Chapter 195 Ask Your Brother
Could it have been the male leads? According to the novel, Hera’s death and her family’s downfall happened after the male leads teamed up to take on the Avery family. They eventually defeated the ultimate villain, whose boundless ruthlessness posed a severe threat, particularly targeting the male leads and especially Alice.
But no matter how hard she thought about it, she couldn’t understand why the novel portrayed Hera that way. It seemed as if Hera’s intelligence was deliberately lowered to cater to the victories of the female lead and the second female lead. Was the Hera in the novel really that naive and overtrusting? Or was her perspective altered because of Athena? Athena played a significant role in these changes, teaching Hera what she needed to remember, how to think strategically, and how to stand firm when dealing with people.
She knew that all of this was only possible because of Athena’s intervention. Feeling fortunate to have such a good friend by her side, Hera decided to treat Athena to more combo meals later on. A slight smile graced her lips at the thought.
Hera could feel the intensity of Alexi’s gaze, filled with emotions she neither understood nor cared to decipher. It surprised her to realize that she no longer felt anything about Alexi standing up for Minerva. She began to question if she ever truly loved Alexi or if she had merely gone along with him, believing that since Alexi deviated from the storyline, she could also change her fate. Perhaps she only thought she loved him because she was trying to alter the course of her destiny.
If she did love Alexi, it wasn’t as deep as the love the Hera in the novel felt for him. Perhaps she simply had high self-worth and loved herself enough to let go of her feelings easily. Regardless of the reason, even if she didn’t fully understand it herself, what mattered now was that she no longer had any feelings for Alexi.
When Alexi demanded to know what she meant, Hera simply looked at him with a calm expression. Her silence was misinterpreted by Alexi, who thought she was only acting out of anger because Minerva had taunted her. He assumed Hera was playing hard to get to reignite his love for her, thinking she wanted to make him desire her more. Confident in his interpretation, Alexi kept a smirk on his face, his gaze softening as he looked at Hera’s beautiful face. He longed to see her smile at him again and her lips call his name as sweetly as honey, just as she used to.
He believed Hera’s tactic was working on him, making him desire her even more. Every night, he had vivid dreams about her, and just thinking of her was enough to make his cock turn hard instantly. As he gazed at her now, he felt his throat go dry, his longing for her intensifying.
"Hera, did you say that just to spite me?" Alexi asked, his voice neutral but his eyes warm with affection. Everyone around them noticed the underlying tension and understood the dynamics at play. In their social circle, it was common for men to have secret lovers and mistresses, so no one thought badly of Alexi. In fact, the men around were nodding in agreement with his choices. Both Hera and Minerva were beautiful, and while one offered him a career, the other offered him love. Alexi had managed to secure both, a situation that many men envied.
After noticing the other men’s reactions, Alexi felt emboldened and tightened his grip on Hera’s arm as he repeated his question. "What do you mean? Care to explain?" There was a teasing smile on his face. Meanwhile, Minerva remained clueless, believing Alexi was giving Hera a hard time and relishing in the spectacle. She imagined Alexi was defending her honor in front of everyone, like a knight in shining armor. Her love-struck eyes couldn’t see how others viewed her—they scoffed at how she was allowing her boyfriend to openly pursue another woman in front of so many people.