Bound by Honor

Chapter 5: Unexpected Allies

The engagement party had come and gone, leaving a trail of mixed emotions in its wake. Athena had spent the rest of the evening speaking with her mother and various family friends, plastering on that polished, insincere smile that had become second nature to her. But beneath the surface, she still felt the sting of Leandro’s defense of her against Jeremy’s mockery. It was a complication she didn’t have the time or energy to untangle.

The next morning, she found herself back at her apartment, the familiar walls closing in on her like a trap. She took off her heels and sank into the plush armchair by the window, the weight of everything pressing heavily on her chest. Why did it feel like Leandro had seen right through her?

Her phone buzzed on the coffee table, and she picked it up, seeing a message from her father.

"Meeting at the office this afternoon. Bring your best ideas."

Athena let out a sigh, replying with a simple "Of course," before setting the phone back down.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was merely a pawn in someone else’s game—a piece in a decades-old feud that had nothing to do with her own choices or desires.

Her thoughts turned to Leandro, still fresh in her mind despite her best efforts to dismiss him. Separate lives, he’d said. As if they could really put up barriers between their worlds.

---

Leandro had spent the night after the engagement party holed up in his studio, staring at the canvas in front of him with a blank, unseeing stare. The room still smelled of linseed oil and old paint, but today, there was an edge of bitterness woven through the scent.

He scrubbed a hand through his hair, feeling the frustration coil tighter and tighter in his chest. Separate lives. That had been Athena’s suggestion, their tentative agreement. A marriage in name only, a way to keep their families happy while they both went back to the lives they’d built before this ill-fated union.

But as he stared at the canvas, the vibrant, unfiltered chaos of his art felt hollow, as if it was just one more layer of noise to drown out the truth. How had it come to this?

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts, and he opened it to find Athena standing there, her eyes guarded and tired. “Can I come in?” she asked, her tone neutral.

“Why not?” Leandro replied, stepping back to let her in. “It’s not like I have a choice anymore.”

Athena ignored the barb, stepping inside and looking around the studio with a mix of curiosity and distaste. “Nice place you’ve got here,” she said, her voice tight.

Leandro raised an eyebrow, taking in the faintly disapproving line of her mouth, the way she barely glanced at anything beyond the mess. “I’ll make sure to put it on the market after the wedding,” he shot back.

Athena’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she didn’t respond, instead choosing to sink into one of the unoccupied chairs in the corner of the room. “So, this is it, then. We’re really just going through with the charade.”

Leandro leaned against one of the easels, arms crossed over his chest. “You’ve got a better idea?”

Athena’s lips pressed into a thin line. “At least I’d like the illusion of choice.”

Leandro rolled his eyes, frustration sparking behind them. “Is that what this is, Athena? An illusion? A game we’re both playing because our families told us to?”

She met his gaze, and for a brief, startling moment, he saw the flash of raw, unvarnished emotion in her eyes—a mix of anger and resignation. “That’s what it feels like.”