Chapter 2

Alanna's back went stiff when she heard that.

She turned around and asked as naturally as she could, "If I were to answer 'yes,' what would you do?"

Hades' eyes turned dim, and his stare turned icy cold. It was a vast difference from how hot and passionate he'd been just less than 30 minutes ago.

"What else would I do? Schedule an abortion for you at once."

Alanna's face slowly turned pale. She clasped her hands tightly as Hades stared at her with an increasingly chilling look.

"Alanna. Don't forget the rules of our game."

Alanna stiffened at once.

That was right. Everything between them was just a game to him.

After all, she was a nobody and didn't deserve to be with him. She was born in a regular household, while Hades was the first son of the eldest son in the Florentine family. He was the true heir to all of his family's wealth and social status.

Her relationship with him started as a mere coincidence.

Three years ago, her mother, Tara Thornton, had been involved in an accident, and she needed money to save her. So, Alanna swallowed her pride and went looking for her birth father to borrow some money from him.

She'd waited outside that luxurious mansion for an entire night and even passed out halfway through. However, she didn't receive a single penny from that man.

In the end, it was Hades, who happened to be passing by the area, who saved her.

After waking up in the hospital, Hades' first question to her was, "Do you want to play a game?"

The game was an adult game. She didn't have to use her brain or skills for it. All she had to do was spread her legs for him, and that was it.

Her response to his question?

"Do I get paid for it?"

Hades broke into a wide smile then. He praised her and said, "That's more like it."

However, for the past three years, Hades was the only one who was still playing his "game". Meanwhile, Alanna only fell deeper and harder for him.

He was someone she'd had a crush on for many years, after all.

However, she also understood that this was a one-sided crush that would never come to fruition.

Alanna chuckled, suppressing the pain that was spreading rapidly from her heart to the rest of her body.

"Don't worry, Mr. Florentine. I'm not the one who's pregnant."

Hades leaned back on the couch as his thin lips curled up in a smirk. "Of course. Ms. Jacinto, you've always been a smart lady. And I've never had to worry much about you."

Alanna answered him with another grin. Before he could catch on to her true feelings, she quickly excused herself and walked out of the CEO's office.

Renee Atkinson, her assistant, was already waiting for her at the entrance. "Ms. Jacinto, the meeting is starting in five minutes."

Alanna nodded and took a few seconds to recompose herself. Then, she headed for the meeting rooms.

…

The meeting finally ended around 10:00 pm that night. Terrence was a sly old fox, and Alanna had nearly walked into his traps one too many times.

Both sides of the party refused to budge. It wasn't until the end that they finally compromised and agreed on a price they could both accept before signing the contract of the year.

Terrence was in the middle of packing up his things when he glanced over at Alanna. "Ms. Jacinto, shall we head out and grab a drink together?"

Alanna smiled and replied, "It's a little too late for that, Mr. Abbott. How about another time? It'll be my treat."

Terrence ignored her rejection and asked her out again. "Are you not even going to humor me with a single drink?"

Alanna felt a headache coming as soon as she heard this.

Ever since she met him last year to discuss their projects and collaborations, he had been pursuing her nonstop. She'd rejected him many times before. However, because they kept seeing each other for work, Terrence never gave up on her despite her constant rejections.

"But we've all worked hard on this project. Ms. Jacinto. Don't you think you shall reward everyone here with a drink, too?"

Terrence then looked at the other colleagues in the meeting room.

Seeing the anticipation on her colleagues' faces, Alanna had to cave in.

Terrence was the one who picked the venue. However, they never thought that they would run into Hades there.

Terrence led everyone into a private room at the bar. He then took Alanna alone to a different private room, saying that he had an appointment with someone else.

Since Alanna's and Terrence's social circles often overlapped, Alanna didn't think much about it and followed him in.

As soon as she stepped into the room, she immediately caught sight of Hades. He was surrounded by a crowd of pretty ladies, and Alanna even recognized a few D-list celebrities in the crowd.

Hades' sleazy friends were also in the private room. A woman was seated next to each of them. Meanwhile, a D-lister was seated right next to Hades. Lust was written in her eyes and showing in her body language.

However, Hades just leaned back on the couch lazily. He looked the epitome of sleaziness, yet there was a distant look in his eyes.

He didn't respond to the D-lister's approaches. Nonetheless, he didn't reject her advances either.