"What’s she doing here?" Tori asked.
"I don’t know," I replied.
She held flowers.How does she know I was in a hospital to begin with?
Nico had stopped Agatha from advancing further, but she didn’t seem to get the message. She was really keen to see me.
"Well whatever she wants, I think it’s best to avoid her. After what she pulled off at the Kings’ mansion, she has made my hit list. When I get rich... She’s the one murder I would get away with," Tori pointed out.
"I wonder what she wants."
"Don’t wonder."
I walked towards the area.
"What are you doing?"
"Catherine..." Reed came to my side.
"It’s okay."
Agatha’s head moved towards my direction as I neared.
"Milady..." Nico said.
He and Reed shared a look as if speaking with their eyes.
"Catherine..." Agatha began with a smile on her lips.
I eyed the bouquet she held before moving to the sunglasses concealing her eyes.
"I heard the news."
"What news?" I asked sternly.
Agatha removed her glasses to reveal her mismatched eyes. "The kind of news the media doesn’t carry."
I stiffened at her words. Is she talking about the Underworld?
"Can we talk?" she offered. "In private?"
"Not happening..." Nico resorted.
"You’re becoming a nuisance..." she said to him.
"And I’m just doing my damn job, respectfully."
"Okay..."
Nico and Reed shot their eyes at me.
"Cat!" Tori scolded.
"We will talk in the lounge..." I glanced at my two bodyguards, who looked like they were about to leap over the next danger headed for me. "You both can watch, from a distance. Is that private enough for you?"
"That will do," Agatha replied.
~☆~
I kept my gaze on the bottle of water before moving it to Agatha, seated across from me.
She was elegant as always, her legs crossed and her sitting position poised, drawing the attention of onlookers who passed by. I didn’t let her intimidate me, but her presence seemed strangling in a way.
"Why did you want to talk?"
She smiled. "It is wrong for a mother-in-law to see her daughter."
Ew!
I grimaced. "I’m not your daughter."
"You don’t like me. What gave you that impression?"
"The kind that you dug into my past relationship and brought the slut my ex cheated on me with to family dinner just to humiliate me in front of Ares’ dad. Oh, did I mention, as far as any mothers go, you’re the worst one?"
"Ah..." she murmured. "That."
"Yes, that and—"
"Forgive me."
What the heck?
I narrowed my eyes. "F-Forgive you?"
"Yes, I’m apologizing, there are no excuses for my... behavior."
I gulped. I honestly didn’t expect that from her.
"What do you want?"
"I heard the news."
"You mentioned."
"You didn’t look so surprised that I did, which means you know about the family business and I’m not talking about stocks."
I clenched and unclenched my hand against my lap.
"So?"
"So... it means you’re important to Ares."
I didn’t miss the shifty tone, and to be honest, it got under my nerves. It was just like his dad, when he mentioned love as if it were something Ares couldn’t receive or experience. I didn’t realize it then, but I do.
"What the fuck is your problem?"
She blinked, taken aback by my abrupt question. "I beg your pardon?"
"You are his mother, aren’t you? Even though he’s not your biological son, shouldn’t you have the decency to act like one and not like some shark?"
Agatha huffed, chuckling slightly.
"Did I say something funny? Is it funny you treat Athena like she’s an outcast and Ares like..." I paused as I clenched my teeth. "... he’s not human."
"I actually came here to see how well you have recovered, but this is a triggering topic."
"What part of this is triggering?" I deadpanned.
"The part where you said I’m his mother."
"Okay... do you prefer stepmother? This is not some fairy tale. You should have been ashamed of yourself for trying to be like the wicked stepmother."
"Wicked? The only person wicked here is Ares..." There was a hurt in her tone, something so deep that it cut like glass. "I see it now... You love him. I didn’t see it then for some reason, but I do now."
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. "He’s my husband, aren’t all wives meant to love their husbands?"
"I never did, but I tried. You know your fair share of the underworld, don’t you? Well, let me give you a piece. My marriage to Elias King was planned, not by me or by my choice, but by my family. Family is power, as you know. My sweetheart Elias was power. He was a Don. Of course, any woman would be proud to sit by his side, but I never was."
I swallowed a lump in my throat. "That’s tragic."
"It is... but in the midst of that I did find love."
"You learned to love him."
She scoffed and looked to the side. "No... I never did. I don’t think I would ever replace the hole Nina left."
Nina? Ares’ mom.
"Someone else took my hand and gave me all the love I needed." She smiled through her eyes almost like she could recall a memory of bliss.
I, on the other hand, felt sick. "You cheated? Right. Tell me, was he young like Theo?"
Agatha hesitated before she replied. "Yes, as you know, age is just a number, and Theo was a means to an end. This was different."
"Is that some kind of an excuse you give yourself?"
"It was never meant to be an excuse."
She was more pitiful than I thought.
"I think we have shared our talk quite enough, don’t you agree?"
"Do you know why Ares is incapable of loving anyone?"
Her words stopped me before I could rise from my seat.
"Because Ares has only ever loved one woman."
My heart raced, and I hated myself for asking. "W-Who?"
"Me."