Chapter 213

Athena turned in surprise to see a dashing woman leaning against a pillar. She had her arms crossed and an arrogant look, as she chewed a piece of straw between her teeth. Seemingly quite pleased with her handiwork, she provocatively tilted her chin at Willow and sneered, “Right, Miss Monson?”

Willow felt as if she’d been stripped naked, her face burning crimson with shame. At this moment, she wished the ground would just swallow her whole. That single address of “Miss Monson” utterly mortified her, as she wasn’t related to the Monson family by blood, as she was only their adopted daughter. The real Miss Monson was Athena. Willow’s tears streamed down her cheeks, and this time, they were undeniably real.

Willow wanted to step forward to confront her, but another noble lady grabbed her wrist tightly and shook her head urgently. The lady advised, “Willow, don’t argue with her. She’s an infamous wild card, and her father is Alfred Beren from the Ministry of Finance.”

The last three words were barely more than a whisper, yet each syllable was chillingly distinct. Willow’s eyes widened instantly, her gaze at the woman now filled with terror. Alfred had a dreadful reputation in court, and all loathed him. Yet when it came to his daughter, he was a total pushover, a true softie. If his precious daughter were ever wronged, Alfred would camp outside the offender’s door and relentlessly reprimand them for days. Willow prided herself on her noble standing, and she couldn’t stoop to arguing with a woman like that. As such, all she could do was bite her tongue and swallow her indignation.

Natasha Beren seemed utterly unfazed by the crowd’s stares, wearing a taunting grin. She asked, “What’s this? Cat got your tongues?” She stood there slouched, her words dripping with aggression. The mere sight scared all the onlookers, so what noble lady would ever want to talk to her? To them, she was like the plague, and they couldn’t wait to get as far away from her as possible.

Even Janice knitted her brows and tugged at Athena’s sleeve. “Let’s go sit by the pavilion,” she whispered. Seating areas were arranged around the grounds for the noble ladies to socialize over coffee.

Athena’s eyes sparkled with peculiar interest as she gazed at Natasha. Turning to the others, she said, “You all go ahead. I have some words to exchange with her.”

Janice looked startled, unable to fathom why Athena would have anything to say to a woman like that. Yet she couldn’t sway Athena’s mind, so she simply gestured to the others and said, “Let’s go ahead, everyone.”

The group of noble ladies then followed Janice and departed.

Chapter 213

“Why the hell are you such a pushover? Getting bullied and not even fighting back?” Natasha strode up to Athena, glaring at her with open hostility as she spoke. Towering half a head above Athena, and with her unmistakably masculine demeanor, anyone unfamiliar with her would easily mistake her.

Athena smiled at her and said, “You haven’t changed a bit since we were kids!” When they were young, Athena and Natasha had played together during her maternal grandfather’s birthday celebration. Alfred had brought Natasha along to offer his respects on that special occasion. At that time, Athena had received a muskmelon from her grandfather and had eagerly offered it to Michael only to be coldly brushed off. Michael knocked the muskmelon to the ground, leaving Athena heartbroken as tears streamed down her face.

It was at that very moment that Natasha showed up. Back then, she said the exact same thing: “Why the hell are you such a pushover?” After all these years, Athena found it oddly endearing to hear those words again.

Athena looked at her with curious eyes and asked, “So, I heard you’ve been off adventuring all these years and just got back?” Having her childhood playmate suddenly show up and stand up for her, Athena couldn’t help but feel a strange warmth toward Natasha.

Natasha spat out the straw and gave her a rogue’s grin, saying, “Wah, the nomadic life is still the best. Ever since I got back, nothing feels right. If my old man hadn’t dragged me to that gala dinner, I wouldn’t have bothered showing up.”

At this point, she looked earnestly at Athena and added, “There were just too many people at the last palace banquet. So, I didn’t recognize you tonight. Without a word, she stepped forward and cupped Athena’s face in both hands, turning it side to side with exaggerated scrutiny before remarking, "They say a girl changes beyond recognition as she grows up. How true is that! If that little bitch hadn’t called your name, I might not have recognized you at all!”

Athena’s face was squished out of shape between Natasha’s hands, her little mouth puckered up like a hamster caught stealing food. She quickly freed her face from Natasha’s hands and forced an awkward smile, asking, “Really?”

“Yeah, you’re uglier than before,” Natasha said with complete seriousness. “You used to have such a real, carefree smile. But now, whenever you smile, it just feels like you’re wearing a mask.”

Natasha had no idea what Athena had been through. Had she known, she would never have made that statement.

Natasha was being her usual blunt self, but Athena didn’t mind. She simply said, “No one stays the same as when they were a kid. People change.”

“Damn right! Is Michael going to marry Willow? That’s just insane,” Natasha looked at Athena with exasperation and asked. “How could you let someone else take what’s yours?”

Athena looked at her seriously and said, “It’s not that I couldn’t keep him, it’s that I chose to let him go.”

Natasha’s eyes lit up and she grinned, “Now that’s more like it.”

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared in Natasha’s line of sight and it was Michael himself. Michael stared, astonished, in Athena’s direction, his scorching glare practically turning Natasha to ashes. Natasha was puzzled by the hostility at first, but when she glanced at her clothes, realization dawned on her instantly.

Chapter 213

That bastard’s jealous, she thought in amusement. She scoffed inwardly, he’s about to marry Willow. So why the hell is he jealous? Seriously, he wants to have the best of both worlds.

Natasha’s eyes gleamed with mischief as she playfully ruffled Athena’s hair, and just as she expected, Michael was practically grinding his teeth in fury.

“Athena!” Michael bellowed angrily from behind her.

Before Athena could react, Natasha seized her wrist and dragged her away. “Don’t look! He’s not worth your sight,” Natasha said.

The two jogged to the field and found seats together. Michael caught up, only to find Athena and Natasha seated in the ladies‘ section, which left him perplexed.

Just then, some men nearby started talking. One sneered, “Can you believe that tomboy daughter from Alfred’s family actually came to play polo? With that mannish look, she’ll never get married.”

“Damn right! If I had to marry her, I’d rather become a monk!” another chimed in.

Michael froze as he thought, “Alfred? Was that person just now Natasha!”

Realizing it was her, Michael’s expression darkened even further. His mind reeled, “I haven’t forgotten how Natasha got the better of me when we were kids. That girl was wild and unreasonable, she’s just as stubborn and unyielding as her father. All I did was accidentally knock the muskmelon out of Athena’s hands, and Natasha had the nerve to plop it right onto my head. However, as it was just childish mischief, the whole thing was dropped. But I knew the real reason! Given Alfred’s notorious reputation, no one had dared to challenge her.”

With an icy glare at Natasha, Michael turned and strode toward the gentlemen’s section.

Athena noticed Michael glaring coldly in their direction and frowned. “What’s he throwing a fit about this time?” she thought.

Beside her, Natasha nudged Athena and asked, “Someone just stole your man. Are you just going to let it happen?”

Athena felt a chill run down her spine as she met Natasha’s gaze. She probed, “What are you up to?”

Natasha flashed Athena a toothy grin and spat out the words, “Let’s get him.”