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38

Athena's lips curled into a melancholic smile as tears began to form in her eyes, unbidden.

"The evening I lost the baby, I tried to reach you eighteen times. It wasn't until the nineteenth attempt that you answered. Do you recall what you said?"

She paused, her eyes turning cold as they settled on Aliana. "You told me not to bother you because you were occupied."

Athena's voice lowered to a scathing whisper, her words dripping with anguish. "I suppose you were preoccupied with Aliana's prenatal appointment, weren't you?"

"You're quite the Casanova, managing two pregnant women simultaneously. Are you pleased with yourself, Emmett?"

For a moment, an eerie silence enveloped the hillside, as if time had come to a standstill.

At last, Azrael stumbled backward, releasing a pained sigh. The tension dissipated, and everyone snapped back to the present.