that he angrily slapped Athena on the cheek as she felt it in her face; it had become so red as she tried her best to still act firm.

It made Raphael so angry. "What exactly is your problem?" he said, and Athena made sure to reply to him with the right answer.

"I should be asking you that. I should be asking you what exactly is your own problem, not mine. You are the one just being so obsessed over me," she yelled.

It made Raphael even more angry. "I am not obsessed over you. Get that into your brain. I am trying to correct you so you know how to serve me right and not disgrace me when I take you out with me!"

"Then don't take me out," she replied, not even letting him finish his sentence.

He was boiling in anger, but at the same time, he was having this kind of intense s****l feelings towards her as he pulled her close to him and tried to forcefully get through to her. But she quickly covered her mouth with force, making Raphael even more angry as he slapped her even more harshly on the cheek.

It broke her into pieces. As she fell to the ground, he was met with a fierce glare from her eyes, and for a moment, he saw something in her that made him pause immediately.