Percy hadn’t seen Athena since he’d left her room, she hadn’t been answering his texts and then Madeline came asking if she knew where she was. She was with the king, he could gather that much. Was he losing her now? Had she already made her choice in spending all day and night with the king?
He knew he was stupid to try to win her from the king, he knew that, but he had been drawn to her. He had started falling for her before he had even talked to her.
All he wanted to do was see her happy, he hated when he saw her cry. He hated the way the king treated her and the way he let the future queen talk to her. Couldn’t the king see that he was breaking her? And what for, his image? What good is a perfect image if you have to hurt someone you love to keep it, something he learned from his father long ago.
He made her happy, he made her smile and laugh, even when the king had left her feeling broken. Why couldn’t she just choose him? He knew the answer, she was still in love with the king, still holding out hope. All he could do was keep loving her and showing her what it meant to be loved completely and not kept as some secret in the shadows.
Love, he loved her, he really did. He would tell her but he was afraid of her breaking his heart. But it would be broken either way if she chose the king over him. She was the only girl he had ever loved and he just hoped that he wasn’t going to lose her.
He wouldn’t say anything, wouldn’t ask any questions, he refused to be possessive like the king. It’s not like she belonged to him, she was free to be with who she wanted. He could only hope that he would be what he wanted, that he would be who she chose.
So he would be there for her, continue to make her happy, make her smile, for as long as he had to. He would take what she would give him, but he was ready to give her his heart, the world whenever she asked.
He would do this on her terms, he wouldn’t push her. He would just wait until she was ready. Ready to be happy, ready to be everything to one man. The king could never give her that, he had the crown to think about. But he, he could and would give her the world, all she had to do was ask.
He knew the best way to prove his love and win her heart was to just be true to himself. Be there for her, that’s all he could do, just be there for her.
