My Life with Hades

CHAPTER 6

"Let's go into the water, Bree," he said excitedly, flashing that huge smile. I refused to go into the water because I didn't know how to swim and didn't feel like learning. He and Caronte went into the sea, and I watched them while they played.

"Can you apply sunscreen on me, please?" he asked a while later when they both came out of the water. I nodded, and he sat on the sand. I thought that after seeing that beautiful smile, touching him wouldn't be good. Not for me. Geez, Bree! What's going on with you? You're not like the other girls who fall head over heels for him, I scolded myself mentally.

"Are you okay? You're very quiet."

"I'm fine. I'm just relaxed. The sound of the sea relaxes me," I replied, lying. He nodded.

"It happens to me too. Do you want something to eat? I prepared some sandwiches for breakfast."

"Did you make them?" I asked.

"Well, Olive did, but I supervised her," he said, laughing.

"I thought so," I replied, joining in his laughter.

He went to the car and brought back a huge picnic basket that I hadn't noticed before. He set everything up and petted Charon.

"There's some for you too, don't worry," he said, taking out a metal plate and serving him kibble. He handed me a sandwich, and with the first bite, I felt a bit strange.

"What's in them?" I asked, looking at him.

"Peanut butter and jelly."

"Strawberry jelly?" I asked, alarmed. He nodded.

"My favorite."

"Oh no!" I said, immediately standing up and searching for my bag.

"What's wrong, Bree?"

"My bag! Where's my bag?"

"I think you left it in the car. Why?"

"I'm allergic to strawberries. I need my bag," I mumbled, my tongue feeling a bit numb.

He ran to the car, and minutes later—what felt like years to me—he came back with my bag. He dumped everything onto the blanket we had on the sand and rummaged through my things until he grabbed the epinephrine injection tube.

"Is this it, Bree?" he asked with a panicked look. By that point, I couldn't speak and was struggling to breathe, but I nodded. Immediately, he jabbed it into my leg, and I lay on the sand, waiting for my airways to fully open. He took me in his arms and hugged me.

"Everything will be fine, Bree," he kept repeating. Minutes later, when I was feeling better, I spoke to him.

"You used my allergy as an excuse to get touchy," I teased him. He sighed with relief and placed me in front of him, pressing his forehead against mine.

"I'm glad you're okay now. I was terrified." That had been the most intimate moment I had experienced with him so far. Strangely, I didn't feel uncomfortable. We stayed like that for a few seconds until I pulled away. This was really too much for me.

"Do you feel okay? Do you want us to go home?" he asked.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Can we stay a little longer?" I asked without looking at him. The truth was, I wasn't ready to spend an hour in the car with him. He nodded.

"We can stay all day if you want, Bree." Charon came up to me, as if sensing something was wrong, and didn't leave my side, even when Ramsés called him to play ball.

"Wow, someone really took the job of looking after Bree seriously," he said, smiling and petting Charon. "That's right, buddy, we have to take care of our girl." We stayed a couple more hours on the beach until I got hungry.

"Let's go to a restaurant about twenty minutes from here. I only have sandwiches with jelly," he said, shrugging.

We arrived at the restaurant, and the three of us got out of the car. Everyone greeted him with a smile, and he smiled back. Was he really this nice to these people? Damn! Every day he surprises me more.

I ate in silence, as always, while he tried to start a conversation. When would he realize that I eat in silence? After eating, we went home. I took a shower and went to sleep. When I woke up, it was night. I had slept too much. I brushed my teeth and went downstairs, but I didn't find Ramsés. I ran into Olive in the kitchen, and she greeted me with a hug. We chatted for a while as she prepared dinner.

"How was the beach? Ramsés told me what happened, so I have orders to remove everything containing strawberries from the house," she said, looking at me. "What? Had he really asked for that?" I thought.

"It's not necessary, Olive. I know what I can eat and what I can't," I said, shaking my head.

"It's to prevent any mistakes, Bree. We switched the jams to blueberry. Ramsés likes them too, so there's no problem."

I was distracted, talking to Olive, when Ramsés entered the kitchen.

"Bree, you finally got up. Can you come to my office, please?"

I nodded, said goodbye to Olive, and followed him. He handed me a piece of paper, and I took it, confused.

"These are the details of our family doctor. I would love for you to go and get all the necessary tests done." I nodded, as healthcare had always been a luxury for me, something I hadn't allowed myself for many years, so I was going to take him up on it.

"If you're allergic to anything else, I want to know. What happened today can't happen again, Bree."

"You're right. Sometimes I forget, which is why you didn't know. But I always carry my epinephrine with me."

"Are you agreeing with me just like that?" he asked with a half-smile.

"Don't get used to it," I replied, laughing. "By the way, where's Charon? I looked for him but couldn't find him."

"He's asleep. When we got back, I gave him a shower, and he fell asleep. I think he's like you in that way. Is there anything specific you'd like to do tonight? It's Saturday, and we can do whatever you want."

"Can we go for a walk in the park with Charon?"

"Sounds good. We can go after dinner. By the way, you have an appointment with our doctor on Monday, so don't miss it," he said without looking at me.

Although it annoyed me a little that he had made the appointment without consulting me, I accepted it because he was just concerned about me.

We walked hand in hand. He had Charon on a leash. The dog was very sweet but a bit intimidating. We stopped to get some ice cream and continued our walk until a couple of girls greeted him, eyeing me strangely.

"Let me guess... You slept with them," I sighed.

"Bree, don't get mad. That's all in the past."

"Is there any woman you haven't slept with?" He paused for a few seconds, and when he was about to answer, I cut him off. "You know what? I don't want to know," I said, walking ahead. Charon slipped out of his hand and followed me. I grabbed his leash and continued walking, with Ramsés trailing behind us like a scolded puppy.

"Come on, Bree. I know this isn't trivial, but we've already talked about it. You said you only got mad because you didn't know what to expect, and I told you everything." I stopped, feeling mischievous.

"I want a list," I said. He looked at me, confused.

"What? A list of what, Bree?"

"I want a list of every woman you've slept with," I replied, crossing my arms. I was only doing it to annoy him, knowing he'd never actually make the list. But he nodded.

"I'll make it for you. Let's go home," he said, taking my hand.

When we got home, he went into his office. "Get some wine, Bree. I'll wait for you in the lounge." I nodded and grabbed a bottle and a couple of glasses. When I returned, he was sitting cross-legged with a notebook on his lap.

"As for the order, I only remember the first one," he said, writing down a name. "Anne was my first girlfriend. She was also my first time. I was very young, around fifteen, though I don't remember exactly. She was the daughter of some friends of my parents, and everyone wanted us to be together. I think it was more due to social pressure," he said, shrugging. "The woman from the restaurant is Brianne. Things got complicated with her because, after one night, she wanted more, but I didn't," he said, putting an asterisk next to her name. "The girls from the park are Chelsea and Debra. I was with both of them at the same time. I'm not proud of it," he added, marking them with asterisks as well.

And so he continued writing names. We ended up drinking four bottles of wine, and the list was a massive four-page document, written on both sides. Damn! How could this be possible? How could someone have so much s*x? There were about two hundred women. Way more than I had imagined.

"Is that enough for you?" he asked. I nodded.

"At least now I know names and what to expect," I said, sighing. He looked at me intently, placing his hand on my leg.

"Bree, I swear I haven't looked at another woman since long before we got married."

"You don't have to. You don't need to be faithful to me. This marriage isn't real," I said, removing his hand from my leg. He frowned.

"We're not going to argue about that. If you want to be mad because you're jealous, go ahead, but don't use the excuse that our marriage is fake."

"I'm not jealous!" I retorted, crossing my arms.

"When are you going to admit that you are?" he said, smiling.

"When it's true, I'll admit it. Until then, no."

"Come here," he said, pulling me towards him and hugging me.

"Where's the Hades I married? The one who tensed up at a hug," I teased him, watching him frown.

"Don't call me Hades. Not you, Bree."

"Why can't I, if everyone else does?"

"Because you're not like everyone else."

"Okay, Ramsés," I said, rolling my eyes. At that moment, Charon came up to me. "Come here, baby, come up and get some cuddles too," I patted the couch for him to climb up. Once on it, he covered us both with licks. Ramsés smiled.

"You're spoiling him a lot."

The next morning, we both woke up late. Those bottles of wine had definitely taken their toll. I didn't want to get out of bed all day until I heard a knock on the door.

"Bree, are you okay? I'm worried about you. Can I come in?"

"You can come in, and I'm fine. I just have a massive hangover."

"What did I tell you about using bad language, Bree?" I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"It's just the two of us, and you have to love me as I am, even if I'm rude," I said, laughing as he sighed.

"Do you want to watch a movie? I'm a bit bored."

"I do, but I don't want to get up."

"Want me to carry you?" he asked with a mischievous smile.

"Don't even think about it."

"Then get up. I'll ask Olive to make some popcorn. I'll wait for you in the movie room in ten minutes."

"Can you stop giving orders, even when we're just going to watch a movie?" I crossed my arms, and he smiled.

"It's not an order. It's a threat. If you don't come, I'll come for you," he said before leaving my room.

The next morning, we went to work together. I got everything organized so I could go to my doctor's appointment. But when I arrived at the office, I was a bit nervous. The doctor greeted me with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, Bree. I finally get to meet Ramsés's wife. I've been instructed to run all the necessary tests on you, so please start by filling out this form, and we'll rule out some medical conditions."

Oh, damn it! Most of the questions on the form asked, "Is there a history of such-and-such in your family?" How was I supposed to know? I sighed in frustration after the tenth question about my family's history.

"Is everything okay, Bree?" the doctor asked when he saw me sigh.

"No, there are at least ten questions I can't answer," I said, handing him the form. "I'm an orphan." He looked slightly embarrassed and nodded.

"Don't worry, just fill out the other parts, and we'll run tests for the rest."

I nodded, and after filling out the form, they took my blood and did other tests I didn't fully understand. An hour later, when I left the Doctor's office, I ran into Christopher, who immediately hugged me.

"Bree! Where have you been?! I've been calling and looking for you everywhere. It's like the earth swallowed you up. I was so worried!" He hugged me tightly. I melted into his embrace, inhaling his scent.

I had been in love with Christopher almost from the first day I met him two years ago. A few months ago, we had started dating, but he had to leave the city because his mother was sick. Damn! I had missed him terribly! I never wanted to be apart from him again.