Dear Ex Wife Please take me back by The Every Woman

Chapter 92 ~ A box

ATHENA

My breath catches.

"What?" I whisper. My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag as suspicion, curiosity, and confusion tangle in my chest.

"That doesn't make sense..." What kind of task?"

He doesn't smile, but there's something soft in his eyes. "They knew you'd be here at one point. Your mother planned this visit down to the year. She said you'd come when you were ready."

I stare at him, finding the whole ideal ridiculous, "I have been coming here every year-"

"Except last year." He interrupts me, and my heart jumps to my throat.

Is he a stalker?

Everything inside me screams to be cautious, but something else, a deeper pull, urges me forward. The way he said their names.

The certainty in his voice

Call it a hunch or stupidity, but I feel like I can trust him.

"Where are we going?" I ask, my voice quieter now.

He exhales slowly, almost like he's relieved I didn't walk away. "Just a short walk. There's a box... in my car. Your parents left it for you."

I hesitate for a beat longer, then slowly nod, my heart pounding loud in my ears. This is how people end up dead.

"Okay,” I say, my voice sounding more stable than I feel. "But if this is some kind of-"

cuts in gently. "You'll understand soon,

has faced death twice,

down the cemetery path, leaves crunching beneath our steps, I can't

beside an old black sedan

the windows gleam, and something about the car feels... creepy, like it's been waiting here in secret

a medium-sized box wrapped in

the box gently on the hood of the car. "Just like they asked me

heart racing, unsure whether to

seems like a smart

much the opposite, so instead of running, I

voice trembling. "Why you? Why not family? A lawyer? Someone I

the box. "Because I was never supposed to be known. Your parents hired me when you were five. I was their bodyguard, but also their shadow. A failsafe. Your mum called me their insurance

the family photos, Athena. I was behind them. Always watching. Always protecting. You didn't know me because you weren't

mind reels. A hidden bodyguard? A secret

"They were working on something: revolutionary.

stop hereditary

reset the heart's

him, stunned. "That's...

They succeeded. But the people funding it? They saw dollar signs, not Your

didn't. They wanted control, patents, and profits. When your parents

the truth slamming into me

answer, but his silence

against the car, the

it was a

but their enemies saw an opportunity

to keep you from digging too soon, I stayed in the shadows