CHAPTER 95: FEEL BETTER

Lilith didn’t know how long she had been crying. Her eyes were swollen and heavy, her throat raw from the sobs that had wracked her body. Slowly, she pulled away from the prince, though his arms remained around her.

She cleared her throat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I’m sorry. I just got overwhelmed," she murmured, letting out a soft, nervous chuckle at the end.

"You’ve been apologizing a lot lately," Hades said quietly. "Stop apologizing." His fingers brushed along her jaw, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Tell me... why were you crying?"

Lilith swallowed hard and tried to pull back from his touch, but his fingers tightened gently, just enough to keep her still—firm, but not forceful.

"We can stand here all night if we have to," he added. "I won’t let you go until you tell me."

She exhaled shakily. "I... I’d like to sit down."

Hades helped her to the edge of the bed. He crossed the room to the dresser, dragged a chair in front of her, and sat down. "Take your time," he said softly.

Lilith blinked away the blur of tears, struggling to keep them from spilling again. After a long moment, she finally found her voice.

"The fall in the dining room... it brought back memories. From when I was still in Eryndor." Her voice faltered. "Something similar happened once. I was supposed to serve my stepfather and his guests. I stepped on my stepsister’s doll and tripped. Everything, the food, the dishes came crashing down. There was silence at first... and then laughter. They mocked me. Called me names."

She paused, drawing a shaky breath.

"I was humiliated. Ashamed. I cleaned up the mess and ran to my room, locked the door, praying he would forget about it... or let it go just this once. But he didn’t."

A single tear slipped from her left eye. She wiped it away and rested her hands on her thighs. Hades reached out, his hand covering hers. He gently traced circles on her skin with his thumb. She noticed he wasn’t wearing gloves—his skin was bare and warm against hers. The contact sent a tremor up her spine.

"I had just started calming down when I heard him—stomping up the stairs, screaming about how he was going to kill me. I heard my mother begging him to stop, but he didn’t listen. He never listened." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He kicked down my door and attacked me. Hit me over and over again, wherever he could. I screamed. Cried. Begged him to stop. But the more I begged, the angrier he got."

"I stopped fighting back. I didn’t have the strength anymore. I just laid there and took it."

She closed her eyes for a moment, pain flickering across her face. "When he finally stopped, he left me there, covered in blood, broken, shaking. I don’t know how long I laid on the floor. Every time I moved, it hurt so much I couldn’t even cry. So I stayed there. Until morning."

Hades’ hand moved to her face, his thumb gently brushing away the tears trailing down her cheeks. Lilith looked up at him. He looked calm, at least on the surface—but his eyes burned with something else entirely.

"Why didn’t your mother help you?" he asked quietly.

"She wanted to," Lilith whispered. "But my stepfather... he forbade it. Threatened to lock her away if she ever interfered. My stepfather made sure she stayed in her place. No one wanted to face his wrath." Her lips curled into a small, bitter smile. "I understood why she didn’t come."

But her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

"Would you be happy if he died?" Hades asked, his voice low and calm, but laced with something darker.

The question caught Lilith off guard. She stared blankly at the prince, her mind reeling. It took her a few seconds to form a response. "No, I wouldn’t," she said at last. As much as she despised her stepfather, she didn’t wish death upon him. He had daughters, her stepsisters—who still needed him. And her mother... her mother might still need him too. As long as she never had to see him again, that was enough.

"Very well," Hades replied coolly. "If that’s what you want."

But nothing about the way he said it felt settled. In truth, Hades wanted to hurt the man—badly. He wanted to watch him scream and plead, drenched in his own blood. And he would. He would pay him a visit soon... and deliver a lesson he would never forget.

"Thank you for listening to my sad story," Lilith said with a small laugh. "I feel better now."

"Have you had dinner?" Hades asked, his thumb still tracing gentle circles across the back of her hand.

"I haven’t," she admitted, "but I don’t really have an appetite. I feel exhausted... I just want to sleep." She gave him a tired smile, trying to ignore the way his touch sent shivers up her arms and raised goosebumps on her skin.

As if in protest, her stomach growled loudly.

Her face turned crimson as she instinctively placed a hand over her belly in embarrassment.

"I don’t think your stomach agrees with you," Hades said, arching a brow with a smirk that only deepened her blush. "Come, darling. Have dinner with me."

Before Lilith could protest, he was already pulling her gently to her feet, leading her out of the room and toward the dining hall.

He guided her into the seat beside him at the table. The room was empty except for the two of them—and a table filled with dishes, including the very one she had dropped earlier.

Lilith swallowed the lump in her throat as the prince calmly served her a modest portion of food and poured a glass of orange drink. They ate together in comfortable silence, the only sounds coming from the quiet crackling of the fire burning nearby.

Once they were finished, they returned to the prince’s chambers. Lilith didn’t want to be alone tonight. She wanted to stay—with him. And she was relieved when, as they left the dining room, he softly asked her to spend the night.

She had no intention of saying no.

Lilith stood in front of the mirror, removing her earrings as she watched the prince through his reflection. He was undressing at the other end of the room, and her eyes traced every inch of his exposed skin with quiet fascination.

Suddenly, he turned—and their eyes met in the mirror.

Lilith quickly looked away, flustered and shy. Embarrassment burned in her cheeks. He had caught her staring.

She swallowed hard and ran a brush through her hair before returning to the bed. Climbing onto it, she pulled the blanket up over her body, trying to calm her fluttering nerves.

Her breath caught in her chest when the bed dipped under the weight of the prince.

She felt the heat of him beside her, his arm slipping around her and drawing her gently into his warmth. Lilith tensed at first from the closeness, but soon melted into his embrace. His fingers brushed lightly against hers, his breath fanning softly over her neck.

With her heart full and a small smile on her lips, Lilith drifted into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

~~~

Kathryn fumed, glaring at the food scattered across the ground. Two maids rushed forward and began cleaning up the mess. Within minutes, the floor was spotless, no trace left of the disaster that had just unfolded.

Only then did Kathryn tear her eyes away from the floor. She glanced around and saw that only Viktor and Charlotte remained—Prince Hades had already walked out of the dining room.

"It’s just soup, Kathryn. There was no need to be rude to Lilith. You’re overreacting," Charlotte said, crossing her arms.

Kathryn shot her a murderous glare. Oh, how she wished she could sew Charlotte’s lips shut with needle and thread. The girl never knew how to mind her own business. Fighting the urge to lash out, Kathryn spun on her heels and stormed out of the room.

She didn’t stop until she reached her chambers. The first thing her eyes landed on was a flower vase. Without hesitation, she grabbed it and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall and shattered into a thousand jagged pieces.

Kathryn wanted to scream. No—she wanted to hurt Lilith. That foolish girl couldn’t do anything right.

"Lady Kathryn! Are you alright?" Cassidy burst into the room, panic in her voice and wide-eyed with concern.

"That stupid whore dropped the bowl. The prince didn’t eat the food," Kathryn snapped, her voice sharp with fury.

Cassidy blinked in confusion, then realization dawned. Her lips pressed into a tight line. "That’s... quite unfortunate," she whispered, unsure of what else to say.

"Very unfortunate," Kathryn hissed. "You don’t understand what this means. The potion was in the food. He was supposed to eat it. He was supposed to be madly in love with me. And that... that witch ruined everything. She will pay for this. She will face the consequences of her actions."

Cassidy took a step back, dread creeping into her chest. "What... what are you going to do?"

A slow, sinister smile curled Kathryn’s lips as her eyes darkened.