My Life with Hades

CHAPTER 4

“Fantastic! Now you're going to be afraid of me too,” he snapped, getting up from the couch to leave.

“People aren’t scared of you for that reason. They’re afraid of you because you’re like an ogre. You’re always grumpy and frowning. You’re not kind, and you’re always yelling at everyone,” I replied, immediately regretting it. He stopped walking but didn’t turn around. I think he was trying to figure out what to say to me. He had run out of his quick responses. “Of course, now you’re going to stay quiet,” I said, crossing my arms. I thought it was just a reflex from when I got angry because he simply wasn’t looking at me.

“I’ll let it slide because it’s obvious you’ve had too much to drink, Bree,” he replied, continuing on his way, and just like that, he left.

Damn it! What was that all about? I sighed, frustrated. The next morning, he didn’t even wait for me so we could leave together.

“Ms. Bree, the gentleman left for the office very early. I’ve been instructed to drive you to the office,” said Caden as soon as he saw me. I nodded and got into the car.

I didn’t hear from Ramsés all morning. He didn’t invite me to lunch that day either. So, I accepted an invitation to have lunch with Abigail and the other girls. They were all really good people. I was having fun when I saw Ramsés arrive at the company cafeteria.

“Hades has emerged from the underworld,” said one of the girls named Cloe.

“I think it’s the first time he’s come to this place. How strange. What could he be doing here? I doubt he even knew about this place,” said Abigail.

I saw him, as though he was searching for someone, until he met my gaze and then stopped searching. Was he really looking for me? Then he left the place with that imposing presence he exuded with every step.

“I think I’m in love with him,” said one of the girls whose name I couldn’t remember.

“How can you be in love with Hades?” asked Cloe.

“Haven’t you seen him? He’s a very handsome man.”

“I haven’t even noticed that, with the terror he causes me.”

I stayed silent while they continued talking about him. What could I say about him or the situation? I kept eating in silence until Abigail and I went to the office.

The following days were exactly the same. He didn’t wait for me, and we didn’t eat together either. It was evident that he was angry with me and that’s why he avoided me.

One morning, I decided to visit him in his office. I recognized one of the girls I had been having lunch with, the one who had said she was in love with him. I would never have imagined she was his secretary. I greeted her very kindly, even though I didn’t remember her name.

“I’m here to see Mr. Knigth.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it right now. He’s in a very bad mood these days,” she said with a sympathetic look.

“I’ll risk it,” I replied, shrugging. She picked up the phone and announced me. Seconds later, he came out looking worried.

“Did something happen, Bree? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Can we talk?”

“Let’s go to my office,” he replied, frowning. I said goodbye to his secretary, who looked at me in confusion.

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked as soon as he closed the door.

“About why you’re avoiding me,” I said, staring him down.

“I’m not avoiding you. I’ve been busy. That’s all.” I crossed my arms and challenged him with my gaze.

“Don’t lie. You’re angry about the other day. It’s obvious you don’t like being told the truth. So, would you prefer I always lie to you?”

“No, Bree, I don’t want you to lie to me.”

“Then?”

“I don’t know. I saw fear in your eyes, and it bothered me. That’s all.”

“And how did you expect me to react to that? Put yourself in my shoes. It’s not easy. Besides, I’m not afraid of you because of that.”

“You’re afraid of me? Why?” he asked in frustration.

“I don’t know. You’ve always been a bit intimidating. I didn’t even know why you had that nickname, but I was already scared,” I said, shrugging. I heard him sigh with frustration.

“This is definitely the last thing I needed.”

“I’ve already explained why everyone is afraid of you. Maybe those are my reasons. I don’t know.”

“I don’t understand, Bree. I haven’t been bad to you.”

“Do you think forcing me to be your wife is nothing?” I looked at him, frowning.

“That’s not a bad thing, Bree. It’s beneficial for you,” I sighed, frustrated.

“The moment you realize that forcing someone to do something they don’t want is wrong, then you’ll understand everything.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Bree. You’re doing well. You like your job, and you like your new life.”

“I can’t talk to you. You never accept things. Besides, you supposedly got married so you wouldn’t be alone, but you’ve definitely been alone all these days. You don’t want to eat with me. You don’t even want to share the car with me,” I said to annoy him, and he nodded.

“You’re right, Bree. It won’t happen again.” His response surprised me, but it also confused me a bit. To ease the awkward moment, I did what I knew best: annoy him.

“Ah! So you know how to admit when someone else is right?”

“Only when it’s necessary. Do you want to eat lunch with me today?”

“I already have plans,” I said, smiling.

“With those girls I saw you with the other day?”

“That’s right.”

“Can I eat with you all?”

“I don’t think so. The poor things are too scared of you. I doubt they can eat with you there. Besides, what are we going to say to them? ‘Today the boss decided to eat with us just because,’” I replied, making air quotes with my fingers.

“You can tell them I’m your husband,” he shrugged, replying.

“We’ve already talked about this, Ramsés.”

“No one in my life has ever kept me hidden,” he said, shaking his head with a half-smile. I smiled triumphantly.

“It was about time someone did. Now I’ll leave you. I have to get back to work. Goodbye,” I said, waving goodbye to him and turning around to leave his office.

An hour later, I received a bouquet of roses with a card that said, “Sorry for being an i***t these days. I’m inviting you to dinner tonight.” Abigail looked at me with a smile.

“I hope that when I get married, my husband sends me flowers all the time.”

I gave her a half-smile and remained thoughtful. With each passing day, he confused me more and more. I was never going to believe that “I got married so I wouldn’t be alone” thing. But he wasn’t in love with me; that was obvious from miles away. So what was all this? I ended up sighing in frustration. Minutes later, I received a w******p message from him.

Ramsés: I’m waiting for your answer.

Me: What do you mean? —I replied with a confused emoji.

Ramsés: To dinner tonight.

Me: Are we going to McDonald’s again?

Ramsés: As much as I’d love to, no. I want a formal dinner with you. Something like a date. Does that sound good?

Damn, he was confusing me again! I didn’t reply to the message, and minutes later, Ramsés called me, but I chose not to answer. A little while later, my secretary announced him with a trembling voice.

"Mrs. Knight, Mr. Knight is here to speak with you."

"Let him in, Abigail." Seconds later, I saw him enter. I imagined him with a frown, but no, he was smiling.

“She called you Mrs. this time. Did you tell her you were married?” he asked as soon as he entered. I shook my head just to tease him.

“She might have been mistaken,” I said, immediately seeing him frown, which made me burst out laughing.

“Yes, I told her I’m married, but I didn’t say to whom, so stop coming so often or they’ll suspect,” I said with a half-smile. He gave me a half-smile and nodded.

“That’s a big step. And I’m the boss. I can go wherever I want.”

“You can, but you don’t. Since I’ve been here, you’ve even been spotted in the dining room.”

“What can I say? I’m changing. And I’m still waiting for your answer, Bree.”

“I accept. What time?” I asked. “Where are we going?”

“At ten at night. Caden will be available to take you home earlier if you wish. You have permission to leave early. I want to take you to a nice restaurant. You have new dresses in your closet.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that and head home a bit early.” He nodded and said goodbye to me.

I had lunch with the girls, but I was silent, as always. Eating alone felt really depressing. At the orphanage, I never ate alone, so I was used to company at all meals of the day.

After finishing all my tasks at work, I went home a bit early. I took a long bath and picked out a nice dress from my closet. I tried it on, and it fit perfectly. I couldn’t help but wonder how he knew my size.

I left my hair down and added some waves. I applied a bit of makeup, and when I went downstairs, I found Ramsés sitting on the couch, covering Charon with kisses. It was truly a beautiful scene.

“Hello,” I said after watching them for several minutes. Charon ran toward me, and Ramsés snapped his fingers.

“Stop! You’re going to ruin Bree’s dress,” he said in a slightly raised voice. The dog stopped abruptly and looked at me with a sad expression.

“It’s okay, come here, baby,” I called him, but he didn’t move. So, I approached Charon and covered him with kisses. After a few seconds, Ramsés came over to me and took my hand, spinning me around in a circle.

“You look beautiful, Bree,” he said, giving me a gentle kiss on the cheek. We went to the restaurant, and I couldn’t deny it; we were having an excellent time. The food was very good, and he was wonderful, until a girl approached our table, interrupting us.

“Hades, I haven’t seen you in a long time. You’ve been completely absent.”

“Hello,” he greeted her with a frown.

“Is she your new flame?” she asked, looking at me. “She’s going to sleep with you, and then you won’t see her again. If I were you, I’d leave right now and avoid awkward situations.”

“Could you please leave? You’re ruining the dinner with my wife,” he said hurriedly. The girl’s mouth opened slightly, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“Are you his wife?” she asked, looking at me.

“Can you leave, please?” I asked her with a frown. She nodded and left. That definitely ruined the pleasant moment. I spent the rest of the night frowning.

“I’m sorry, Bree,” he kept repeating to me.

“How much longer do you think this will continue?” I immediately saw him get embarrassed.

“There was a time in my life when I was a bit out of control, Bree, but that’s all in the past. I swear I’m faithful to you.”

“If you want to sleep with all the women in the world, you can do it. I don’t care; after all, this marriage isn’t real. But I just ask that they don’t come near me because it puts me in a bad mood.”

“This marriage is very real, Bree. Don’t say that,” he said, frowning. I sighed.

“I want to go home.”