Diehard Desire

Aftermath

It had been more then a week since Ivy last saw her adoptive father. She avoided everything that could lead her to him. She was dead set on denying that he even came back.

Her peculiar behaviour didn't go unnoticed by the staff. They had known the girl for far too long to be unaware of her isolating herself. Grace waited in patience for days for Ivy to come to her herself before she had had enough.

She cornered Ivy one day when she cautiously sneaked into the kitchen for her breakfast much before anyone in the house woke up.

Ivy filled her plate under the watchful eyes before making a beeline to the door. She stopped in her stance when she heard Grace calling her in her no-nonsense voice.

A sense of shame and doom overwhelmed her as her heart thudded away inside her chest. It was becoming exceedingly difficult for her to breath as she heard a ringing in her ear.

Her hands shook as black dots overtook her vision. She heard faint shouting behind her and something that weirdly resembled the breaking of a plate before she fell down on the floor with thud.

*********

"What is the matter with her?" A booming male voice growled making her almost flinch. But her limbs appeared to have stopped listening to her commands and lay numbly at her sides.

"Her vitals appear normal to me, Sir." A frightened voice croaked out, "The symptoms that I've been told points to a possible anxiety attack." They said before a warm hand caressed her head.

"Well, then," The first man continued in his angry tone, "Give her something to make her alright, will you?" He said impatiently. Before Ivy heard a loud noise of something breaking. "Why isn't she waking up?"

Now that Ivy concentrated on the voice, she could distinguish him very clearly. His tone appeared to be both of worry and impatience. He appeared to be showing varied levels of anger at what sounded like the poor doctor.

After a little struggle and concentration, Ivy tried to open her eyes. But she quickly shut it and groaned as bright light shone directly in her eyes. 

She heard hurried footsteps as felt the bed dip beside her waist as someone sat down. Her small, dainty hand was engulfed in large ones as someone touched her forehead longingly.

"Love? Can you hear me?" Hades's timbre voice reached her ears making her feel a sudden jolt in her abdomen.

Ivannah slowly opened her eyes only to find Hades looking down at her with a vision frown marring his face. He was so close to her that she was painfully reminded of the night they shared her first kiss.

The unwanted memories brought tears in her eyes and she hurriedly closed them to hide it from him. But she appeared to have failed because the very next second she heard in tell everyone to leave them alone in his intimidating voice.

Ivannah clearly heard three pairs of distinguished footsteps retreating the room before closing the door behind them. The room was quite with neither of them breaking the silence enveloping them.

Ivy gasped as a hand wiped away the stray tear that had escaped the side of her eye. A warm breath fanned her face before she felt a familiar set of lips leave a feathery kiss on her forehead.

"Open your eyes, love." Hades whispered near her face making her stiffen, "Open your eyes and look at me." He whispered before lovingly kissing her button nose.

Ivy opened her eyelids slowly as tried to blink away her tears to get a better look of his face. He was close to her, so close that it made her think or the sinful things he could do to her. The things that had never crossed her mind before him.

His eyes stared into the abyss of her soul as her caressed her cheeks with his hand. Her searched her eyes as if the answer to all the problems in the world lay within them.

His gaze almost felt like a he was touching her soul with his eyes.

"Tell me, love," He finally whispered after a long silence, "Am I the reason for your worries?" Hades asked making her suck in a breath.

She was hoping, praying that he wouldn't ask this. Anything but this. She wasn't ready to answer his questions yet. She didn't feel like she would ever be.

"I-I....." Ivy started helplessly avoiding his eyes.

They were too intense as they looked at her. At the moment she hoped for the earth to open and shallow her. To just end her miserable existence. She spend ten years hoping for a day to come when he would want her and when it was finally within reach she messed it up.

A helpless sob left past her lips before she could stop it. It is all my fault. She clinched her chest as her heart hurt for the powerful cry that left past her lips.

Before she could utter a word, Hades lifted her in his arms and cradled her crying form to his chest. She cried about everything that happened with her.

Losing her Parents

Hades leaving her

Waiting for ten years for him

Ruining her chance of having a family

The tears kept pouring out of her eyes. And just like last time, Hades cooed in her ear lovingly. He soothed her hair with his fingers and massaged her scalp as she cried in his chest.

"Grace tells me you have been very tensed lately, my love. And that you have been avoiding your meals. That's not good for your health, baby." Hades whispered in her ear making her cry harder.

"I'm sorry, I-I'm so sorry." Ivy said between hiccups and held him tighter.

"What are you sorry for, Angel?" Hades questioned as he took ahold of her chin making her look up. Snot ran down her nose as she looked at his genuinely surprised face. Did I imagine everything? No, It felt too real to be just a dream.

"For kissing you that night." Ivy whispered in a faint voice and looked down as heat rose up her neck.

Hades brought her back to his chest wordlessly and held her there. She could hear his heart beat and felt a weird calmness and she wound her hand around his waist. He held her for what felt like hours before speaking again.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, my love," Hades said before continuing, "I must say I was mildly surprised that it was you that made the first move but it would have happened eventually." He concluded making Ivy retrace from his warm chest and look up at his face thunderstruck.

A faint smile took over Hades's lips as he look at Ivy's eyes and then her lips.

"Don't get me wrong. Having your lips pressed against mine was the best feeling in the world" He said before continuing,

"But if you hadn't done it, I would have."