That would mean Hades left her place because his first love called him. Alanna felt hurt. She caressed her stomach instinctively. Alanna wondered if it was time for her to leave since Hades' first love had returned. Did that mean … she could leave and give birth to the baby? She spaced out as she looked at her belly. She didn't even catch what Renee was saying. Her heart was already in turmoil. "Ms. Jocinta?"Alanna snapped back to reality and composed herself. "It's time to work. Stop gossiping, or you'll be in for it if Mr. Florentine catches wind of this."Renee stuck her tongue out and went back to her desk. Alanna also forced herself to start working. Renee came knocking on Alanna's door at noon. "Mr. Florentine is asking for you, Ms. Jacinto."…The door to Hades' office was slightly ajar. Alanna could hear his voice coming from the office when she arrived at the door. He seemed to be on the phone. His tone was very gentle. Alanna never even knew he was ca
Alanna relented. Hades wouldn't give her the chance to turn him down. He never cared about her feelings. Over the years, she had learned to accept her fate because she couldn't rebel against him. She accepted the orders he gave and the pain he inflicted. "Understood."They finished the meal in silence. Hades ate very slowly. He never liked talking while he was eating. He was very sophisticated. Alanna was distracted while eating. She tried her best to ignore the rumors but still felt upset. Hades' phone rang after they finished eating. Alanna glanced at it and noticed a single letter "S" as the caller ID. Hades accepted the call immediately. "What's wrong? I ate … yeah. You should eat proper meals, too … Okay. I'll hang up now."Alanna already knew who the caller was. Hades was only so gentle when he was talking with his first love. "You left in a hurry last night. Was it because your first love came back?" Alanna asked in a seemingly casual manner. Hades was fiddli
Melanie was suddenly silenced. "I didn't kick her out. I just asked her to move."She looked at Hades with an aggrieved expression."Hades, you won't get mad at me over a manager, right?"Tears welled up in her eyes after she said that. She had been waiting for Hades to contact her in the past few years while she was abroad. Unexpectedly, he didn't even attempt to contact her in the past four years. During that period, she had thought of coming back for him more than once. But she had her pride, too. She was the one who asked for the breakup. Hades treated her differently. He would smile gently at her and call her by her nickname, "Mel". He would even fight against his siblings for her sake. But there were also limits to his special treatment of her. He never touched her, nor did he ever talk about marriage with her. He even refused to meet with her parents. Her original intent was to give Hades a push—some kind of a sense of urgency so he would marry her as soon as
Melanie held Hades' arm after she got out of the car. Alanna withdrew her gaze and walked toward the studio. However, she was stopped at the entrance. "Ms. Jacinto."Melanie was holding on to Hades. Alanna couldn't see her face because she was completely covered up. But she could sense that Melanie had a big smile on her face. "I'm sorry I kicked you off the car just now."She claimed she was sorry, but she deliberately mentioned the fact that Alanna was kicked out of the car. There were a lot of people in their vicinity. All of them heard what she said. Their gaze fell on Alanna. Alanna was one of the first employees of the company. She had been by Hades' side since he started the company. Hades had always treated her well. Although there was a fuss over her resignation a while back, she didn't resign in the end. No one in the company dared to cross her. Melanie was the first to do something like that. Her words basically confirmed everyone's suspicions. Her relation
Melanie's expression soured. "Do you really think he belongs to you just because you've spent a few years by his side? To the public, he's always been a bachelor. That should tell you enough about what he thinks of you."Her words struck Alanna like a poisoned knife. She knew better than anyone else what she meant to Hades, but she did not want to show weakness to Melanie."He doesn't belong to me, but he doesn't belong to you either!" she retorted.This seemed to hit Melanie's sore spot. Her expression darkened. "Don't act haughty so soon, Alanna. He'll be mine sooner or later. I'm here now because we're going to discuss our marriage, so if you know what's good for you, you'll stop harassing him!"It's one thing for your mother to be a homewrecker. Are you going to follow in her footsteps as well? How despicable!"Unable to hold back her anger, Alanna slapped her."Alanna!" Just then, Hades' voice sounded from behind.Alanna's hand trembled. She tensed, afraid of what she wou
Alanna scoffed. "In that case, isn't it better if we get to the bottom of this, Ms. Smith? No one can smear your reputation if things are made clear, can they?"The truth did not matter in her battle with Melanie. Victory depended on Hades' favor, which she clearly lacked.She was fighting a losing battle.She knew that even if they checked the surveillance cameras, it wouldn't matter in the end; as long as Hades placed the blame on her, then no amount of proof would change his mind.Even so, she wanted him to know the truth."There's really no need for that, Ms. Jacinto," Melanie said hastily. "I've already said that I'll let this slide. What else do you want from me?"Alanna looked at her calmly. "How could we let this slide? We can't let you suffer such a grievance, Ms. Smith."Hades stood between them with an unreadable expression. "The filming is starting soon, Ms. Jacinto. Are you sure you want to continue wasting everyone's time like this?"It was clear where his loyalti
Alanna swallowed her retort.She knew Hades' temperament. He'd already given her an ultimatum so that he would see her tonight either way.Alanna did not want to make trouble for herself. "I'll go home," she said."Do hurry," Henry said in amusement.When Alanna returned home, Hades had just finished showering.His loose bathrobe barely hid his perfect figure.He sat down on the sofa and lit a cigarette as he stared at Alanna through the smoke.After a while, he smiled. "I didn't know you could be so feisty, Ms. Jacinto."Alanna did not move.She knew that he was talking about what happened earlier that day at the studio. "I'm not going to stand there and let someone bully me. Are you going to defend Ms. Smith, Mr. Florentine?"Hades continued staring at her for a moment. Then, he snuffed out his cigarette and said, "Come here.""You can talk from there," Alanna said.Hades just stared at her.In the end, Alanna caved and walked over to him.Hades pushed a box that was on
Once the bullies got Alanna trapped, they would throw mud and stones at her. Sometimes they would throw vermin at her as well.At one point, she had had enough and beat up Melanie in retaliation.In return, Tucker had gone to her house and whipped her with his belt.At the time, she had cried and told him about what Melanie had done.She could still remember what he said to her."You have to suck it up even if she threatens to kill you!"The same thing was happening now—but it was so much more hurtful when Hades said it.She pushed down her bitterness and asked, "Why should I?"Why should she avoid Melanie? Why should she be the one to avoid her?Hades wasn't cheating on Melanie with her. She hadn't done anything wrong. Why should she avoid her?Hades just looked at her calmly. "Because she's Melanie Smith, and you're just Alanna Jacinto."His words were like a sharp knife stabbed into her heart.Alanna forced out a smile. "What if I don't?"Hades gave her a deep look. "Th