HADES

Kapittel 1

It was Friday, the day most awaited by most collegian folks because everyone is now able to take a break from a week jam-packed with stress and headaches of college, especially those who are graduating in a few months' time. The weather was purely gloomy. The whole sky was concealed with dark grey, thick clouds, and the wind was strongly blowing against the trees, making the semi-orange leaves loosen their grasp on the thin branches and prance like little ballerinas in the air, slowly falling on the dusty ground. It seems that it was going to rain hard. Every person who was still finishing their work in the university was in a haste, fearing that they would catch the rain, but to Allison, the weather meant nothing. The rain meant nothing. Everything meant nothing.

Everyone who knew her knows she hasn't been her usual self lately. Her lovely green eyes were pale and sad, not to mention, has heavy, dark bags under them. She always seems to be looking somewhere far, spacing out, let alone the fact that she has gotten pale and lost weight that gets worse and worse as every single passed by. Whenever people, especially gamers see her, they would think of the one thing: she looks like a zombie from a survival horror movie. She walks like she's drunk or high, bumping into both male and female collegians, which would often turn their head to glare at her, but she doesn't seem to care. She doesn't pay attention to class anymore and sometimes even skips them without noticing it. Her enthusiastic and bubbly character had faded and turned into a melancholic one, she was like a person in a vegetative state, let alone the fact that she doesn't even speak anymore, her once thin and red, now pale lips never even changed an angle or parted. She hasn't spoken to anyone and doesn't want to, actually. Her friends have been concerned with her well - being and have been trying to cheer her up and convince her to open up but no avail.

Walking down the halls meticulously with cautious steps, she remembered what date it was today. It was November 8. Almost three months after she broke up with Dane. She mused what had happened that painful day and her heart starts squeezing in pain. She was hurt and confused. She wanted answers about why Dane cheated on her. For what reason? Was he sick of her? Did he find another? Was that woman prettier, sexier, more attractive, and jaw-dropping than her?

Up until now, she finds no answer to any of those questions. A masochist side of her wanted the answers to come out from Dane himself.

Stepping out from the university's humongous, newly painted gates, Allison embraced herself against her sweater as the cold, strong wind that carried the scent of the Northern wind passed by, sending chills to her frail body. Moments later, the sky began to cry. Feeling her emotions wringing her little heart into a pulpy juice, she bit her lower lip, preventing herself from crying. It was just like the last three months ago, it rained. It drizzled when she broke up with him. When confessed to her that he cheated on her, the day when he broke her heart, the moment when he crumbled her whole world. When he tore her apart like a piece of useless paper. The rain reminds her of him, and every memory of him shatters her tiny, fragile heart. The wound was still fresh and aching badly, and cannot seem to be healed. But only the odds know that it will not be for long.

"Here is your white coffee, ma'am," a voice said that startled Allison. She lifted her head and realized it was one of the café's waiters, smiling warmly down at her, offering a sizzling, frothing white coffee in a personalized cup with her name scribbled in sloppy handwriting. She was about to smile back in return but then, she saw the familiar look of empathy in his eyes, she felt like she was kicked to the ground. She wants neither any ounce of empathy nor need one. But anyone cannot help themselves but feel pity for the poor lassie because of how she looks now. She was drenched, from her hair to the ends of her toenails, and was shivering because of the frostiness. She looks like she's going to faint in any second.

The waiter felt like saying, "Ma'am, I think you need to get some rest." You badly need it!

"Thank you," she thanked him politely and accepted the cup with her pale, shivering hands. He only nodded in response with a small smile then left her to serve other costumers. Her eyes drooped down to look at the blistering thing in her hands, giving off a radiance of heat to her cold palms. Finally deciding of taking a sip, she lifted to cup her lips. A stinging pain suddenly assailed her mouth but she tolerated it while sipping her coffee. The hot liquid had stung her delicate tongue but the pain meant nothing, nor feels anything. She feels numb. Dane made her numb. She looked at the view outside the café. The street was oddly empty. No cars. No head aching noise of honking. Only the faint pitter-patter sound of the drizzle and the chatters of the people taking the time of their lives inside the café are what she could only hear.

When the rain finally begins slowly to stop, Allison got to her feet and grabbed her bag, deciding to go home to sulk in a corner or to look at her old photos with Dane and reminisce their happy memories then cry or watch sad movies while eating ice cream and get more depressed or listen to sad songs, sing them out loud while crying and cursing Dane for hurting her. She began to take her steps to the egress of the cafe with her mind blank and heart lurching, feeling very empty and undesirably hollow. She was too empty and ignorant to notice that the people were already gawking at her. Her mind is only filled with Dane, only him. His smooth voice, his sweet smile, the way he lo-

"Oof!" She bumped into something tall and sturdy, causing her to drop her coffee out of sheer shock. The cup fell on the floor instantaneously and the oozing, hot liquid spilled on someone's expensive-looking leather shoes. The crowd gasped out of surprise in unison. It took a while before Allison realized what has happened. She just bumped into someone!

"O-h, God. I-I'm so sorry!" Allison apologized and raised her head to apologize eye-to-eye with the man she bumped into. But every part of her body stiffened and she found all of her attention stuck to a man's cold, gray eyes.

"What's my appointment this next hour, Jarred?" Hades asked his secretary while watching the drizzle. He loves the rain since the day he was born, it makes him feel at ease and gives him the want to forget the world and just sit back on his chair at home, watch the entertaining scene of the sky's tears descend on the Earth while sipping a cup of black coffee. A pluviophile he is, people would normally say.

His meek secretary, Jarred, hastily took a look at his notes before answering with full veneration, "Well sir, you have your meeting with the investors this 2:45," to a novice in the world of business like Jarred, he treats, looks upon and sees Hades as a saint, a genius, a prodigy. He could not imagine that someone young at the age of 31 would have a massive business empire that travels around the world, and his boss managed to take control and made it bigger of it at the tender age of 18! Jarred could imagine his boss's life back then and know that it wasn't just a sweat. All the hard work and sacrifice of happiness was all worth it.

"What time is it?" Hades asked, fixing his cuff links.

"2:08," Hades almost rolled his eyes in chagrin mentally asking if can't he get an hour to rest. It's been almost a week since he hasn't had enough rest because of the deals that he had to grab and new branches to open. All he wants to do now is just close his eyes and doze off to his heart's content but he can't. He could feel his eyes are almost shutting but he can't let them shut no matter how heavy they are. The familiar image of steaming black coffee on a personalized cup then came to his mind.

"Let's go to my sister's café, Hirojhit," Hades told the chauffeur who has been silent all the time. He slightly perched his head on the car's tinted window, searching for the place that offers the coffee he thinks as the best. His sister's coffee is the only coffee that makes him taste heaven, and no coffee will ever replace that.

They arrived after a couple of minutes. The chauffeur, Hirojhit hastily opened the car's door for Hades, who left the car with such graceful glory. The smell of the wet road then came into his nose, making him grimace. Disgusting, he thought. Even though he loves the rain, he hates the ugly stench it gives to the road.

Hopeful, that the media isn't waiting for him for a huge ambush, he stared at his sister's kingdom that was jam-packed with millennia of people, his powerful aura radiating off that made every person who passed by him shudder and bow their heads. He then began to stride to his sister's café with Jarred following him like a dog. When he opened the door, the saccharine aroma of coffee and light meal infiltrated his nose. The sweet smell made his stress scurry away and his body and mind relax. This is how Hera's coffee works on him; it's like his safe haven, his only escape from work or the media.

He motioned Jarred to follow him to the counter as he continues to stride, keeping his best to ignore the awkward stares from the people in the café. Being one of the most sought after successful bachelors in the world, he needs to get used to this kind of lifestyle. Being stared by everyone who sees him like he was some kind of an alien, make journalists and prying media follow after him with cameras and recorders in their hands, but he has never gotten used to it. Tons of his pictures were in magazines, newspapers, and tabloids, and he hates it, not to mention though, he's extreme popularity with the girls, especially women make him want to puke all his guts out. Much more to his chagrin, journalists have declared him as the "daily talk of the ladies". As he strode, he suddenly felt a very small bump and he felt a searing hot liquid on his shoes, his newly bought shoes.

"O-h God. I-I'm so sorry!" the little lady in front of him apologized. He hadn't noticed her presence because of her short size, the hotness of the coffee that spilled on his leather shoes only made him notice what happened. He was about to glare heatedly out at the woman for soaking his new shoes but when she raised her head and he saw her lovely yet sorrowful face, his world stopped moving. Time froze. He tightened his jaw, causing his thin, red lips to shut as his voice went gone and his throat as dry as the Sahara desert.

"S-sir?" the little lady's voice rang like a tinkering bell in his ears, stunning him like he was struck by a lightning, her voice was... soft, very soft that it made him feel calm and his anger subsided. He looked at the girl who was raising her head just to see his handsome face. She looked so frightened but he was likewise frightened of her. The woman looked terrifyingly pitiful, she looked like a little kitten that is soaked in the rain. But nevertheless, she's still beautiful. He saw the pure innocence in her eyes; she doesn't seem to know who he was.

"It's fine, darl. No one's at fault," he spoke sternly with his velvety smooth voice that made the lady's spine shiver in inexplicable pleasure. She managed to give him a nod as a response. He felt his stomach tied into complex nuts when he saw the woman's face begin to beet into the familiar shade of crimson red. She looked very adorable with her face red, especially her cheeks. As he looked at her face, something busted in his mind. He needs to know her name. But how?

Meanwhile, Jarred stared at his boss in utter flabbergast. He'd never seen his boss so meek. He always shouts at people because of his short temper. This is the first time he didn't blame someone for an accident or mistake. Hades was actually the type of person who usually throws a finger at people, especially those who graduated with a master's degree in the course Bachelor of Science Major in Countless Failures. Jarred cannot blame his boss for that though, the man grew up a harsh life filled with pressure and expectations, carrying the principles that could crush anyone, even the strongest person in the world: always be impeccable. Something that is very hard to achieve.

"What coffee was that?" he suddenly asked her, trying to make a move.

It took her a while to answer his question, "Uhm, white coffee," confusion was conspicuously laced in his voice.

Hades immediately looked at his secretary who has been ignored for a long while and told him, "Jarred, order one white coffee for...?" he looked at the little lady as if asking her for her name. Answer me! Answer me your name! His subconscious shouted at the top of his lungs.

The woman tried to object when she realized what was going on, "N-No, sir. No need. I'm must be the one to make up to y-"

"No please, let me. I must be the one to make up to you," he cut her off. He needs to know her name, and he has to know it no matter what. Come what may and hell will pay. He clandestinely tightened his jaw when he finally noticed the unnerving gawks and whispers of the people inside the café, agitating him. He only wants to hear her voice, only her voice.

The lady continuously shook her cute, little head, "But, si-"

"I insist," he cuts her off once again, now using his voice that he usually uses when he talks to his employees, cold, deep and menacing. He painstakingly traveled his eyes on her face and noticed that she looked like she wasn't in the mood to argue. The inner side of him began to celebrate when she finally drew a heavy breath of undeniable defeat. She's never met someone this persistent.

"Allison," butterflies began swarming in his stomach with their flappy wings when he heard her name slip off her tongue. Allison. What a beautiful name for a cute lady like her.

"One white coffee for Miss Allison and a black coffee for me, please, Jarred," Hades told Jarred and the latter just nodded with a, "Yes, sir," before heading to the counter to buy what was asked, or ordered, rather. Hades has never been like this to the ladies, well except for his sister and his mother, but the lady was neither of them.

Allison's spine shivered the moment she heard her name roll off his tongue. She hates to admit it but it sounded so... sexy when she heard him. A peculiar feeling from the pit of her stomach aroused. It felt so strange. The man's warm, velvety voice felt like two large arms embracing her, making her feel safe and gives her the want to snuggle.

"Come, Miss Allison," the man invited her, using the same voice that gives the chills to her spine, offering to her his hand.

She shuddered once again, his voice repeated endlessly in her mind like a broken vinyl, "Wh- where to?" she asked nervously. Why is this man inviting her? She wants to go home now. She wants to hug and cry on Stuffy, the life-sized teddy bear that Dane gave her on their third month and continue her plans for the night.

"To a table, of course" he answered her question as he placed his large back on her drenched sweater. She flinched because of the cold fabric pressed against her delicate back but she could not help but think: Doesn't he think it's a little disgusting to hold me like this? Don't I smell stinky? What in the world is he doing to me? Who is he?

"B-Bu-" she tried to say something as a protest but Hades cut her off. Once again. For the nth time. With his velvety voice. Again.

"C'mon, we'll wait for the coffee" he pushed her gently using his hand that was on her back while striding effortlessly to a table on the corner, forcing Allison to walk with him. She looked up at him and saw his jaw tightened but his eyes held no emotion. Even though she could not see the emotion in his eyes, his tightening grasp on her wet sweater and tightening jaw were already enough proof to make her conclude that he was irritated, by the gawks and whispers of the people... maybe? When she realized that, her face heated up once again and the urge to cover her face with her small, cold hands surfaced.

When they reached the table, Allison was surprised when the man went behind a chair and pulled it swiftly with unsaid grace. He then offered her to sit on the chair. Allison felt her face growing hotter because of the sweet gesture. What a gentleman. It made her heart flutter. Dane never did that. Not even once.

Allison painstakingly placed her small butt on the chair and then the man took a seat for himself. She looked down, she doesn't know what to say. She barely knows him, and it's weird that she accepted his offer even though he was, well, a stranger. Nevertheless, he looks familiar, very familiar. She knows deep within her that she's seen him before, but she can't muse when or where. Scrambling her brain to remember, she doesn't seem to notice that the people have already gone back talking about themselves and had already lost their attention to her and the man sitting across her. Not to mention though, the man has been staring at her intent with his curious, steel grey eyes. Allison scrunched her nose and gave up reminiscing. She really can't remember how she finds him familiar so she decided to ask his name instead, maybe she'll remember once she'll know a small detail about him. She bit her lower lip, earning the courage to ask. Moments later, she parted her lips.

"May I... ask for your name?"

Hades never expected Allison to ask for his name. Her sweet, small voice sounded so pleasing that a small gasp was greatly enough to render him breathless. Maybe because this is the first time he's ever encountered a woman aside from his mother, sister, and cousins. This weird impact was making him confused. He mentally asked himself why he was feeling that way, utterly confused and damned.

He cannot get his eyes off the woman in front of him right now. She looks so... beautiful. So vulnerable. He clenched his fists tightly, fighting the urge of wrapping his arms around her small body and nuzzle his nose on her neck and inhale her scent that he assumes to be very lovely and refreshing. He hoped that Jarred wouldn't come back yet. He wants to take his time looking at beautiful specimen before him. Though, a part of him wants to know more about her. Everything about her. More than just her sexy name that complements her shy character. He's willing to kill for a small detail about her.

"Hades," he answered her question, breathlessly. He cannot breathe properly because of her breathtaking beauty.

He saw her brow lifted up heavenwards, "Hades? Like the Greek god of the underworld?" she asked curiously. He almost shuddered out of pleasure when his name rolled off her tongue. It sounded so right... so perfect.

He nodded in response. It seems that his name has all of her attention. She parted her lips and was about to speak once again when the secretary came back, holding two smoking cups of hot coffee.

"Here is your coffee, Miss Allison..." Jarred offered the coffee to her and she took it, thanking him timidly. Hades stopped himself from growling at his secretary out of anger. He doesn't want any man talking or walking near her. Fuck, why am I being like this?

"And here is your black coffee, Sir de Vries," Jarred said placed his hot coffee on the table. He only nodded at his secretary for showing his appreciation. Hades then noticed the lady before him stiffened like she was kicked hard with something. He laid his eyes on her hands which were trembling, he hastily looked at her face that had gone paler like she's just facing an elementary school bully.

"Allison? What's wrong?" he asked, trying not to fret. He tried to reach out a hand out to touch her hand but then she hastily went on her feet. What's wrong? he asked himself.

"I-I need to go. Thank you for the coffee, Mr. de Vries but I need to go now. Bye!" she said, and before he could stand up to stop her, she already scurried away and the door's bells had jingled. Hades stared at the wooden door with a pool of fury in his eyes. She was already gone. She already left him, without saying goodbye.