Kill for Love

Chapter 15 - The Phone Call

Ares desperately ran his fingers through his hair. He sat on the bed and clasped his hands over his head protectively.

This is the first time that he and Cytherea fought. Also, the very first time that she stormed out of the room, leaving him behind.

He regretted the things he said to her. He knew he was wrong. 

'If only I could turn back the hands of time,' he thought.

Suddenly, his door opened. He excitedly turned his gaze to the door. He was all smiling. He thought Cytherea was back and decided to reconcile with him. To his dismay, it was Athena who opened the door.

"What are you doing here?" Ares asked.

She was wearing a black skimpy dress. Her cleavage was overly exposed. She looked like someone who worked in a strip club. His annoyance flared. He didn't want any additional headaches and Athena was a certified one. 

“Chill out, Ares. I’m just here to help you in any way possible. You have to cool down. You’re so freaking hot.” Athena closed the door. Ares heard a click, an indication that she locked the door. She smirked and walked seductively towards Ares.

“No, you stop right there.” Ares pointed his finger to the door. “Please get out, Athena. I don’t want any additional problem.”

“Ares, Ares, Ares, Ares,” Athena alluringly called his name. She didn’t listen to him and continued to walk towards him. “Please don’t play hard to get. I’m not your enemy. I’m just here to give you pleasure. The one-of-a-kind pleasure that even your fiancée can’t give you.” 

Ares angrily stood up, and with heavy feet, he walked towards Athena. He grabbed both her arms and pushed her to the wall. Athena’s eyes widened. 

Ares' eyes were burning with fire. Not because of lust but because of anger. “I’m warning you, Athena. I’m not playing games anymore.”

Instead of getting scared, Athena smiled sweetly at Ares. She grabbed his shirt’s collar and started kissing him hungrily. She pushed herself closer to him so that she could feel his warmth. 

Ares knew that if he were not able to stop Athena, it would mean a deeper hole for him. Cytherea will never forgive him. He forcibly took Athena's hands from his collar and pushed her again to the wall. 

Athena groaned. The impact was too hard. She reached for her left shoulder and slightly massaged it. Ares' face softened. He knew he pushed her too hard. But when he saw Athena biting her lips, his face instantly darkened. He went to the door and opened it. 

"Please get out. Please don't wait till I drag you outside my room. I'm not playing anymore. I already told you we are done. So please, while I can still control myself not to hurt you, get out now physically." 

Athena could taste the bile in her mouth. Her eyes started to get blurry because of the unshed tears. She bit her lips. She was praying so hard that she will be able to control her emotions.

Athena just stared at Ares. She didn't move. She didn't even utter a single word.

Ares sighed. "Athena…" he called her name, "please…."

Before tears escaped from her eyes, Athena hurriedly left his room. Ares took a deep breath and closed the door. He made sure he locked it before going to his bed to lay down. 

He reached for his pillow and used it to cover his face. He was a mess- he was such in a deep mess. 

He didn't know how long he was on the bed or if he fell asleep. He just noticed that it was already dark outside, and his phone on the bedside table kept on ringing. 

He reached for his phone. His eyebrows furrowed when he saw an unregistered phone number calling him. Thinking it was just a marketing call, he pushed the end call button and lazily put it back on the bedside table again. 

After a few minutes, his phone started ringing again. He reached for his phone once again and saw the same unregistered number calling him. He decided to end the call again, but the caller was persistent. Every time he ended the call, the caller would call back again. 

Ares started to get annoyed. He was about to turn off his phone when he saw a new message received. He opened it and his eyes widened in fear. His heart pounded and his jaw dropped.

It was a photo of him and Athena in the most compromising situation. Both of them were on the bed covered in white sheets. It was too obvious that they were both naked under it.

The phone rang again, showing the same unregistered phone number who's been trying to get in touch with him. This time, he immediately answered it.

"Who are you?!" he yelled. He didn't bother to say hello as his blood started to boil. 

The caller chuckled. "Do you like the picture that I've sent you? I have lots of those. Different angles and different positions," he teased, dodging the question.

"f**k you! What do you want?!" 

The caller laughed. He was enjoying the anger in Ares' voice. "Hmmm, will you be able to give it to me?" he playfully asked.

"Name it," he responded through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure? What if I tell you I want Cytherea?" The caller's voice started to get serious. "Break up with her."

"No freaking way!" he immediately responded. "You will never have her. She is not something that you can have just because you want to! She is not an object!”

“Well, I have my ways to get her. I was just giving you an option of how to redeem yourself. You see, you don’t deserve someone like her. You are just one of hell, son of a b***h liar. So, you choose. Break up with her, or I’ll tell her your biggest, darkest secret. I’ll give you five days to think it over, and let me remind you, I’m not a patient person.”

“I’m not the kind of person you can easily threaten, and this picture? It doesn’t mean a thing,” Ares sounded so confident. He will not, anyone, tarnish his relationship with Cytherea. He can come up with different explanations and dodge them too. He’s not a good investor for nothing. 

“Oh, really?” The man on the other line chuckled. “Are you even sure about that?” The man laughed again as if Ares said something hilarious. 

Ares started to get irritated again. If only the man is in front of him, he will definitely punch him. 

‘How dare he threaten me?’ he thought. 

“Speechless?” the man asked when he didn’t utter any response. He was too angry even to say a single word. ”Maybe one picture is not enough. How about I send you this picture?” the man added.

Ares’ phone vibrated, indicating something was received. He looked at his phone’s screen and put the call on speakerphone. He went to his messages and opened the new one. His eyes got bigger. He immediately looked at the window. The curtains were wide open, and whoever on the other side of the building will be able to see the inside of his room.

He took a deep breath and stood up. He went towards the window and simply pulled the curtains to cover it.

The man on the other line laughed. 

"What's funny?" he curiously asked. He had a feeling that the man calling him was watching him. Based on the last picture, it looked like it was taken from the outside of his window, particularly from the building adjacent to his room. It was him and Athena again in the picture. She was sitting on top of him naked while lying on the bed holding Athena’s mounds. He gritted his teeth.

“Do you like the picture that I sent you?”

“f**k you!”

“Oh, you did f**k Athena hard, didn’t you?” The man laughed again. “As I have mentioned, you only have five days to think it over.” His voice became serious.

“You can’t break us,” he firmly told the man. Ares already thought of many ways to avoid the arising problems. He already broke up with Athena. Now, he needs to plan how he can take Cytherea away from this man.

“I see you are a tough man, Ares Pendleton. That's impressive and I'm impressed. We will see for the next five days if you're still going to be tough," the man said and disconnected the call before Ares could respond. 

"f**k!" Ares angrily exclaimed and threw his phone to the wall. The phone was shattered to pieces after it hit the floor. He never felt so angry in his life, only now. He couldn't believe someone dared to threaten him. 

He was pacing back and forth with his hands on his waist. He was already thinking that going to New Orleans was a bad choice. The only thing that was good in the city was when he was able to propose to Cytherea and she said yes. Other than that, it was a complete mess.

'I have to get Cytherea away from here. We have to go back to the Philippines.'