That was it, wasn't it? She was afraid that Aphrodite was going to take something that she cared about. Given how short he imagined that list was, only one name stood out to him on the list. It was Dolos. Being afraid of an Olympian was never a feeling Prometheus had experienced, even after countless centuries of being under the ruthless heel of the worst of them all. Had she really been afraid of losing her brother, again? Prometheus was willing to bet that her mind had thought of being owed a favor, or perhaps some other scheme, but he doubted that Apate stood before Aphrodite quaking in terror at what might result if she said no. At the very least the motivations were equal in her mind. Only a guess, but he was willing to bet it was a good guess. No reason for Apate to know that - her exaggeration of Aphrodite's presence was not the particular deceit that he wanted to crack just now.
She had misconstrued everything, the last time.
So...
"Do you remember what I told you, before? I mean what I said, not what you heard," and still he didn't move, just standing in the entry of the living room with a placid face. "I told you that cycles could be broken. You thought I was trying to 'break you', whatever that nonsense phrase means. What I was trying to tell you was much different than that. It's about change, Apate, not destruction. That's why I'm here today. Because whatever there is between us, it has to change."
Eos had warned him against doing anything to hurt her. Prometheus thought he knew how to avoid it. The question was, would Apate listen to him? She had a brilliant mind, analytical and quick-witted. To parse out a situation and see what was truly at work, then act on that information, was a skill that not many could ever hone into something useful. Yet Apate squandered it all by refusing to care about anything but herself and Dolos. Her understandings, instinctive and sometimes correct, were warped by the facts she needed to make her apathy the right decision. It had to be that, didn't it? It was the only reason he could think of that she would simultaneously be eager to help Aphrodite, terrified of what would happen if she didn't and grimly determined to make Prometheus suffer at the expense of another goddess who had no quarrel with Apate.
Those thoughts, if they existed side by side, could likely be rationalized by her very quickly.
But Prometheus was willing to bet that they had never existed concurrently - if they did, there was just as much chance that Apate would have to break her cycle. Was that... what he was seeing here? Was her circle starting to fall apart? He didn't dare hope that was what it was, but he was going to find out when she answered him.