---- Chapter 20 Athena POV: The exhibition was a success, but the crowds and the constant questions had left me drained. | found Eliot mingling with some critics. "I'm going to get some air," | murmured. He nodded, his eyes filled with concern. "Do you want me to come with you?" "I'm fine," | said, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze. "| just need a minute." | slipped out onto a small, deserted balcony overlooking the city. The cool night air was a welcome relief. | closed my eyes, savoring the quiet. "Athena." The voice, a ghost from a life | had tried so hard to bury, sent a jolt of ice through my veins. My body went rigid. | turned around slowly. Hardin stood there, his face illuminated by the soft glow of the party inside. He looked thinner, haunted, but his eyes... his eyes were alight with a desperate, feverish excitement. "| found you," he breathed, taking a step towards me, his arms ---- open as if to embrace me. "I finally found you. PixelVixen. Of course. It all makes sense now." | took a sharp step back, my hand coming up as if to ward him off. "Stay away from me," | said, my voice cold and hard. His face fell. "Athena, please," he said, his voice cracking. "I know everything. The recorder. Carina. | know what she did." He took another step. "| was a fool. | was blind. But I'm here now. I've come to take you home." Home. The word was a bitter irony on his lips. "This is my home," | said, my voice unwavering. "I'm never going back." "Are you still angry with me?" he asked, his voice a low, pleading whisper. "| know | made mistakes. Horrible mistakes. I'll spend the rest of my life making it up to you." He lunged forward, grabbing my hand. He dropped to his knees on the cold stone of the balcony, his grip like a manacle on my wrist. "Come home, Athena. Please." | tried to pull my hand away, but his grip was like steel. "Let go of me, Hardin," | hissed. "It's over. We are over. If you don't leave right now, | will call the police." His eyes darkened, the desperation morphing into something ugly and possessive. "Why?" he demanded, his voice rising. "Why didn't you tell me you were PixelVixen? We could have built an empire together! "And what would have happened if | had?" | shot back, my ---- own voice rising to match his. "Would you have believed me? Or would you have called me a liar, a thief, just like you did before?" He flinched, his grip momentarily slackening. | seized the opportunity, wrenching my hand from his grasp. "There is nothing left between us," | said, my voice ringing with finality. His eyes, now a terrifying shade of crimson, locked onto mine. "You belong to me, Athena," he whispered, the words a chilling, pathological promise. He reached for me again, his intentions clear. He was going to drag me out of here, by force if necessary. | stumbled backward, a cry of alarm escaping my lips. Suddenly, another figure was there. Eliot. He grabbed Hardin's arm, yanking him back. "| believe the lady asked you to leave." Hardin, caught off balance, staggered and crashed into a large potted plant, the ceramic shattering around him. Eliot immediately turned to me, his back to Hardin. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine," | breathed, my heart hammering against my ribs. "You got here just in time." Hardin pushed himself to his feet, his suit torn, his face a mask of cold fury. He stared at Eliot, his eyes narrowing. "And who the hell are you?" ---- "This is none of your business," Eliot said, his voice dangerously calm, placing himself between me and Hardin. "We're done, Hardin," | said, my voice clear and strong. "There's nothing more to say." Eliot's jaw tightened. "You heard her. Get out. Before | have you thrown out." Hardin' s eyes flickered between us, a dark, ugly suspicion dawning on his face. "This is about him, isn't it? You left me for him." "This has nothing to do with him!" | exclaimed. "This has everything to do with you!" Hardin ignored me, his gaze fixed on Eliot. He tried to push past him to get to me, but Eliot grabbed his wrist, his grip surprisingly strong. "Don't make a scene," Eliot warned, his voice a low growl. "This is her night. Don't you dare ruin it for her." Hardin's eyes lit up with a sudden, malicious idea. He smiled, a cruel, twisted thing. "Her night? What happens when the world finds out their precious PixelVixen is a fraud? That she stole her big break from the brilliant Carina Sparks?" He looked at me, his expression triumphant. "You can't prove it, Athena. It will be your word against hers. Against mine. Your comeback will be over before it even begins. You'll be a laughingstock." ---- He thought he had me trapped. He thought he had won. Title: A Princess? No! I'm the Female General! In "A Princess? No! I'm the Female General!" by CrushReel, Adela Taylor, a noble family's daughter, disguises herself as her brother to secure their Duke title by joining the army. 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