Troy And Athena (Forbidden Love Series Book 15)

However, Athena's granny didn't recover even in the next two weeks. Her condition started deteriorating. Athena was able to sell off the shop and the rented wing to her house. She was able to pay for the hospital expenses with the money. The police officers helped her clear her mom's debt but after clearing all the dues, there was hardly any money left in her hands. 

Amidst all this, she hadn't been able to go to her school at all. So it didn't surprise her when her job was terminated at Merryhill. Now the biggest challenge for Athena was how to take care of her granny's medical costs. She needed a well paying job and soon. As luck would have it, her phone too didn't cooperate with her. In her haste it fell from her hands one day and broke to pieces, beyond repair. She didn't have the money to buy a new one.

Thankfully, one of the officers helped her get a job at one of the most happening art galleries in the city. It was nearest to the hospital and the pay was twice what she was getting at Merryhill. Although she was just an Art Gallery Intern, she started learning more than she ever did at Merryhill. However the medical expenses started rising and her job wasn't enough to pay for those costs. She had to act soon. 

Her only way was to sell the house. The people who bought the other wing of her house gave her a good offer. Their immediate family was shifting to Vegas and needed a place to live. They were interested in buying the house and although Athena quoted a higher price, they agreed. She packed her stuff and shifted to a small hostel room near the hospital. The rest of the stuff was locked up in a room in the house which she would shift later. Her granny went into a coma and the doctors had no hopes for her. A miracle alone would be able to save her. Athena was dejected and unhappy yet she didn't give up. She tried her level best to revive granny. 

She couldn't call Troy as she didn't have his number. She went to his condominium but learnt that he hadn't returned from Africa. It had been two long months since she'd seen him and it started feeling like a distant dream. So life went on for Athena. She had visited Troy's house many times after that but he still hadn't returned. She soon started losing hope of Troy. 

The money from the sale of her house went into paying granny's hospital bills. She didn't know how long she would be able to pull the medical expenses. Granny hadn't gained consciousness and all her efforts every day were unsuccessful. 

After four long months, Troy returned to Vegas with his parents. He was involved in a court case against his rival company and the legal hassles had kept him too preoccupied. He was unable to leave Nigeria due to legal issues. Lately he had been trying to call Athena but it seemed something was wrong with her mobile. He just couldn't connect to her. So after returning, the first thing he did was go to her house. However, to his surprise, she had sold her house and moved away somewhere with her granny. 

"Didn't she give you a forwarding address?" Troy asked the woman who opened the door. 

"No sir. She was in a hurry," informed the woman. 

Troy was worried beyond words. He went to Laurence's house but they also didn't know a thing. Laurence's mom died and  Lisa was being disturbed by their dad. In the next few days, Lisa escaped somewhere and they were all worried about her, looking for her at every possible place. Even Troy helped his best friend. After a few days when Lisa was rescued and brought home from the clutches of a bad boy who was her best friend's cousin, the whole family heaved a sigh of relief. 

Troy searched for Athena at the hospital where he had taken granny previously but found out that she hadn't visited it for the last four months which was strange. Dr Andrews had no idea about Athena's granny after he returned from his medical convention. Troy started staying over at Laurence's house with the hope of seeing Athena. If she came over to her house to get her stuff, he would surely catch hold of her but everyday he faced disappointment. 

"I can't understand how she could suddenly disappear like this," said an upset Troy,  as he gulped the whiskey down. 

"Are you sure that her fiancé didn't come back into her life? Maybe he married her," said Laurence. His words got Troy thinking. It could be that Brandon had returned and convinced her to marry him. 

"Could be but is there any way to find out?" Asked Troy, at a loss. His heart was breaking at the thought. 

"Have you checked at her school?" Asked Laurence. 

"No, I will tomorrow morning," said Troy, finally feeling a little hopeful. 

The whole night he twisted and turned. "Where are you, Athena? I know it's all my fault. I should have kept in touch with you despite everything but I never once thought that I'd lose you. I was just trying to quickly wrap up the case so that I could return to you as soon as possible, " whispered Troy to himself. 

He remembered the times when he would spend the days at Laurence's house, stuck with his binoculars, watching Athena like a creep. Those days he couldn't figure out how to approach her and get to know her better but now things were different between them. Now he was again stuck at Laurence's house only there was no Athena to watch. In four months, she had completely disappeared from his life. For the first time in his life, he was scared. Did she really marry Brandon? He would die if she did. He had no clue what he would do if she really married Brandon and moved into his house. He didn't know where Brandon lived so the only hope he had so far was her school. Maybe he will see her there tomorrow. 

The next day however, he met with another disappointment as he found out that Athena had stopped coming to her school also and her job had been terminated two months back. It was as if she had completely disappeared from the face of the earth. 

The next few months, Troy just dragged himself on. He didn't have the wish to live. He lost his cheerful nature and his sense of humor. He didn't laugh any longer. Arianna was five months pregnant with her second child and Laurence was busy with her. Troy spends less time at Laurence's house, trying to mend his broken heart in the privacy of his home. He still spoke to the woman who lived in Athena's house and handed her his number. 

"If Athena comes to collect her stuff, please call me immediately, ma'am. This is urgent, please," he pleaded with her. She nodded.

"Sure, don't worry. I'll inform you," she said. Troy's work was suffering as he couldn't concentrate much on his work. His health too was suffering as he resorted to drinking to forget his loneliness. His parents and Laurence were worried about him. 

"Drinking isn't the solution, son," said his dad. 

"Give her time. I'm sure she will come back to you," said his mom. 

"What if she doesn't?" Asked Troy with dread.

"Son, have faith in your love. If she loves you, she'll return," said his dad. Troy nodded. He couldn't tell them that she didn't love him. Therefore she had no compulsion to return to him. Theirs was an unspoken, strange relationship which was neither friendship, nor love. It was an unrequited love and he knew that he had no hopes of her returning to him. 

He returned back to his apartment in a restless frame of mind when one of the night security guards of his condominium approached him and told him about a young woman who had come three times to ask for him.

"When was this, Jake?" He asked the guard. 

"Around three months after you left, sir," he informed him. 

"Can you describe what she looked like?" Asked Troy. He was sure that it was Athena, but he still wanted to hear it from Jake's mouth. The description he gave fitted Athena perfectly. 

"Who was with her when she came here?" Asked Troy. If she were married, Brandon would have accompanied her maybe. 

"She was alone, sir and looked very disturbed," said Jake. It got Troy worried. Was she in any problem? Was granny alright? He thanked the security guard but his heart was still restless. 

The next morning,  he drove to Laurence's house. "Why don't you hire a PI?" Asked Laurence. 

Trot sighed. "Yeah, I think I'll do that now," he said. That was the only option he had left. As he left Laurence's house, however, his eyes popped out seeing Brandon getting out of his car which he had parked right in front of Athena's house. What was he doing here? Blood boiled in Troy's veins and his hands clenched into fists as he strode towards Brandon to confront him.