Chapter 62: Chapter 62

I blinked several times at the family portrait in front of me. I was Zeus, daughter! How was that possible? My hand automatically moved towards my face, touching my cheeks to make sure that I was real. The image staring back at me looked exactly like me. My breathing became shallow as I moved back.

"No!" I croaked, shaking my head.

"It-It must be a...a mistake! That's-" "-not possible! No!" My legs crashed against the wall behind me as I tried to find a place. Zeus was by my side, holding on go my arm and making me steady.

"Breathe prinkipissa. You can't stress out like this with a more in your belly." He softly whispered, stroking my arm. We moved back until there was a platform for me to sit.

The moment I sat down, I took a sharp breath, inhaling an ample amount of oxygen. The action caused my lungs to burn a bit. Blinking back I stared at Zeus who sat beside me, a concerned look on his face. I scooted a bit away from him, hearing him flinch at my action. My arms wrapped around my torso as I met his eyes.

“Is this real?” I blurted out.

He nodded his head, “Yes. You were my daughter in your previous birth.”

I opened and closed my mouth at that. What should I say to that? What would anyone say to something like that? It felt so surreal sitting in front of a Greek God knowing he’s my father. What about the drunkard father I had on earth? I had so many questions.

“When did you find out?” I asked; instead, my voice caught up in my throat.

Zeus cleared his throat, “When I came to visit my brother Hades I saw you for the first time. You looked so familiar, but I couldn’t place you because I was drunk out of my mind. I wanted to ask you so many things, but Hades dragged me away. The next day I was sober and ready to meet you again.”

I inhaled sharply at his words. I should’ve known that when he disrupted our lunch and talked to me. Only one in front of all those guests. Why did I let it slide?

“I found out that you and Lukas are mates so and you were busy with the competition.”

I interrupted him, my arm around my belly, “It was my first Ball with Lukas.”

Thinking about it made me feel like years ago. I had the time of my life in Underworld because that’s where Lukas confessed his feelings for me. It was our new beginning. Or we were supposed to be the beginning of the relationship. A sad smile settled on my face as I thought about it. He was nowhere around me. We were supposed to be together, happy and spend time with each other. How cruel was fate to both of us? What did we do to deserve any of this? After so many trials and tribulations, I thought it was my chance to be happy with him.

The Greek God cleared his throat, “Talia?”

“I’m sorry. Please continue”

He licked his lips, “So yeah, you both took part in some race I reckon. I wanted to be there, but I was too embarrassed to show up because of the incident earlier...”

I know that he was referring to the stunt he pulled during lunch and embarrassed himself in front of all the Kings and Queens. No one would want to show up in public after that.

“I decided to stand on the bridge. It overlooked everything. That’s when I saw my sister, Hestia. She was eyeing you both close, and that’s when you slipped and fell. I thought she was the one behind it. When I confronted her, she confessed that she figured out you are my daughter.”

I arched my brow at that, “If I am your daughter, how did you not remember me?”

Zeus bitterly chuckled, the hollow sound of his laughter almost making me shiver, “That would be my wife’s doing. She...she is not fond of my other affairs and often does these things to annoy me. That’s why she made me forget about you.”

My mouth parted at that, “You mean your wife, Hera?”

He pressed his lips together, “Yes. She is jealous, insecure and possessive. She changed as soon as we got married. She did not love me anymore, but the throne and power that came with me. That’s the reason why I choose your mother. We loved each other deeply. Hera knew that I was going to marry your mother, make her my Queen, and she couldn’t digest that. So she made your mother kill herself.”

Even though I had no memory of any of that, it infuriated me, how could she do that? Make a person kill themselves out of jealousy? My blood boiled at the thought.

“You are a God! You could have done something!”

Zeus shook his head, “Believe me, I tried. But it was too late for that.”

“After your mother’s death, Hera promised me she would stop doing these things because of how much it affected me. And like a fool, I trusted her!”

“Not anymore! Not after the things she did to you” Zeus growled, shaking his head.

My brows furrowed at that. What was he talking about? I did not even meet Hera, so why would she do anything to me?

“What do you mean? What did she do?”

He frowned, “You don’t know?”

I rolled my eyes, “No. This is the first time I hear of it. I don’t even know what she looks like!”

“It must be because your memories are wiped out. Don’t worry; you’ll slowly start to remember now that you are back home.”

I cringed at the last part. The home was Hell. The home was where Lukas was, not Mount Olympus. Instead of correcting him, I nodded along.

The Greek God exhaled a deep breath, “When I cornered Hestia into confessing everything she told me that there was a shadow around you. She believed it was because Hera wanted to kill you.”

My mouth fell open at that. Why would she do that?!

“Kill me?” My voice echoed around the hall. I slapped a hand around my mouth and looked around.

“Don’t worry; she is not here. This is my palace. No one is here except for few maids and guards.”

I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding. If it was only Zeus and I then I can easily plan my escape that is if he doesn’t let me go away.

“Why does she want to kill me of all people? I don’t even know her!”

“But she knows you. She thinks that you will be next in line, robbing all her children of opportunity. Or maybe it’s something more. She managed to avoid talking to me from a few weeks now” He let out a sigh, scratching at his beard. Even though he was like centuries-old, he still managed to look young and fit. Maybe it was that Greek magic.

The more I thought about it, the more it became clear. Was she the one to make Lukas dog attack me? Or the reason the hot dogs poisoned me? Or the time when I got sick because of the food in front of me. It had to be her. Who else would be doing all these things?

“Hestia told me that there is someone in the Hades castle doing the dirty work for her. I couldn’t believe it at first because Hera promised me she would change. My sister showed me all the visuals of you in danger and how my wife did that on her own. But she was unsuccessful every time. Lukas always managed to save you.”

My heart tightened at the mention of his name. He indeed saved me every single time.

“Because Hades doesn’t entertain Hera and her antics, she couldn’t show up in Underworld. She had someone else do all the dirty work for her. I saw that person in the vision. It was a Chinese demon. She was doing all the work for Hera. Wait I know her name...it’s something Li-Li...”

“Li Changying?” I instantly said, feeling my stomach in knots.

“Yes! Li Changying. The daughter of a Chinese Demon. I still don’t know why she would help my wife to kill you.”

The breath knocked out of my lungs at the mention of Li Changying. I thought that she hated me because I took her place, but I had no idea that she wanted me dead. No wonder she was quiet and didn’t do anything for the first two days of the Ball. It must be because she was plotting all those things behind my back. She was the one sitting beside me on the table and might have done something to make me puke my guts out. All the information was making my head spin. So many of them were out to get me.

I turned to Zeus, stuttering, “I need to be alone for some time.”

***