\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly. \u201cI have another question.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyebrow arched, amused. \u201cGo on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I asked the one that had been clawing at the back of my mind since the moment I met him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Hades?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hades is a good man\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alec opened the door of the sleek black car and stepped aside, giving me a polite smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I murmured, trying to match his warmth with a smile of my own, though it felt fake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded, and I slid into the backseat, the cool leather brushing my thighs beneath Hades\u2019 shirt and the jeans that still clung to me like a second skin. Alec moved around to the front and got it settling into the driver\u2019s seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The engine purred to life. He adjusted the mirror and glanced at m through it. \u201cWhere should I drop you off?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where should I go?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t go back to Matthew\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That part of my life was done. No matter how much a part of my heart still wanted to be with him. I couldn\u2019t walk back into that house like nothing had happened. I wasn\u2019t the same girl who lived here a day ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That left one option.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hand trembled slightly as I thought of the only place I had left, my uncle\u2019s house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The idea of squeezing back into that space, surrounded by my aunt and cousins, made my skin crawl. I hadn\u2019t lived there in over\u00a0<\/p>\n
a year. Moving in with Matthew had felt like a promise that things were finally getting better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, everything was in reverse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cViolet?\u201d Alec\u2019s voice called gently from the front.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snapped out of it and looked up. His gaze met mine in the mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I forced a smile. \u201cYes, I am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t press further. I gave him Matthew\u2019s address, there were still a few things I needed to pack from the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alec raised an eyebrow, but didn\u2019t comment. He simply nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car pulled into motion, gliding down the city road. I barely noticed the buildings, and the people outside. It was all just background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My thoughts were louder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything had happened so fast, and now, with space between me and Hades, my mind finally had the chance to think about everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clenched my hands in my lap, my nails digging into my palms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I still couldn\u2019t believe it was real. Nora had pulled me into that pool on purpose. And Matthew, the man I trusted with my heart, chose to save her instead of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t save the girl he dated for four years. The girl he said he would marry after her graduation. The one who believed every promise he made. Who gave him all of her. He left me to drown. An even after that, Matthew didn\u2019t believe me. He detended her like always. What do I even expect, she was his childhood sweetheart, his precious first love.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned my head and stared out the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the sidewalk, a couple stood close together, laughing as they took a selfie. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hodes is good man\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked away, and my throat tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matthew used to do that. He used to make me feel like I was the only girl he saw in a room full of people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Used to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything I thought we had was just a story I told myself, something I clung to because I was too afraid to face the truth. I was always second place. And the worst part? That day, I would\u2019ve forgiven him if he had just apologized.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hoped he\u2019d say, \u201cI chose wrong. I\u2019m sorry. I was scared, and I made a mistake.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he never did. The only person who looked at me like I mattered in the last few hours, was an older man who properly ruined my body for anyone else. Even if it was just one night, Hades pulled me out of the fantasy I had locked myself in for too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t save me just from the water. He saved me from myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, the car slowed and stopped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here, Violet,\u201d Alec said, his voice calm as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted my head slowly to see the mansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The place I once imagined would be the beginning of my future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers curled around the door handle, but I hesitated. I turned o glance at Alec in the mirror, and for a brief moment, I\u00a0<\/p>\n
swore I saw his blue eyes flash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He smiled. \u201cDo you need something?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I just wanted to say something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He waited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Hades can be many things, it depends who you are to him, a stranger, a threat, a deal, or amusement, but to me,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hades isn\u2019t a devil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He blinked, genuinely surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo me, he\u2019s a savior.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alec\u2019s smile faltered for a second. He looked at me fully now, eyes searching mine like he didn\u2019t quite believe what he heard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know why he helped me last night,\u201d I added. \u201cMaybe I was just a game to him. Maybe he was amused with my situation, but at the end of the day, he helped me when no one else did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo to me, Hades is a good man.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A moment passed, and Alec\u2019s lips twitched into a smirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI see,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m happy, because for the first time, someone sees Hades as a good person. Thank you, Violet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know why he was thanking me. But I nodded, and steppedut of the car. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked toward the gate, but I didn\u2019t look back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The iron gate stood tall in front of me. I knocked lightly, and moments later, Mateo, the head security guard, walked up and opened the gate. His face softened the moment he saw me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning, Miss Violet,\u201d he said with a polite bow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave him a small smile. \u201cGood morning, Mateo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hacks is a good man\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped forward, but his voice caught me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cM-Miss\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused. \u201cIs something wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked conflicted. \u201cIt\u2019s just\u2026 Mr. Matthew isn\u2019t around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, expression unreadable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not looking for Matthew,\u201d I said simply. \u201cI came to get my things. You don\u2019t have to worry about me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated, lips parting like he wanted to say more, but I was already walking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was better this way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Matthew wasn\u2019t here, there would be no drama. I could just collect my things and leave quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed the doorbell. After a few seconds, the heavy door creaked open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sofia stood there, looking at me in surprise. \u201cMiss Violet?TM\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave her a small smile. \u201cHello, Sofia. I just came to get a few things. I\u2019ll be our soon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stepped aside, and I entered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked past the hallway, I was halfway through the stairs when a voice cut through the silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, look who it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze, and my heart stopped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the one who ran away from home,\u201d the voice cooed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slowly turned my head toward the stairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nora.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was standing at the top of the staircase in nothing but a shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matthew\u2019s shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 20 \u00a0 I nodded slowly. \u201cI have another question.\u201d\u00a0 His eyebrow arched, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}