The Equation of Hearts

√𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟸ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـﮩ٨ـﮩ

After the photoshoot, the girls found themselves starving and craving. It was common tradition: and with the heat of summer as well as the exhaustion of modelling in the open beach - they just wanted to sit in an air-conditioned space and enjoy something cold and refreshing. Athena was looking back at the beach. She was there the other day. Hard to believe she had that moment of weakness she did back then: she passed up the opportunity of getting in a hotel with Kato. For shame. She'd repent.

They looked around the street with their bodyguard behind them silently. Both were almost impressed, he hadn't uttered a single word. No matter who spoke to him. He was practically a mute. Of course that was no different to how he often was. But it felt more suffocating with the tension already there. It added an extra few pounds of weight to the atmosphere he brought around him, knowing that it was contextual. Athena wondered what her little sister could possibly see in a man like that. Not that she could say anything, he was attractive - and who didn't like the deep, brooding type once in a while? Strong and mysterious: he was the dark horse of a roster. Oh, what she'd do to see him in that form fitter again. But to prevent digressing further: to genuinely form an emotional connection so soon? How long had it even been? Athena wouldn't understand. To her very name: she was attractive. All men seemed the same to her. And her mother was that and more. So a better question was: how did her mum get lucky enough to find love?

"Hey mum?" Athena suddenly asked mid-conversation.

"Yes dear?" She tilted her head,

"How'd you manage to like... trust dad? Look at us: Goddess amongst mortals. Men come and go. So what made you pick correctly," she tilted her head. Both Elena and Kato internally disagreed. Since clearly, he was the living proof that she didn't always pick Adonis.

"Hm... is this because of all of your past relationships?" She giggled at her daughter who sighed in egotistical defeat and nodded, "well~ I had someone make sure I wasn't able to explore much." She recalled, "not that I did. You have your father's charismatic personality. I was very socially awkward," she confessed and scratched her cheek. In Kato's world: she still kind of was. "So I wasn't all too charming when I was your age. Plus... I knew I was going to stay with your father when, for the first time, I stopped following the person who protected me... and I stopped listening to them. I let myself free from their restraints." She sighed with contentment. Her brother... hated Adonis back then. But for the first time in her life after her brother had left the hospital: she went against his wishes and got into a relationship with Adonis. It was the most liberating experience she had. And she didn't regret it. "Being with your father was liberating. And he made me feel great about it. He held my hand and sure, he was my first boyfriend so I hit the bullseye instantly, but he really sets the bar high for what a relationship should be. Maybe you should ask him for relationship advice." She nodded back to Kato, who was assessing what she had said with great attention.

Did she truly feel restrained until she met Adonis? Was that the case in all worlds? He didn't want to question too deeply into how happy his mother could possibly be in his world. With thoughts so deep and worrisome for Kato he completely ignored Athena's question. She asked him, but he didn't respond. It wasn't even seen as rude anymore, it was just expected. But he was truly thinking about it. Did his mother feel that way? He wanted to keep an open mind and truly, his heart would rip into fragments with the information he figured out - but he still had to learn it. That was the terrible truth. So to suddenly see the view that his mother may not have ever wanted his father in the first place. Though it hurt; he knew he had to acknowledge it. He wasn't a kid anymore. But he abhorred the image of his mother shackled down by her unspoken principle with her brother. And it hurt more to think his father wouldn't ever feel the same, loving her truly, her whole spirit, heart and soul when he did.