The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress-Chapter 1045 Athena’s Suspicions

But with so many fans waiting for a chance to see him backstage, Hera and the others had to wait. This gave her just enough time to send her bodyguard to pick up the flowers and a small gift for him.

"Oh my God! That concert was insane!!!" Athena exclaimed, her cheeks still flushed with excitement. "I can still feel my blood pumping with adrenaline, and his songs keep replaying in my head! I think I’m getting LSS!"

Her voice trembled slightly with the rush of emotions, excitement, warmth, joy, pain, and even a touch of sadness, all swirling together. It was as if Logan had poured every bottled-up feeling he’d ever held into the songs he performed on stage, leaving her completely captivated.

"I know, right? It was an amazing concert! It wasn’t like an idol group’s concert or a big star’s performance, but the feeling he gave was just the same! I’m already looking forward to his next concert, and I even bought his CD and all his songs on Spotify."

Minerva joined in Athena’s excitement, which earned her a long, meaningful gaze from Athena. Athena looked her up and down, a hint of mockery in her expression. It annoyed Minerva, prompting her to scowl.

"What?! Why are you looking at me like I said something wrong?" she demanded, her brows furrowed.

"Well, who was it that bullied Logan before and even made those backhanded comments? Hmmm?" Athena teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief. She still couldn’t quite wrap her head around how much Minerva had changed.

After all, Minerva had done so many things to Hera, and as Hera’s best friend, Athena hadn’t forgotten a single one, especially when Hera had caught Alexis and Minerva cheating in her own apartment.

The humiliation had been unbearable then, as Hera was thrown out in front of a crowd, heartbroken and overwhelmed. On top of being overly emotional then, she even missed her meal, which resulted in her being hospitalized.

So even if Minerva seemed to have changed now, Athena couldn’t pass up the chance to get a little revenge in her own way.

"I..." Minerva hesitated, finally confronting the truth about herself. She realized how she had bullied not just Hera, but Logan as well. When Logan was chosen by Hera, and she saw them together, she had tried to torment them both, even targeting Logan specifically.

Now, seeing Alice for who she truly was, Minerva decided to change her ways. As she didn’t want to be a problem for her brother anymore, especially since he was now with Hera. She didn’t want to spark a family feud between them, which would surely put their parents on the spot to choose a side.

On top of that, witnessing Alice’s hypocrisy and Hera’s kindness and strength made her feel deeply embarrassed.

She resolved to stop viewing people through a dark, arrogant lens. Just because she had once been conceited didn’t mean she had the right to act as she pleased, especially now that her brother no longer humored or protected her.

Without the support of her family, she realized she had no real power of her own; her strength had always been borrowed from them. Without them, she was nothing.

"I’m sorry..." Minerva finally managed to say, and it genuinely took Athena by surprise. She had long heard from Hera that Minerva seemed to have changed, but Athena hadn’t believed it.

She suspected that, no matter what had pushed Minerva to act differently, it might just be a new way of messing with them.

Even when Minerva accompanied them to Paris, Athena had acted as friendly as she could, pretending to have forgotten the past. In reality, she had been carefully watching Minerva’s every action, ready to prevent any attempts to catch them off guard.

She knew Hera had a soft spot and didn’t want her to be betrayed at the worst possible moment.

So, when Alice plagiarized Hera’s work, Athena had even suspected Minerva of having something to do with it, but she had kept quiet. She didn’t want to accuse anyone without solid evidence, knowing it could make her seem like the troublemaker instead.

At that time, Athena wasn’t sure if Minerva was secretly trying to infiltrate from the inside, subtly turning her against Hera by creating misunderstanding after misunderstanding. So when Minerva spoke earlier, Athena couldn’t help letting a few sharp words slip her way.

After all, Minerva had done the same to others before. Seeing her now so sweet and easy to get along with, Athena couldn’t reconcile it with the Minerva she remembered. In her mind, Minerva’s past actions and her current behavior didn’t match, and that gap made Athena uneasy.

Since Hera had chosen to forgive Minerva to make things easier for Rafael and to avoid affecting their relationship, Athena had never voiced her suspicions. But then again... what if she had been wrong to think badly of Minerva?

What if Minerva had truly been enlightened, just as Hera had been when she first approached her? What if Minerva had genuinely changed her ways?

That was why Athena had always stayed quiet. Her earlier side comment had been nothing more than a slip of the tongue. Seeing Minerva so embarrassed and apologetic, Athena let out a sigh and shook her head.

"No... I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up the past," Athena said. "Since you want to start over, it’s only right to give you a chance and not be overly critical or judge your actions based on your past."

Luckily, no one had overheard their exchange; otherwise, it might have caused awkwardness for the whole group.

Because of this, Athena finally seemed to release the tension and suspicion she had been bottling up inside. Still, vigilance was her way of protecting her best friend, and Minerva didn’t blame her for it.

She agreed that her past self had been unbearable and irritating; if she had been on the receiving end of such treatment, acting as though the world revolved around her, she might have slapped her former self, too.

Seeing Athena apologize, Minerva shook her head. "Well, I know I was wrong back then. Honestly, I’d like to slap myself a few times just to teach myself a lesson or two," she said with a wry smile. "Luckily, I didn’t meet my match then, or I might’ve been beaten to a pulp."

She joked as she casually hooked her arm around Athena’s. Feeling the sudden closeness, Athena raised an eyebrow before letting out a chuckle, briefly imagining what Minerva might have looked like if that had actually happened.

Seeing Athena chuckle, Minerva puffed out her cheeks in mock annoyance, but there was no anger in her eyes. Instead, they crinkled with delight at seeing Athena lower her guard and accept her, which made Minerva genuinely happy.

She knew her past mistakes might have left a shadow on Athena’s heart, so it was her responsibility to clear it. If she could do that, they might open a path to genuine friendship in the future. This was her chance to make amends for her past actions and to show that she had truly changed and recognized the harm she had caused.

"Alright, alright, let’s get moving, or my brother and the others will leave us behind..." Minerva said, pulling Athena along toward the main group.

Zhane and Rafael were busy talking with Hera, while Dr. Zigheart was checking on Cherry, who seemed to have gotten overly excited earlier and might affect her current condition. Liz was tending to Bry, and Zen was carrying most of the items, as usual, acting as everyone’s pack mule.

"Hey, everyone, can someone help me with these things?" Zen asked, overwhelmed as he tried to manage the souvenirs everyone had dumped on him. There were just too many to carry.

Rafael chuckled and glanced at the bodyguards behind them, silently signaling them to assist Zen. He found it amusing to see Zen looking so foolish, following them around while still caught up in the emotions Logan’s song had stirred.

A little prank, Rafael thought, might snap him out of the dreamy daze; otherwise, he feared Zen might end up like the other fangirls in the stadium, hearts practically floating above their heads, hopelessly smitten with Logan.

Zen, of course, had no idea what Rafael was thinking. If he did, he might have growled at him to prove just how manly he was. In truth, the song had affected him simply because it resonated deeply with him, and nothing more.

Not long after, the flowers and gifts Hera had asked the bodyguards to purchase finally arrived. Since most fans were lingering, hoping for another glimpse of Logan, the streets were relatively clear, making it easier for the bodyguards to go out and return without much trouble.

Once everything was gathered, Zhane began pushing Hera’s wheelchair while Rafael turned to Dr. Zigheart. "We’re heading backstage to congratulate the star. Do you want to stay here and wait for us, go back to the car, or head to the venue for dinner and wait there?" Rafael asked, mindful of Cherry’s condition and Bry, as dinner time was approaching.