to kill Maddox when I promised I wouldn’t get involved.”
My heart sank when I realized I’d caused a greater rift between the two men. “It was me and Ash…”
“Yeah, I figured that out a couple hours later. But he’s so stubborn, he can’t think straight.”
“Did you tell him that?”
His voice came out like ice. “No.”
“Well, you should.”
“Well, I don’t want to. His opinion of me means nothing. I don’t give a damn if he thinks I’m a liar and a cheat. I know I fucked up in the past, but I’ve always been a good friend to him. It’s not my fault he can’t see that.”
Now I wondered if Hades had really lost his mind. Maybe being stuck with Maddox for so long messed with his head. It changed him, traumatized him until he couldn’t handle it anymore. He responded the only way he knew how…by snapping to cope. “Yeah, he’s definitely lost touch.”
“When’s the wedding?”
The question made me feel dead inside. Getting my husband back would be nearly impossible, not to mention marrying him again. I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to seduce him anymore. “Hades is being…kind of an asshole.”
“What’s new?”
“He says he doesn’t want to get back together.”
This time, he took a long pause and stopped issuing smartass comments. “Why would he say that?”
“He’s angry with me for leaving. Says he doesn’t love me anymore.” It broke my heart to say those things out loud.
“Not possible.”
I smiled, but my tears also began.
“I’ve never seen a person love anyone the way he loves you.”
I’d taken Hades for granted for so long. He was so loyal and committed to me, showed me love was real. I was afraid of having a marriage like my mother’s, but he gave me so much more. Now that it was gone, I didn’t know how to go on. “I know…but that’s how he feels.”
He was quiet again. “I noticed he was different when we last spoke. Didn’t realize he was that different…”
“Something snapped inside his head. When he left me in Rome, he said he didn’t want to see me again. That it was too hard. Maybe that decision made him realize life would be easier without me.”
“Maybe for someone else…but not him.” The line turned silent as Damien thought to himself. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m so hurt that I don’t want to bother with him. But I love him so much that I can’t just walk away. I want my husband back. I want my family back. So, I’m going to try to change his mind.”
“Good luck with that. Maddox may be gone, but there’s a new villain in town.”
I didn’t follow his logic. “Who?”
He sighed into the phone. “Hades…god of the underworld.”
21
Hades
I produced the highest yield of crystal of my career. I handed it off to our distributors then told my cooks to get back to work. With Maddox out of the picture and my power unrivaled, I intended to eliminate all other competition and kill anyone that got in my way.
Life was good.
I wasn’t as relieved as I’d thought I would be that Maddox was gone. I hated to admit it, but I’d learned a lot from him. I understood how to delegate to my men, how to terrify my enemies, and how to get shit done with precision. His demise was great news because he couldn’t control me anymore, but in terms of great businessmen, he really had been one of the best.
Now I was the best.
I’d acquired all of his men and tripled my force. Now I sat in my office with my feet on the desk, an invisible crown on my head. Getting rid of Damien was the last thing on my list, and I considered how to kill him.
But I knew I couldn’t do it. Maddox could’ve…but not me.
My phone started to ring on the desk, and I glanced at the screen.
It was Sofia.
That name used to send vibrations into my heart, make my stomach tighten with both excitement and unease. But now, I felt nothing…except a sprinkle of annoyance. I’d made it clear I didn’t want her anymore. I hope she took that seriously. My days of being a pussy-whipped little bitch were over.
She could find some other asshole to torture.
But she was the mother of my son, and of course, I would always care about her. Even if I didn’t love her anymore, I would help her in whatever way I could. I took the call. “Yes?”
“Don’t talk to me that