The Rise Of The Unwanted Girl (Athena) novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316

Athena’s fingers clenched the hem of her skirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

A raging fire burned in Athena’s chest, scorching her throat dry.

Athena ground her teeth and said to Nicolas, I won’t stand by and watch her die.”

Nicolas thought Athena had finally relented, and his heart eased. Before he could even smile, Athena continued coldly, “I will send every last person who hurt Grandfather to prison. I cannot forgive them on his behalf, nor for the more than one hundred members of the Monson family.

The day I risked my life walking out of the duke’s estate over those blades, I’d already repaid any debt to all of you. Don’t you dare. speak to me of favors anymore. That woman doesn’t deserve to be called my mother, and I refuse to acknowledge her as such.”

Athena suddenly looked up, her gaze, like daggers of ice beneath her lashes. Her voice turned glacial. “You brought this ruin upon yourselves. This is nothing but retribution.”

Nicolas stared at Athena in shock, as if he were looking at a monster.

Nicolas pleaded. “But you’re my sister, Athena. Mother may have made countless mistakes, but she was only trying to protect herself and us. I’m not asking for anything else. Just say a few kind words to spare her life. Is that really too much to ask?”

Nicolas roared in anguish. He knew that Eloise’s crimes were grave enough to warrant her execution.

Nicolas wasn’t asking for Eloise’s freedom. He only begged Athena to show mercy and spare Eloise’s life.

But Athena wouldn’t even grant this mercy. Nicolas felt that her heart was truly made of stone.

Athena glared at Nicolas, her voice trembling with anger. “Why should the entire Monson family pay for her crimes? Do you even realize how many died on the road to exile? There were children. Some were even babies who were not yet two years old. How utterly innocent those people were!

“You care for your mother, but weren’t their lives just as precious? Tell me, Nicolas. Who’s truly the heartless one here?”

Athena scoffed coldly, her heart hammering so violently it threatened to burst through her ribs.

She said, “When it comes to cruelty, every last one of you in the duke’s estate outdoes vipers a hundredfold. I survived by sheer dumb luck, not because you ever showed me mercy. Would you dare claim that if I had stayed in that estate, you would have ever spared me?”

Nicolas stared at Athena in stunned silence, utterly speechless.

Nicolas’s eyes darted around frantically. A strained, unconvincing reply escaped his throat as he forced out, “You’re my sister, Athena. How could I ever wish you dead?”

Athena scoffed coldly, her lips curling into a mocking smile. “Do you honestly believe that?”

Nicolas looked into Athena’s disappointed eyes, and his resolve suddenly wavered.

He thought, ‘Wasn’t it precisely because Athena had hurt Willow that I exiled her to the military camp in the first place?

For three whole years, I turned a blind eye and abandoned Athena to her fate.

“Athena loaths us with every fiber of her being.

“But I couldn’t just leave like this. What about my mother? What about the duke’s estate?

Nicolas’s face twisted with remorse as he desperately pleaded with Athena, “I was truly wrong. Please, sister, give me another chance. Let me make it up to you.”

Athena didn’t believe a single word he said. She scoffed, “Lord Nicolas, I’m no longer a toddler you can pacify with a piece of cake.

“After three years of torment, all I ever wanted was to stay away from you. I never once harbored any murderous intent. But when it comes to Grandfather’s case, I will never yield an inch.”

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Chapter 316

Athena looked at Nicolas coldly and sneered, “The only reason I broke ties with you people was because I knew you’d never let me go. You’d scheme to squeeze every last ounce of worth from me.

“Had you known about my medical skills, you would’ve kept me locked up in this estate forever. So, tell me. What exactly would you have done to me then?”

With each word Athena uttered, a little more color drained from Nicolas’s face.

Nicolas suddenly couldn’t bring himself to meet Athena’s gaze. Her words laid bare the thoughts he’d been concealing in his heart.

Athena continued, “You would have sold me to Fermin without a second thought, even if it meant making me his mistress. You’d never think I would be wronged that way. Instead, you would say that I have gotten the best deal of my life.

“In your eyes, I’ve never been a real person, just a commodity to be traded at the highest price.

You’d stop at nothing to squeeze every last drop of benefit, just to cling to your laughable title as heir apparent.”

Athena’s smile grew even more brazen as she stepped forward, towering over Nicolas. She sneered. You fancy yourself a genius, cloaked in your heir’s mantle and lording it over everyone. But let me tell you this.

“You’re not half as capable as you think. You’re mediocre, devoid of wit. All that superiority comes solely from your title. Strip that a and you’re worth less than the lowliest person in this world.”

Nicolas’s face turned deathly pale from Athena’s scathing words, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

His eyes were bloodshot Nicolas glared at Athena and felt that he was stripped bare like a humiliated clown with his ugliest self laid completely exposed.

away.

Nicolas protested indignantly, “You’re spouting utter nonsense. My contributions to the duke’s estate all these years are plain as day for

everyone to see…”

Athena cut him off with a sneer. “Come on now. The only reason the duke’s estate is still standing is that Grandmother held it together. The business was all Fiona’s doing. Even your position as vice minister of the Justice Ministry came from the duke pulling strings for

you.

“You’re blind and clueless, so you ended up letting outsiders twist you around their finger, while turning ruthlessly on your own family. The downfall of the duke’s estate rests entirely on your shoulders.

“You have achieved absolutely nothing. How dare you parade as the heir apparent?”

Every word Athena uttered struck Nicolas’s rawest nerves.

Nicolas’s eyes widened in disbelieving shock, utterly refusing to acknowledge the harsh truth.

He said, “No, I’m not the useless fool you take me for. I have contributed to the duke’s estate!”

Nicolas shrieked impotently, unable to produce a single shred of evidence.

Athena watched Nicolas fall apart, sneering inwardly. “Even your so–called affection for Willow was for personal gain. I refuse to believe you’d go to such lengths to protect someone who shares no blood with you.”

Nicolas blurted out desperately. “No! I truly love Willow…”

Maybe it was the shock, but Nicolas blurted out the words without thinking.

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