Back in school, there were so many people who had a crush on him, but he only had eyes for Athena.
Now Athena's hit rock bottom, becoming someone's puppet. Karma, I guess.
Elsa kept chatting in the group.
"She's with some rich guy now, long since dumped Kerwin. I guess she got into Hollywood and realized money makes the world go round."
"No way! Kerwin got dumped? Even Kerwin? Didn't he get into Solstice College? Graduating from there should get you a decent paycheck, right?"
Elsa felt a pang of bitterness. After all these years, she still couldn't forget about Kerwin.
After the final exams, Kerwin cut off all contact. No one knew how he was doing at college, if he had won any awards.
He and Athena vanished from everyone's life.
Now Athena resurfaced, but Kerwin was still nowhere to be found.
Did he leave the country because of Athena's betrayal?
The more Elsa thought about it, the more she disliked Athena.
Just then, Tyler asked, "Did she date anyone in high school?"
Athena was too quiet, quiet and demure, yet sometimes had a prickly edge.
Tyler never cared much about his partner's past, but he was curious about what Athena's high school life was like.
Elsa was tempted to spill about Kerwin, but Kerwin was so accomplished that mentioning him would only cast a golden light on someone like Athena.
Being confessed to by someone with a voice like his must have made Athena pretty smug.
"She never dated anyone. Who would date her anyway? She was so withdrawn and hardly talked to anyone."
Tyler raised an eyebrow, lighting a cigarette. "Nobody liked her?"
She was pretty enough, and with that face, you'd think she'd be popular in high school.
"Nope, her personality was off-putting, not the kind people warmed up to."
The man next to Elsa wrapped an arm around her, teasingly.
"In front of Tyler, it's best not to say that. After all, Athena's now with Tyler."
Tyler leaned back, "Just a plaything. Won't be long before I toss her aside."
Elsa felt a smug satisfaction and added a line in the group chat.
"Athena's sugar daddy said it himself, she's just a toy, not worth any real effort. He'll get rid of her soon."
The group chat buzzed with activity, mostly discussing how Athena had fallen so far.
Reading those snide comments made Elsa feel a lot better.
Downstairs, the vacationers were having a small barbecue buffet, with a chef cooking up a storm, but Athena stayed in her room the whole time.
She sat by the window, staring at the moon, lost in thought.
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