From Betrayal to Brilliance Her Rise to a New Life novel Chapter 120

From Betrayal to Brilliance: Her Rise to a New Life

Chapter 120 I Had No Choice

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“Uh…” Harriet sank onto the couch, looking sheepish. “I’m not sure if it’ll work out yet. When the time comes, I’ll introduce him to you.”

Athena nodded faintly. “Alright. I’ll wait.”

Seeing that Athena hadn’t suspected a thing, Harriet finally relaxed.

Maybe because everyone was in a good mood, the night got pretty lively. Even Athena had lost track of how many glasses she’d drunk, and by the time she made it back to her room, she barely remembered the journey.

She vaguely remembered being held by a pair of strong arms, and she snuggled in, feeling way too comfortable.

The next morning, Athena awoke slowly.

Her eyes opened to a broad, well–defined chest right in front of her, and for a split second, she felt as if she’d been struck by lightning.

Wait… What’s going on?

Her gaze traveled upward, and sure enough, she came face–to–face with an impossibly handsome face.

Zaden.

I slept next to Zaden?

Athena’s mind almost short–circuited. She scrambled to look at herself and, seeing her clothes still perfectly intact, finally let out a shaky sigh of relief.

But that relief was short–lived. Her expression immediately shifted to one of panic.

Yes, they had slept next to each other, but not in any adult sense. It was like two people taking an innocent nap together.

Athena’s heart raced.

At a moment like this, she felt like she should jump up immediately, put some distance between them, and act like nothing had happened.

But… the weight of Zaden’s arm draped across her waist made the idea impossible.

If she moved, he would definitely wake up.

11:23 Wed, Oct 22

Chapter 1201 Had No Choice

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She could already picture the awkward moment, with both of them staring at each other in frozen silence.

That would be even worse.

So, she figured it was safer to just play dead and pretend to still be asleep. Once he woke up and got out of bed, she could get up and act as though nothing had occurred.

She decided that was the safest plan.

Athena had just decided to close her eyes again when the bedroom door suddenly swung open.

Harriet stumbled in, hair tousled and eyes half–lidded with sleep. The moment she saw the scene before her, her body jolted, and her eyes went wide.

“Oh, my god!”

Harriet blurted, unable to contain herself. “Holy crap, my dream came true?”

Athena let out a helpless sigh. Great. It’s over now.

Zaden stirred awake at Harriet’s voice, his gaze still blurry. When he noticed Athena buried under the blanket like a shy ostrich, he slowly sat up.

Harriet, seeing this, couldn’t resist a mischievous grin.

“Uh… Ahem … I’ll just step out. I didn’t see a thing. Nothing at all. You two carry on and ignore me.”

Then the door banged shut behind her.

Zaden pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked at Athena, still frozen in her cover–up position, clearly refusing to face reality.

“Athena.” He gently tugged the blanket off her head. “Get up.”

Seeing there was no escape, Athena sat up, cheeks burning crimson.

…

She forced a casual tone. “Wow Looks like we both drank too much last night. I honestly can’t remember a thing, haha

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Her awkward laugh made everything even more embarrassing.

She started to rise, intending to leave, when Zaden’s calm voice stopped her. “You really don’t remember?”

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Chapter 120 | Had No Choice

Athena froze, heart skipping a beat.

What does he mean? Did … something actually happen last night?

No. No, that can’t be true.

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She sank back down, guilt written across her face. “Mr. Storm, if I did anything out of line last night, please don’t blame me. I honestly don’t remember. If you want to hold me responsible, I can make it up to you.”

Zaden couldn’t help the small smile tugging at his lips as he watched her panic.

“And how exactly would you make it up to me?” he asked lazily.

Uh… Athena blinked, speechless.

She had been sincerely apologizing–normally, people wouldn’t push it further. Especially since if anything had happened, the woman would be at a disadvantage.

When she finally looked up, she caught the faint amusement in his eyes.

Athena realized instantly–she’d been played.

He’d asked on purpose, never actually expecting her to “make it up” to him.

Their clothes were intact, so it was obvious nothing had happened. Luckily, it had all been a false alarm.

“You were drunk last night,” Zaden explained softly. “I carried you back to your room, but you wouldn’t let

go of my arm. I couldn’t free it, so I had no choice but to lie down next to you.”

Athena listened in stunned silence, slowly piecing together exactly what had happened.

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