She has dyslexia?

I remembered my classmate in grade school who had dyslexia. He was very insecure and had very low self esteem. He'd been bullied by crazy idiot students and always the laughing stock in the entire school because he was too slow. He struggled finding difficulty in reading, writing and spelling.

And now, knowing that Athena suffered the same thing, it made me feel like one of those crazy idiots. Dammit. She even said that she had the worse dyslexia. What does that mean?

No wonder she struggled in school and skipped university. For heaven's sake, never in the world would I imagine that she was suffering from such disability. I thought she was just plainly spoiled, rebellious and lazy to go to school. Acting like a bitch in front of me was just her shield.

Like unlocking a hidden vault, my mind opened. I understood Athena better now and I felt her pain. She went through a lot and sadly, I was one of the people who made her life difficult. I humiliated and provoked her... for a stupid reason.

What the hell is wrong with me! I was horrible to her. A bully and made her miserable. She was right, I'm a jerk.

I did not trust myself to say anything afraid that I would say something that could offend her. Her feelings suddenly mattered now that I knew her secret. I realized that I misinterpreted her in so many ways. I assumed and labeled her directly as a narcissistic spoiled selfish bitch without understanding her. I was wrong to be so judgemental.

We were eating in silence and I saw her appetite suddenly diminished but she was forcing herself to finish everything.

Pride. Yeah, she got pride. And she would not accept defeat. The reason why every word I've said to her, she saw it as an attack. She was very defensive.

Who could blame her. I treated her badly. I gave her reasons to act that way.

Tonight, I went too far. Either it took her courage to tell me about her disability or it just slipped off her tongue. I knew she kept it as a secret and I had a feeling that she was regretting it now.

"You want to share that nasi goreng?" I asked her.

Her eyes were suspicious. She did not trust me.

"It's my favorite too." I said with encouragement.

"You can order it, I'm sure they'll make it fast for you. I can finish this Carter."

She's so stubborn.

"You don't have to force yourself because of that pride of yours."

"Excuse me? I'm not forcing myself. You... you just made me so angry that I lost my appetite. I just need time to get it back."

I exhaled deeply. "I don't understand. What did I say that made you so angry?"

Her eyes grew bigger as she looked at me oddly. "You don't know? Ha! You complimented my hair! You don't ever do that Carter and I knew you're just trying to ridicule me."

I put down my fork and knife, and held her eyes. "I was telling the truth. That blond hair suits you... you're stunning. But I have to say that I like your normal hair better."

"You're an asshole." She glared at me angrily again.

"What now?"

"You're doing it again, complimenting me. It's not the normal you."

"What's wrong with you? You hate me when I noticed your flaws, and you still hate me when I complimented you. I don't know where I stand with you."

"That's easy, stand nowhere near me."

"That's harsh. I'm trying to be nice to you and you're shoving me away."

"Nice? Since when did you became nice to me? That's the least I want from you Cater, and it's too late to start it now. I know you have your reasons. This dinner, the flowers, the candlelight, everything here. You just want to get your hands on that museum."

For heaven's sake! Not the museum again.

"You must hate me so much."

"Who wouldn't. You started it. Since we were kids! You put that insect on my dress, you know I hated insects... you put sand on my hair... you tied the ribbon at the back of my dress to a chair... you put chilli sauce on my cupcake... you even called me a fake and a bitch. You complimented all the girls that surrounded me, making me feel so ugly. And everytime... you make me feel so small like I'm so dumb and stupid. I wonder what I did to you that made you treat me this way."

That made me feel more terrible. I was such an asshole still acting like a kid. I made her life miserable because I was a coward frustrated jerk. I could not express my feelings for her.

"You did nothing wrong, Athena."

"Then why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you're..." It was hard to say it and I guessed I had to be honest with her. She'd been honest about her disability and that opened my mind and my heart. I owed her my honestly too.

"I'm what?"

"You're beautiful." My heart was throbbing really fast. My face was burning with embarrassment. It was wrong to say this... especially now. She was getting married to my cousin and it was too late to confess.

No. There was nothing wrong with it. I was not doing anything wrong to jeopardize her relationship with Zion. They belonged together. I just want to be honest, to set my suppressed emotions free.

"Stop it Carter. You're doing it again, making me angry."

"I'm telling you the truth. I always find you so beautiful and I was such a coward to accept it. You're right, I'm a jerk. I annoyed you so you would notice me."

"What? That is so mean."

"I know and very childish." I shook my head, could not believe that I was confessing to her now. But it felt great deep inside me, like something deep inside my heart a sharp thorn suddenly lifted off. "Please forgive me Athena. I swear I won't annoy you anymore."

"You're the biggest asshole I've ever met!" She exclaimed but there was a soft smile at the corner of her lips.

"I'm so sorry. I promise, I'll make it up to you."

An of her eyebrows lifted as she eyed me wickedly. "Are you sure this is not about the museum?"

I chuckled. "Of course not. But we need to talk about it and make a plan. Mr. Murphy is a crook."

She pushed the nasi goreng towards me and gave me a pretty smile. I knew I was forgiven.

__

The night went smoothly as we continued to talk about different things and the museum. I told her about what the appraisers discovered and their evaluation of the property. But she was still determined to get it.

"I wouldn't pay two billion dollars if the appraised value of the property is only eleven million. But I'm willing to go higher to twenty million and that's it."

"I still want it Athena, it's blocking my property."

"I need it."

"What for? I can help you get another property, much nearer to the city. I can even pay for all the items there and give it to you."

"No thanks, I don't want to owe anything from you."

Dammit, she was still very stubborn.

"Think about it Athena. I'll help you get a bigger property at the center of New York, just let me have this."

She shrugged her shoulders and said. "I'll think about it."

Thanks goodness. The fact that she considered was good enough.