From Betrayal to Brilliance Her Rise to a New Life novel Chapter 387

**TITLE: Her Rise 387**

Athena had long ago made a solemn promise to herself, a vow forged in the fires of her past: she would never look back. The weight of her history had become a burden she was determined to shed, a heavy chain she refused to wear any longer. Each memory was a specter, a reminder of the pain she had endured, and she was resolute in her decision to move forward, leaving the shadows behind.

“Lewis, that’s more than enough! I won’t engage in this conversation any longer. The past is nothing but a shadow to me now!” Her voice rang out with fierce conviction, an echo of the bitterness that had taken root in her heart. Lewis had been the architect of her suffering, the one who had dragged their once-beautiful memories through the muck, leaving her with nothing but sorrow and regret in their wake.

Yet here he stood, or rather, here he was on the other end of the line, trying to piece together the remnants of their shattered relationship with hands stained by his own failures. All he accomplished was to tarnish every last cherished recollection that lingered in her mind like a fading photograph.

“If you’ve called just to rehash this, I’m hanging up. Let’s not waste each other’s time,” she asserted, her patience fraying like an old thread, ready to snap at any moment.

“Wait! I need to tell you something!” His voice shifted, desperation creeping in, laced with a hint of panic that sent a jolt of unease through her. “It’s about our child. I want to share everything I know.”

Athena felt fury surge through her veins, igniting a fire within her chest. How dare he bring up their child? If he hadn’t lost himself in his obsession with Nina, they wouldn’t have been estranged from their own flesh and blood for so long.

“Lewis, how could you even mention our child?” Athena’s laughter was cold, a bitter sound that echoed in the silence of the room like a haunting melody. Her eyes blazed with indignation as she clenched her jaw tightly, her heart racing with a mix of anger and hurt. “If you hadn’t been so consumed by your infatuation with Nina’s baby, you wouldn’t have taken mine away from me. I’ve spent all these years apart from my own flesh and blood!”

“Do you have any idea how it felt when I discovered Dion was Nina’s son?” The pain in her voice sliced through the air like a knife, each word laden with years of heartache. “I loved him as if he were my own for seven long years! If you’re just trying to manipulate me into helping you escape prison, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Athena’s mind raced, convinced that this was yet another one of Lewis’s schemes to pull her back into his tangled web of lies. She had no desire to listen to him any longer; every second spent in this conversation felt like a betrayal of her own resolve.

The line fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the sound of Lewis’s ragged breathing. After what felt like an eternity, his voice emerged, rough and low, filled with an urgency that made her heart race. “Athena, I’m not asking for your help. I know I’ve made terrible mistakes, and I’m paying for them. I understand that nothing can ever undo what I’ve done. But there are things I need to tell you—things that could lead you to our child.”

A frown deepened on Athena’s face, suspicion bubbling within her like a pot about to boil over. She remained silent, allowing the tension to hang in the air like a storm cloud, waiting for him to elaborate, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Please, come visit me tomorrow, and I’ll explain everything,” Lewis urged, his tone softer now, almost pleading, as if he could sense the walls she had built around her heart.

Athena felt her patience evaporate like mist in the morning sun, frustration coursing through her. “I’m hanging up,” she said firmly, her finger hovering over the disconnect button, ready to sever the connection that had caused her so much pain.

Just as she was about to end the call, Lewis’s voice sliced through her resolve like a blade. “Athena, the man you slept with all those years ago wasn’t me!”

Her heart raced, and she quickly pressed the phone back to her ear, disbelief flooding her senses. “What did you just say?”

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