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I cock my head to the side, looking at Hades out of the corner of my eye. Hades is rich. So rich, in fact, that he puts my father to shame. In fact I think in many ways, my dad would approve of Hades.
Am I living my mother’s life? Repeating her same mistakes? I can clearly, vividly imagine what staying with Hades could be like.
I would come in from the studio, a dried paint smudge across my cheek, my hair in a messy bun. Hades would be on the couch, reading something with characteristic intensity. I would sneak up on him, surprising him with a kiss on the forehead.
And then he would grunt, pulling me down onto his lap…
“Do you want cream?”
I blink. “What?”
Hades waves a coffee cup. “Where have ye gone, Penny?”
My cheeks color. “Ah. Yes, cream is great.”
He pours cream in the coffee, eyeing me while he works.
“Ye had a faraway look,” he comments.
“Just…” I shrug, my blush deepening. “Daydreaming, I guess.”
He brings the coffee over to me, setting a mug down in front of me. I lean in, inhaling the fragrant brew.
“What are you daydreaming about, then?”
I shake my head, unwilling to meet his eyes. Instead, I pick up the mug and take the tiniest sip of the strong, hot coffee.
“Is it a sex thing?” he asks, a note of amusement in his voice.
Shaking my head again, I shoot him a look. “I was just wondering what it could be like if we were still together in say… two years’ time.”
Hades sets down his mug of coffee forcefully, causing it to splash over the side. I startle, my eyes widening as I look at him.
“Just do your fucking work, Persephone. I got you everything you need. So make me some god damn forgeries. Get us out of this mess we’re in.”
“Hades!” I squeak.
“I mean it.” He comes around the kitchen island, towering over me. He lifts my chin, peering into my eyes. “It won’t do you any good to think beyond tomorrow.”
I swallow convulsively. “You’re going to let me go tomorrow?”
“No. I’m saying that making plans is…. it’s useless.”
I bring my hand up, wrapping it gently around his hand, moving it so that he cups my cheek. “That’s a funny thing to say coming from the man who has plans, backup plans, and contingencies after that.”
He scans my face, his eyes hard. “You’ll leave me, Penny. One way or another, you’ll leave. No matter what I do.”
“You don’t know that,” I say softly.
Hades moves his hand, wrapping his fingers around my throat. He moves closer, turning my body and standing between my knees.
“Yes, I do.”
He squeezes his fingers, clenching them around my throat. But after a moment, he lets go and steps back. There is a look of profound disappointment with a note of disgust on his face. He sneers.
“Do your work, lass. I’ll be back in a few days.”
And with that, he heads to pick up his coat from where he dropped it.
“Hades!” I shoot to my feet. “Wait a second!”
But he is already making his way through the door, pulling his coat on as he slams the door behind him.
