Chapter 239: Long Night III
Athena lifted her head from Antonio’s shoulder, cutting his mocking laughter short.
She took her lower lip in slowly, trying to understand why she felt so guilt-pricked at the sight of Ewan looking so downcast. Was it because Mr. and Mrs. Thorne were regarding her with a plea and a taint of sorrow? Or was it something else?
She looked at her children. They appeared just as confused as she was. However, Kathleen’s face was also besotted with another emotion—pity.
Athena chewed on her lower lip and realized she needed to salvage the situation because it was quite bad. Ewan was here to see the children, not to get humiliated.
"What is the name of the book?" She finally spoke, retrieving her hand from Antonio’s grip and breaking the tense silence. If she felt bad about this, then it was bad.
Ewan might have done a lot of things, but at this moment, she needed to cut him some slack. Moreover, there had to be a reason for why he had gotten her books.
She recalled the last gift he had given her, and her brow furrowed now as she watched Gianna peer into the gift bag again. Her heart rate picked up as a knowing feeling rose within her—could it be Coleen’s?
She nodded slowly in resignation, looking at Ewan a second later, when Gianna met her gaze and spoke up. "It’s from your favorite author, Coleen Hoover."
Of course, Athena thought, not sure what to do with the varying feelings swelling up within her, especially as Ewan’s head remained bowed. Antonio’s laugh must have dealt a significant blow to his ego.
Yet, wasn’t that why she had wanted Antonio here? To destroy whatever hope Ewan had concerning her and the children?
"Ewan, thank you. Old Mr. Thorne is right. You give thoughtful gifts," She said, getting to her feet, accepting the gift from Gianna. A smile touched her lips when she saw the titles of the books—they were the recent releases from the author.