My Life with Hades

CHAPTER 2

They say that, for a woman, her wedding day is the happiest day of her life, but that wasn’t the case for me. My wedding day was the saddest day of my life. I couldn’t stop crying. They had to fix my makeup many times, but my eyes were completely red.

When it was my turn to enter, I did so alone. I didn’t have a father, I didn’t have a family, so I walked down that aisle alone. That aisle felt eternal to me. It seemed to get longer and longer. I felt like I was a thousand kilometers away from Ramses. When I finally stood by his side, he looked at me, and I don’t know if I saw pity in his eyes or something else.

“Have you been crying?” he asked me very softly. I nodded, looking at the floor. He stood right in front of me and hugged me.

“Everything will be fine, Bree.”

The wedding was quick, as were the vows. What were we going to say about each other? We didn’t even know each other well. At the reception, I met many business people. Everyone congratulated me, as if it were a miracle that Hades got married. One even asked me if I was pregnant. I wanted to hit him immediately. In fact, I was about to when Ramses held me back.

“Control yourself, Bree,” he said with a frown. I sighed in frustration and nodded.

At the time of the newlyweds’ dance, I was very nervous. I didn’t want to make a mess in front of so many eyes.

“Look at me, Bree,” he said to calm me down. “Let yourself go, and everything will be fine.”

Thank God everything went well! I couldn’t deny that it had been a beautiful moment. I let myself be led by him, and everything turned out perfect. We spent some more time with the guests, and then I stayed with Carol and the girls, who still couldn’t believe I had married Hades.

“Aren’t you nervous about your wedding night?” Carol asked me mischievously.

Damn! I had completely forgotten about the wedding night. What on earth was I going to do if he wanted to have s*x? I wasn’t ready for that; I couldn’t be with someone I didn’t love. I blushed with nerves, and Carol looked at me, smiling.

“Come on, Bree, why are you acting like this, as if you were a virgin? But I suppose you two have already done it, or am I wrong?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. That was true, but I couldn’t sleep with just anyone. I didn’t want to do it either.

“No, we left it for when we were married,” I replied after a while.

“It’s just that you say this, Bree, and it doesn’t seem like the Hades everyone knows. I can’t believe he waited for you until marriage.”

“Oh, I know! Surely you’re afraid of not measuring up. I’ve heard that man is an absolute god in bed,” Steph said, smiling.

When it was time to leave, Caden had to stop the car several times because I was nauseous. I was so nervous that my stomach was churning. When we got to the hotel, Ramses took my hand, practically dragging me, and we went straight to the elevator. We entered a suite with several rooms. Mentally, I was grateful for that. I was so nervous at the thought of having to share a room with him.

“Sorry for not taking you on a honeymoon. I’ll resolve some issues, and then we can go wherever you want,” he said, serving himself a glass of whiskey. “Do you want one?” I declined.

“I don’t like whiskey, thanks. And don’t worry, I’m about to start my new job, so it’s not convenient for me to travel.” He looked at me with a frown.

“I don’t want you to work,” he blurted out, but I didn’t let him finish.

“Don’t even dream that I’m going to stop working,” I replied, crossing my arms. “Don’t start telling me what I can’t do,” I said angrily.

“Don’t be explosive, and listen. Come here,” he asked, sitting on a couch and pointing to a spot beside him. I nodded, unconvinced, and sat down.

“Go ahead,” I said, still with my arms crossed.

“I want you to work for me, to run a department. I want you to learn everything about the family business,” he said without looking at me.

“No. I’m not going to earn a place just because I married you,” I heard him sigh.

“Don’t be stubborn, Bree. If you work somewhere else, I’ll buy that company and make you the boss anyway.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I challenged him with my gaze.

“Don’t test me, Bree, you know I can do it,” he replied, looking at me intently. I was the first to break eye contact because he intimidated me a lot. I had to confess that I was a little afraid of him.

“Have a sip,” he said, bringing the glass to my lips, leaving me no choice but to taste his drink. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t my favorite. We sat there in silence, side by side, without a word.

“Sorry for forcing you to be my wife, Bree,” he said after a while. I looked at him, a bit surprised, and he seemed a little embarrassed.

“Wow, you actually know how to say sorry?”

“I do, but I only do it because the occasion calls for it. It’s not all the time, so don’t get used to it,” he replied with a half-smile.

“So, do I have to work for you?” he looked at me intently.

“Not so much work for me; you’ll be running your own department.”

“Can we just pretend I’m not your wife at work?” His expression changed completely, from relaxed to frowning as soon as he heard me.

“Are you ashamed to be my wife?”

“No, it’s not that,” I replied immediately. “It’s just that I don’t want people to think I got the position just because I’m your wife.” He stopped frowning and nodded.

“I understand, Bree. It will be as you wish. I won’t say anything,” we fell silent again, in an uncomfortable silence. Will I ever get used to that silence?

“Now that we’re married, could you tell me why you wanted to get married?” I asked when I got bored of being silent.

“I already told you, I wanted a wife.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to win someone over? You have all the women in the city at your feet,” but he shook his head.

“I don’t have time for that, Bree.”

“So, is this how the marriage will always be? You won’t have time for flowers or dinner? Because if we’re going to be married, I at least want a husband who brings me flowers and has dinner with me,” I said, teasing him.

“Now you want us to have dinner together?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“I would love to.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“A McDonald’s, maybe,” I replied, still teasing him. I saw him smile and shake his head.

“I haven’t been to one in years. I’d love to go,” and my plan to tease him had failed. I thought someone like him would never go to McDonald’s. “Are you going like that?” he asked after a few seconds.

I looked at myself, and damn, I was still in my wedding dress. In fact, we both were, but I hadn’t brought any clothes. I had completely forgotten about that little detail. All my clothes were at his house. That afternoon, someone had gone to my apartment to pick them up.

“Yes, I forgot to bring some clothes,” I replied, a bit embarrassed.

“Alright, we’ll go like this. Let’s head out,” he said, taking my hand and standing up. “We’ll take a taxi; I gave Caden the night off.”

At the place, everyone was looking at us. We were the center of attention for everyone there. And it was obvious because we were elegantly dressed, like newlyweds, having dinner at McDonald’s.

“Shall we take a photo?” he asked me while we waited for our burgers. I nodded, and he got up, approaching a girl who looked at him completely smitten.

“Hello, could you please take a photo of my wife and me?”

The girl immediately looked at me, a bit disappointed, and nodded. He sat next to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I pulled away to look at him, confused. The girl returned the phone to him, and he thanked her. We looked at the photos, and there were two: one where he kissed my cheek and another where we both looked at each other intently. I couldn’t deny it; they turned out very nice.

I had never seen anyone eat three hamburgers, and I swear I had seen everything in the orphanage, but I had never seen anyone eat so much. I couldn’t stop laughing as I watched him eat. After dinner, he took my hand, and we went for a walk for a while.

“I missed this place,” he said without looking at me.

“How long has it been since you went to one?”

“About ten years,” he replied, sighing.

“Why did you wait so long to come if you liked it?”

“I didn’t have anyone to go with,” he replied, shrugging.

“You can always go alone,” I said mockingly, but he shook his head.

“I don’t feel like doing anything alone, Bree, that’s why I married you. Now we’re going to be stuck together every day like leeches.”

“Someone’s in a funny mood today,” I said, laughing.

“Are you up for walking a bit more? Or do you want to go to the hotel?”

“I want us to walk a bit more,” I replied nervously. The truth is, I wasn’t ready for the wedding night. After a while, he insisted on going to the hotel, but I refused.

“Bree, I’m tired. If you refuse again, I’m going to lose it,” he said with a frown. I sighed.

“There’s something I need to tell you… I’m not ready to have s*x with you. s*x is something complicated for me,” I said outright. He looked at me seriously and then shook his head in disbelief.

“I don’t know who put that in your head, but I’m not going to force you to sleep with me. Never,” he said, letting go of my hand and moving away from me, angry.

“What did you expect me to think if you forced me to be your wife?” I replied, crossing my arms defiantly.

“Forcing you to be my wife is very different from forcing you to have s*x with me, Bree. Never. It offends me that you think that.” I saw him pacing back and forth, frustrated. Then, he started walking.

“Where are you going?”

“To the hotel. Let’s get a taxi,” he said, walking ahead of me without looking back. And so, I had ruined the good mood we had that night.

“Way to go, Bree!” I repeated to myself all the way to the hotel. He didn’t utter a single word. He paid for the taxi and got out, leaving me behind.