It was almost noon when Alanna and Paul finished a round of golf. Paul invited Alanna for lunch.He remained a gentleman throughout the meal. He did not force her to drink nor did he drink too much himself. He was thoroughly courteous, and both enjoyed the meal.When they finished their meal, Paul asked, "Have you made up your mind about that plot of land?"Alanna's mind was in a jumble. After a brief pause, she replied, "Mr. Quigley, this is not a decision I can make alone. Maybe we can talk about this again sometime later?"Smiling, Paul responded, "Sure. I look forward to hearing from you."Alanna nodded.After leaving the restaurant, Alanna hopped into her car. She was still in a daze.Before this, she didn't ask about the details regarding the incident with Blake. At that time, the relationship between her and Hades was already tense. He never told her about what he'd done.In fact, she had heard from Yves that Hades had tortured the hell out of Blake. Alanna couldn't de
Alanna fell silent for a moment. Then, she replied, "I'll go over after work."She heard Hades' deep chuckle through the receiver. He said, "Alright. I'll pick you up.""There's no need. I'll go there on my own." With that, Alanna hung up on him right away.Hades looked at the phone in his hand and smiled in resignation.He remained quiet for a while as he glanced at Margaret, who was preparing bone broth for his hangover in the kitchen."You don't have to make the bone broth anymore, but please get some ingredients from the supermarket."Margaret was puzzled. Looking at him, she asked, "Mr. Florentine, we're well-stocked on ingredients."Hades got up and went to the restroom. As he did so, he instructed languidly, "After getting the ingredients, you're done for today."Margeret paused. She understood what he meant now. After packing her belongings, she headed out.Suddenly, Hades called out to her and asked, "Do you know what Ms. Jacinto's favorite foods are? Aside from desse
However, Justin stepped in between Hudson and the car door before Hudson could get in."Mr. Campbell," said Justin. "You'll tarnish Ms. Jacinto's reputation if you get into her car like this."Hudson exclaimed in discontent and went to the other side. Swiftly, Justin climbed over and blocked the door again.Alanna watched them in frustration. She headed out and hailed a taxi instead.After watching Alanna leave, Hudson blew his top and almost lashed out at Justin in a fury. "Justin Charnas, you're truly loyal to Hades, like a dog!"Justin met his gaze. "While you're behaving like a lapdog, Mr. Campbell."With that, he sped off before Hudson lost his temper.Hudson took out his phone and called Hades. "Hades Florentine, I dare you to compete for Alanna's hand in all fairness. How can you send Justin to her side?"Hades said somewhat lazily, "Hudson, why can't I send Justin over when you're lingering around her every day?"Hudson smirked. "You have a filthy mind!""Back at you,
Alanna froze, and her heart skipped a beat. "Hades, let me go."Hades hummed in response but tightened his hold on her. "Don't move, Ally. Just let me hug you for a while. I won't take long."His breath was a mixture of alcohol and cigarette smoke as he breathed on her neck.Alanna tensed up even more. As she stood stiffly before the kitchen counter, all she could hear was his breathing. Her heart started pounding furiously.Taking a deep breath, she repeated, "Let me go."But Hades was reluctant to do so. He even held her tighter as though he was trying to weld them both together."Ally, I miss you," he sighed.Alanna was flustered. Instinctively, she wanted to shove him away. However, Hades grabbed her hands and had her under control."Don't move, Ally. If you move again, I'll get hard."Alanna stopped moving altogether. Feeling embarrassed, she stomped on his foot. But right after that, she realized Hades was truly aroused.As there was barely any gap between them, she cou
Alanna cast him a glare. After getting up, she walked off.Hades' gaze followed her. Then, he entered the kitchen and took out a thermos container.When Alanna came downstairs, Hades came out of the kitchen as well."Here, take this." As he spoke, he handed the thermos container to Alanna.Before she could reject, he continued, "I asked Margaret to prepare some mild soup for your mother. Take it to the hospital, and share it with her."He stuffed the container into her hands.When Alanna returned to her car, she fell into a trance as she stared at the thermos container.Beside her, Justin noticed her expression and couldn't help but ask, "Ms. Jacinto, has there been a misunderstanding between you and Mr. Florentine?"Alanna regained her senses. She avoided his inquiring gaze and answered, "No.""If that's true, why won't you both make peace with each other when you clearly have mutual feelings?"Alanna merely smiled. "Let's go to the hospital."Seeing that she wasn't keen on
Hades had wanted to tell her about the unusual transactions to Garrett's account before this. However, they were interrupted when Melanie's fans caused a commotion at the hospital.Alanna had asked Yves about it, but he didn't know the details. So, if she wanted to know about Garrett, Hades was the only person she could ask.Hades was surprised to receive her call. "Alanna?""It's me," Alanna answered. "Hades, I want to ask you about Garrett's account."Hades was smiling, but his smile faded after listening to her voice. He sensed that something was off."What happened?" Before Alanna could answer, he continued, "I'll go to the hospital now."Alanna's heart was still aching even after she ended the call. Apart from feeling sorry for Tara, she also felt an uncontrollable surge of anger.What Garrett did to Tara all those years ago not only changed Tara's life but also Alanna's as well.Alanna took a deep breath and leaned back in her seat as she tried to calm down.Justin glanc
"Just let it out if you want to. Don't hold back," Hades said.Alanna stiffened when he hugged her. She called out in a hoarse voice, "Hades!"But Hades hugged her even tighter while saying nothing. All he did was hold her close to him.Alanna didn't struggle, and neither did she cry out loud. Still, her tears soaked through Hades' shirt.Hades felt his heart breaking into pieces and held her even tighter.Alanna quickly calmed down and wiped her tears. Then, she looked at Hades.Trying to sound calm, she asked, "Hades, have you investigated the sender of this particular amount?"Hades stroked her red-rimmed eyes. "I have. I not only investigated that transaction but also all the other unusual ones. I did it when you told me you suspected Garrett was instructed by someone else to threaten you."However, the other party was a money-lending company. Throughout the years, those working with that company had either died or gone missing."Alanna's fingers clenched. "So we're at a d
Alanna felt slightly frustrated. She looked away and shook her head. "We didn't fight."Chelsey looked at her and said, "Then, that bastard made you angry again, didn't he?" Alanna did not say anything. Instead, she took out her phone and called Hades. "Hades, thank you for your help today. We can continue our discussion some other day."Hades remained quiet. Alanna was about to end the call when he said, "Are you angry?"Alanna lowered her gaze. She did feel upset as Esther's appearance was a blatant reminder that Melanie would always be a problem in their relationship.She sighed and said, "Hades, you should go home and sleep early."Hades was silent before he said, "I'll send Melanie away as soon as possible."Alanna did not say anything and ended the call instead.The next day, Alanna woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the front door.Chelsey had been drying her hair halfway when she went to open the door.She was stunned to see some breakfast hanging by the doo