Bitter Was the Love, Quiet Was the Goodbye

When I returned home, I immediately began sorting through my belongings and mailing them to the school's address where I'd be volunteering.

When Hades came back and noticed how empty the house looked, he frowned and asked, "Why is so much stuff missing?"

I answered nonchalantly, "Oh, I donated them all to the rural villages."

"What do you mean you donated them? We bought all those decorations for our new home, and Olivia handpicked every one of them!"

He was clearly upset, but his tone and expression softened as he considered my feelings. "Forget it. You're the lady of the house, so you have the final say."

With that, Hades headed into the kitchen. It turned out he had returned home to cook some soup for Olivia.

An hour later, he limped out of the kitchen with a small smile.

"Here. I made an extra bowl just for you. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you in front of Olivia. I was just so anxious about her injuries. I hope you won't hold it against me."

I knew Hades was trying to make peace. He always followed up his insults with a sweet gesture. The sad part was that I'd indeed fallen for those underhanded tactics more times than I could count.

When I didn't touch the soup, he inched closer with a playful smile. "Are you waiting for me to feed you? Are you still mad at me?"

I quickly put some distance between us, repulsed by his attempts at sweetness.

Once he realized I wasn't reacting the way I used to, his embarrassment turned to anger.

"Cassandra, are you still not over it? Don't tell me you're still suspicious of my relationship with Olivia. I've already told you countless times that Olivia's my niece!

"She only said those things on her 18th birthday because she was drunk. You were there, and you saw me reject her! I even punished her afterward!

"Olivia's still young, so of course she'll make mistakes. What matters is that she learns and grows. Are you really going to condemn her forever because she momentarily had inappropriate feelings for me?

"Cassandra, I'm not trying to preach, but you should forgive and forget. Stop making things worse. Olivia's already had a change of heart. She even helped design our wedding invitations!"

I lowered my head and scoffed. How could he have dared to bring that up?

Olivia was an art student studying design. Back then, she offered to design our wedding invitations.

But in the first draft she showed us, she'd used an intimate photo of herself and Hades. She'd photoshopped herself wearing my wedding dress and listed herself as the bride.

When I brought the invitation to Hades and questioned him, he stayed nonchalant.

"It's just a draft. We'll change the photo for the printed version, and your name will be listed as the bride. Olivia was just trying to help. She probably used her photo and name for convenience."

The wedding was close, so I swallowed my anger. But I had missed the joy on Hades' face when he saw that invitation.

Looking back now, a sharp pain pierced my heart.

He already had those feelings for Olivia, even back then.

However, it didn't matter anymore.

After all, I was leaving soon.