My Life with Hades

CHAPTER 8

“Why were you crying?” I looked at him, surprised.

“How do you know that?”

“Answer my question, Bree,” he said expressionlessly.

“I want to know how you know that,” I frowned, and he looked at me, smiling.

“Now who is the one frowning all the time? You're going to get wrinkles very soon. And to answer your question, I had Caden follow you.”

“What the hell did you do?!” I asked, raising my voice.

“I wanted to know what was going on with you and I ordered him to follow you,” he replied as if it were normal to have someone followed.

“What the hell, Ramsés! What's wrong with you? Why do you have to have me followed?”

“Why do I have to repeat things to you all the time, Bree? I already told you, I was worried and wanted to know what was going on with you.”

“I don't believe anything you're saying, you're hiding something and you're driving me crazy,” I said, challenging him with my gaze. He looked at me intently.

“I'm not hiding anything, Bree.”

“Well, it seems to me that you are. I think things will work better if you tell me the truth.”

“There's no other truth than what I've told you. If you don't want to believe it, that's up to you,” I sighed in frustration.

“As you wish, just know that I gave you the chance. When you want to tell me, it will be too late and I'll be very angry. Now, I'm going to bed.” I got up from the couch, but he took my hand.

“Stay with me a little longer, please,” I nodded.

“Can you please respect my privacy and stop having me followed?” I asked him after a while.

“If you ask me like that, I'd do anything. I apologize for having done it.”

“Forgiven, as long as it doesn't happen again.”

“I promise it won't. Come here,” he said, pulling me towards him and hugging me.

There I was, in his arms, for several minutes, feeling like a total cheater. I was married to him and had kissed another man. “You're doing worse every day, Bree,” I scolded myself mentally.

At the first opportunity to escape from him, I did. I felt so bad. I had lied to him, I had lied to Christopher. That night I slept little. I couldn’t shake the guilt. So, the next morning, when I got up, I sent a w******p to Christopher.

Me: Hi, good morning. Can we have lunch together today? —seconds later I received his response.

Christopher: Hi, my love, of course, I was about to invite you. I want to see you again.”

And that message had made all my courage vanish. I didn't know why I sometimes ended up being so cowardly.

I was distracted on my way to the office and stayed that way all morning. As lunchtime approached, I was a nervous wreck. Ramsés came to see me to have lunch with him. But I refused, claiming I had other plans with Carol.

“Can I go with you? I don't want to eat alone,” he said, pouting. And I knew he was going to insist on going, so I had to make him uncomfortable.

“Did you sleep with Carol?” he looked at me puzzled.

“She's not on the list and if she's not on it, then no.”

“But did something happen between you two?”

“No, Bree. Never.”

"Well, it looks to me like she's a bit in love with you, and that's going to be really awkward for me, so I'd prefer you not to go. I don't want her staring at you all the time" he smiled.

"Are you jealous, Bree Knight?

"Yeah, I'm jealous!" I lied.

"And you're admitting it? I can't believe it. Something weird is going on here," he said with a frown. I smiled nervously.

"I told you that when I really was, I would let you know. And here I am, keeping my word," he said, looking at me, not very convinced. But I thought he had chosen to believe me.

To make sure Caden didn’t follow me, I sent him home for an envelope with documents. Just as I was about to leave, I bumped into Ramsés. Though, more than a meeting, it felt like an ambush. I chose to pretend I hadn’t seen him and quickly took a taxi.

Christopher insisted we have lunch at his place. I tried to avoid being alone with him because I knew I wouldn’t be able to control myself, but he insisted so much that I ended up giving in. As soon as I arrived, he greeted me with a hug. He tried to kiss me, but I stopped him. I was crazy in love with him, but I am a married woman.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said, entering his apartment. He looked at me, confused.

“Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s a mess, Christopher,” I replied, unable to look at him.

“Where should I start?” I said, pacing back and forth.

“You’re making me nervous, my love. Please, sit down.”

“I’m married,” I blurted out. He looked at me, utterly confused.

“What are you talking about, Bree? Explain yourself better.”

“I’m married to someone else,” I said, on the verge of tears. He got up from the couch and started pacing back and forth, just as I had done a few seconds ago.

“But what are you telling me? How did you get married? Are you crazy?”

“I had to,” I said, frustrated.

“You had to? Are you pregnant?”

“I’m not pregnant! Why does everyone think that?”

“What about us, Bree? What about our plans?” he asked, looking at me with tearful eyes. At that moment, my heart broke. I burst into tears, not knowing what to say to him because, in my head, there was no life without him. In my mind, our plans were still there. He came closer and hugged me.

“I love you so much. I can’t even hate you, my sweet Bree,” he said. I hid my face in his chest and kept crying because this whole situation hurt me. It tore me apart! I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, hugging and crying, both completely broken.

“I need to know what happened,” he said, looking at me intently. I didn’t know if I should tell him everything. I spent a few seconds debating whether to tell him or not, until I decided against it.

“I had to get married. There’s nothing more to tell. I know it sounds silly, but I want you to know that my heart is yours. I love you now and always.”

“Damn, Bree! I don’t even know what to say. What a mess!” he said, stepping away from me and running his hand through his hair in frustration.

“This is going to be the last time we see each other. It’s for the best.”

“No, my love! Don’t do this, please! Don’t shut me out! I can’t bear not seeing you!” he pleaded, hugging me again. My tears started to fall once more. How the heck was I supposed to do that? I was the one who wanted to see him every day of my life. When I said goodbye to him, he kissed me.

“This is our last kiss, my love,” he said, with tears in his eyes.

I left his house with my heart shattered. That afternoon, I was extremely sad. Every so often, tears would slip out, and I couldn’t hold them back. I told Ramsés I had to finish some things at the office and that I would leave later. The truth was, I wasn’t ready to face going back to his house.

I returned home after midnight. Caden picked me up from the office. When I arrived, I took off my heels at the entrance and carried them in my hand. Unfortunately, he was waiting for me to have dinner. I hadn’t realized I hadn’t eaten all day, so I agreed.

“You’re very quiet. Did something happen?” he asked while we were having dinner.

“I’m eating. You know I prefer to do it quietly,” I replied, shrugging. He sighed in frustration.

“I don’t mean that. You were acting strange all morning, and now you’re sad. It’s quite noticeable.”

“I’m fine, just tired.”

“You can take tomorrow off if you want,” he offered, but I shook my head. Working would keep my mind busy and prevent me from thinking about Christopher.

“How was your lunch?”

“Fine,” I replied curtly.

“Bree, I’m trying to talk to you,” he said, looking at me intently.

“And I’m eating. You know I don’t like to talk while I eat.”

“It’s not about whether you like it or not. You do it because it was imposed on you, and now you do it out of habit. But here, you can be free, Bree.” How ironic his comment about “being free here” sounded. I definitely felt like hitting him.

“Goodnight,” I said, getting up from the table and leaving him alone. He was the only one to blame for everything happening to me.