Athena Tyler is an Italian-American musician who rose to fame as the lead singer of a girl band with her sisters, called 'Sorelle'. She has amassed millions of dollars and now lives alone in a luxurious mansion. Although she no longer sings, she has...
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Once he pulled away he leaned his forehead against hers, "Tell me you love me."
"Michael—"
"Tell me," Michael whispered, "Just say it."
"Love you," Athena said.
"You didn't say it right."
"Is there a right way to say it?" Athena asked in confusion.
"Okay, here comes a lecture on the difference between 'Love you' and 'I love you'," Michael said seriously as he held on to her hips, "There's a difference between the two. One is less powerful, it's the one you might say to a family member or a friend."
"No, it's not," Athena furrowed her brows in confusion.
"Don't you notice you use 'love you' with your brother and your father and your sisters or your friends?" Michael asked, "It's like an automated response."
"You overthink," Athena laughed before rolling off him and cuddling the pillow.
"Hey, you're supposed to cuddle me like that! Hell no, get back on—"
"Did you know that Prince has a girlfriend now?" Athena asked as she snuggled more into the pillow, "Her name is Lizzo. I met her a few months ago."
"How did you meet her?" Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh....I may or may not have gone to visit Prince and stumbled into Lizzo at the front door," Athena said innocently.
"And why exactly would you go to Paisley Park without telling me?" Michael asked as his frustration started to show.
"Because I really needed a friend," Athena sighed, "You're my husband and my best friend, but I couldn't go to you so that left Prince as my other option."
Michael's expression softened at Athena's words, the frustration melting away as he reached out to gently tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You could always come to me, you know that, right?"
"I needed to vent about your music videos coming up and the women and....I don't know," Athena shrugged, "I guess I just didn't feel like I could go to you."
With a gentle smile, he pulled her back into his arms and whispered, "I'm sorry if I made you feel like you couldn't come to me. From now on, promise me you'll talk to me first, even if it's about my work," he said gently, "And Marlon and Jackie told me about the firing thing. How you feel you can't fire people who work for me."
"Oh, they told you about that?" Athena asked, her face flushed as she hid her face in a pillow.
"Baby, look at me," Michael's voice softened, his fingers coaxing her to turn back to face him, "I understand why you feel that way, but I need you to know that you have just as much authority as I do when it comes to my work. Your input is invaluable to me, and your decisions are respected by everyone on the team," he spoke sincerely, his eyes searching hers for any lingering doubts, "So if you feel the need to fire someone, I will back up your decision completely. Your feelings matter, and they will always be heard and respected by me," he paused, "And say you were to start making music videos and I felt the need to fire someone on your set—we should back each other up on these decisions. It'll show people that they can't turn us against each other or try to manipulate us into side-taking."
