Rowan’s duty of "babysitting" or adultsitting Alice had been moved to Clarisse, who seemed like a really nice and chill lady. So it had been Clarisse whom she informed that she was leaving the estate before noon to go visit her mother, a.k.a Priscilla.
Rowan had still thankfully served her breakfast in her room and let her know the others were all out except himself and Clarisse.
The fact that most of them were not around made her feel more confident to take the car out.
She’d dressed well. Too well, maybe. Picking out an outfit from yesterday’s shopping spree had taken forever. She’d found several things she didn’t even remember choosing or Hades pointing at, which made her suspect the sales attendants had taken advantage of Hades’s wallet and indifference. But today wasn’t the day to fuss over that.
She wore the kind of outfit Aurora would wear. Crisp, expensive, stylish. A dark, tailored suit. Smooth bun. Glossed lips. Even her perfume was smelled presidential. She had one destination: the company where Nicholas Bach worked.
But before she left, something had happened that morning.
A ridiculous one, if she were being honest.
Of course, she would have preferred to ignore him. Because it seemed like her seduction was backfiring.
She had a crush on Hades. A very massive deadly crush that was problematic. So it was very difficult for her to go about her plan when she got flustered by him. But then, she had to push on.
She had to start something.
It had started with the note Hades left on the card. "Get rid of it if you don’t want it."
She took a photo of the note. Then her thumb hovered over his number for too long. She bit her lower lip, exhaled, and finally... finally... clicked send with a one-word caption:
She didn’t expect a reply. Hades didn’t seem like the type to text. Did he even use the messaging app on his phone?
But then her screen lit up, much to her surprise.
Still, her pulse jumped.
She typed back quickly:
ALICE: Why are you giving me all these?
This time, his response took longer. She kept checking, locking and unlocking her phone like she hadn’t just seen the ticks that confirmed it had been read. She sat on the edge of the bed, one heel on, the other dangling from her foot.
HADES: Why are you texting me?
She snorted. Her heart fluttered like it didn’t know what it wanted. Boldness or retreat?
ALICE: Look at you acting like you’re not blushing to yourself right now because I texted you.
There was a pause. A long one. She tossed her phone aside, stood up, paced to the mirror, then grabbed her phone again.
She was nervous. Actually nervous.
HADES: Have you gone senile?
The anxiety dwindled and a laugh escaped her lips.
She laughed. Genuinely. It was absurd. Refreshing. Somehow, the banter made the nerves of the day fade.
She hesitated. Her thumb hovered again.
But if she really wanted to rattle him, if she really wanted to get under his skin, she had to highlight something even both of them would have preferred to keep buried.
This was insane. She knew.
Her breath caught a little as she typed:
ALICE: I guess I am senile. That would explain why I did what I did last night during the fireworks.
And now she was restless.
Her eyes fixated on the screen, waiting to see if he’d read it. When the "read" notification appeared, her stomach dropped.
But the typing bubble didn’t appear.
He’d seen it. And gone silent.
She clutched her phone tighter, unsure if she should throw it or reread the message. Again and again. The interesting thing about this message exchange between them was that Hades read the texts as soon as she sent them. Which meant he was invested. Not dismissing her.
And maybe, just maybe, that was a win.
Even if her hands were now clammy and her heart wouldn’t stop thudding in her chest.
Now, in her entire life, Alice had never actually tried to seduce someone in person. Sure, she could write about it... whole scenes with devastating chemistry, brooding men, slow glances, and charged silences. In her head, she was a master of tension. On paper? Untouchable.
So how on earth was she supposed to get into the mind or worse, the heart of someone like Hades?
Simple. She had to rattle him.
That was her strategy.
His response to her last message still hadn’t come. It made her bounce her leg impatiently, tapping her fingers on the vanity table. She stared at the screen. Still "Read." No typing bubbles. No reaction. No nothing.
She didn’t come this far to back down now.
Alice: "You needed to see how the fireworks reflected in your eyes. It was annoyingly beautiful."
She froze. Read it again.
Annoyingly beautiful?
"Jesus Christ," she muttered under her breath, clutching her phone like it might explode.
Her whole body curled inwards with secondhand embarrassment from herself.
She wanted to disappear into the seat. Vaporize. Detonate the phone.
She still pressed send.
One hand clenched into a fist of pure regret.
She could feel her soul trying to leave her body.
But even in the horror of it, her chest buzzed with adrenaline.
God, he was going to roast her.
Or worse, ignore it completely.
And yet, part of her hoped... no, needed him to respond. Not with cruelty. Not with mockery. But with something that cracked his icy exterior, even just a little.
Because if Hades didn’t blush after that line like he had done last night, then she really was doomed.